Kagawa香川県
Kagawa-ken, かがわけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.
Kagawa is the smallest prefecture by area. It is known for sanuki udon and the art islands of the Inland Sea.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 香川県
- Reading
- Kagawa-ken / かがわけん
- Region
- Shikoku 四国
- Capital
- Takamatsu 高松市
- Population
- 950,244 (2020 census)
- Area
- 1,877 km²
- Density
- 506 people per km²
- Municipalities
- 17: 8 cities and 9 towns
- Designated cities
- None
- Districts (郡)
- 5
- Codes
- JIS 37, ISO 3166-2 JP-37
- Website
- www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp
- Tree
- olive オリーブ
- Flower
- olive オリーブ
- Bird
- lesser cuckoo ホトトギス
The tree, flower, and bird are the prefectural symbols, chosen by ordinance. Every prefecture has all three.
The most populous municipalities
| Municipality | Population | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Takamatsu City高松市 | 417,496 | 375.42 | 43.9% |
| Marugame City丸亀市 | 109,513 | 111.83 | 11.5% |
| Mitoyo City三豊市 | 61,857 | 222.7 | 6.5% |
| Kanonji City観音寺市 | 57,438 | 117.83 | 6.0% |
| Sakaide City坂出市 | 50,624 | 92.49 | 5.3% |
| Sanuki Cityさぬき市 | 47,003 | 158.63 | 4.9% |
| Zentsuji City善通寺市 | 31,631 | 39.93 | 3.3% |
| Higashikagawa City東かがわ市 | 28,279 | 152.83 | 3.0% |
| Miki Town三木町 | 26,878 | 75.78 | 2.8% |
| Ayagawa Town綾川町 | 22,693 | 109.75 | 2.4% |
2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 7 are listed below.
How an address here begins
香川県高松市…
Kagawa-ken, Takamatsu-shi, …
The prefecture name is written first, then the municipality name. The guide explains the rest of the address, and the map finds any address you paste into it.
Neighbouring prefectures
Every municipality in Kagawa市区町村
17 local governments, each with its own mayor and assembly. Each has a page with its population, area, neighbours, and boundary on the map.
Cities市
Districts, with their towns and villages郡 町 村
A district is a name that groups towns and villages in an address. It has no office and no election. Each town and village in it is a government.
Questions about Kagawa
- What is the capital of Kagawa?
- Takamatsu (高松市). The prefectural office is there. It is also the largest municipality in the prefecture.
- What does 県 mean in 香川県?
- 県 (ken) means prefecture. It is the ordinary word for prefecture, used by 43 of the 47. The other four are Tokyo (都), Hokkaidō (道), Osaka, and Kyoto (府), which are the same kind of government with a different word at the end of the name.
- How many municipalities are in Kagawa?
- 17: 8 cities and 9 towns. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. The towns and villages are grouped into five districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.
- What is the population of Kagawa?
- 950,244 at the 2020 census, on 1,877 km², which is 506 people per km². Kagawa is the 39th most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 47th largest by area.
- Which prefectures border Kagawa?
- Two prefectures: Tokushima (徳島県) and Ehime (愛媛県). Borders across water are not counted.
- What region is Kagawa in?
- Shikoku (四国). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Kagawa elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.
- How is Kagawa written in Japanese?
- 香川県, read Kagawa-ken and written かがわけん in hiragana. The last character, 県, is the word for prefecture, and the name is often used without it in English.
- How does an address in Kagawa begin?
- With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 香川県高松市… (Kagawa-ken, Takamatsu-shi, …). After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
- What is the largest city in Kagawa?
- Takamatsu City (高松市), with 417,496 people at the 2020 census. It is also the capital. The three most populous municipalities are Takamatsu City (高松市, 417,496), Marugame City (丸亀市, 109,513), and Mitoyo City (三豊市, 61,857).
- What are the symbols of Kagawa?
- The prefectural tree is the olive (オリーブ), the flower the olive (オリーブ), and the bird the lesser cuckoo (ホトトギス). Kagawa chose them by ordinance, as every prefecture has.
Boundaries: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Municipality counts are from the boundary data on the map. Website and symbols: the prefecture's Japanese Wikipedia article, read in September 2026.