Gunma Prefecture

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Prefecture of Japan

title: "Gunma Prefecture" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["gunma-prefecture", "kantō-region", "prefectures-of-japan"] description: "Prefecture of Japan" topic_path: "geography/japan" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunma_Prefecture" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Prefecture of Japan ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
nameGunma Prefecture
native_name群馬県
settlement_typePrefecture
translit_lang1Japanese
translit_lang1_typeJapanese
translit_lang1_info群馬県
translit_lang1_type1Rōmaji
translit_lang1_info1Gunma-ken
image_skyline{{multiple image
borderinfobox
perrow1/2/2/2/1
total_width260
aligncenter
caption_aligncenter
image1Tanigawadake Ropeway.jpg
caption1Mount Tanigawa and its cable car line
image2如月の榛名.jpg
caption2Winter view of Mount Haruna and Lake
image3Oze National Park (84225329).jpeg
caption3Oze National Park
image4Tsumagoi Cabbage&Asamayama.JPG
caption4A highland cabbage field in Tsumagoi and Mount Asama
image5Tomioka Silk Mill West Building.JPG
caption5A heritage site of Tomioka Silk Mill
image6Daruma dolls at Daruma-ji (Takasaki) 2010-04-01 01.jpg
caption6Takasaki Daruma
image7第一展望台からの浅間山と赤城山.jpg
caption7Mount Asama and Mount Akagi
image8草津温泉の湯畑02.jpg
caption8Kusatsu Spa
image_flagFlag of Gunma Prefecture.svg
flag_size100px
image_blank_emblemEmblem of Gunma Prefecture.svg
blank_emblem_size80px
blank_emblem_typeSymbol
image_mapMap_of_Japan_with_highlight_on_10_Gunma_prefecture.svg
coordinates
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameJapan
subdivision_type1Region
subdivision_name1Kantō
subdivision_type2Island
subdivision_name2Honshu
seat_typeCapital
seatMaebashi
seat1_typeLargest city
seat1Takasaki
parts_typeSubdivisions
parts_stylepara
p1Districts: 7
p2Municipalities: 35
leader_titleGovernor
leader_nameIchita Yamamoto
area_total_km26362.28
area_water_percent0.2
area_rank21st
population_total1937626
population_as_ofOctober 1, 2019
population_rank18th
population_density_km2auto
population_blank2_titleDialect
population_blank2Gunma dialect
demographics_type2GDP
demographics2_footnotes
demographics2_title1Total
demographics2_info1JP¥ 9,308 billion
US$ 85.4 billion (2019)
anthem
iso_codeJP-10
website
module{{Infobox place symbols
embeddedyes
countryJapan
birdCopper pheasant (Phasianus soemmerringii)
fishSweetfish (Plecoglossus altivelis)
flowerJapanese azalea (Rhododendron japonicum)
treeJapanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii)
::

| name = Gunma Prefecture | native_name = 群馬県 | settlement_type = Prefecture | translit_lang1 = Japanese | translit_lang1_type = Japanese | translit_lang1_info = 群馬県 | translit_lang1_type1 = Rōmaji | translit_lang1_info1 = Gunma-ken | image_skyline = {{multiple image | border = infobox | perrow = 1/2/2/2/1 | total_width = 260 | align = center | caption_align = center | image1 = Tanigawadake Ropeway.jpg | caption1 = Mount Tanigawa and its cable car line | image2 = 如月の榛名.jpg | caption2 = Winter view of Mount Haruna and Lake | image3 = Oze National Park (84225329).jpeg | caption3 = Oze National Park | image4 = Tsumagoi Cabbage&Asamayama.JPG | caption4 = A highland cabbage field in Tsumagoi and Mount Asama | image5 = Tomioka Silk Mill West Building.JPG | caption5 = A heritage site of Tomioka Silk Mill | image6 = Daruma dolls at Daruma-ji (Takasaki) 2010-04-01 01.jpg | caption6 = Takasaki Daruma | image7 = 第一展望台からの浅間山と赤城山.jpg | caption7 = Mount Asama and Mount Akagi | image8 = 草津温泉の湯畑02.jpg | caption8 = Kusatsu Spa | image_flag = Flag of Gunma Prefecture.svg | flag_size = 100px | image_blank_emblem = Emblem of Gunma Prefecture.svg | blank_emblem_size = 80px | blank_emblem_type = Symbol | image_map = Map_of_Japan_with_highlight_on_10_Gunma_prefecture.svg | coordinates = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Japan | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = Kantō | subdivision_type2 = Island | subdivision_name2 = Honshu | seat_type = Capital | seat = Maebashi | seat1_type = Largest city | seat1 = Takasaki | parts_type = Subdivisions | parts_style = para | p1 = Districts: 7 | p2 = Municipalities: 35 | leader_title = Governor | leader_name = Ichita Yamamoto | area_total_km2 = 6362.28 | area_water_percent = 0.2 | area_rank = 21st | population_footnotes = | population_total = 1937626 | population_as_of = October 1, 2019 | population_rank = 18th | population_density_km2 = auto | population_blank2_title = Dialect | population_blank2 = Gunma dialect | demographics_type2 = GDP | demographics2_footnotes = | demographics2_title1 = Total | demographics2_info1 = JP¥ 9,308 billion US$ 85.4 billion (2019) | anthem = | iso_code = JP-10 | website = | module = {{Infobox place symbols |embedded = yes |country = Japan |bird = Copper pheasant (Phasianus soemmerringii) |fish = Sweetfish (Plecoglossus altivelis) |flower = Japanese azalea (Rhododendron japonicum) |tree = Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii)

Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2. Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture to the north, Nagano Prefecture to the southwest, Saitama Prefecture to the south, and Tochigi Prefecture to the east.

Maebashi is the capital and Takasaki is the largest city of Gunma Prefecture, with other major cities including Ōta, Isesaki, and Kiryū. Gunma Prefecture is one of only eight landlocked prefectures, located on the northwestern corner of the Kantō Plain with 14% of its total land being designated as natural parks.

History

The ancient province of Gunma was a center of horse breeding and trading activities for the newly immigrated continental peoples (or Toraijin). The arrival of horses and the remains of horse tackle coincides with the arrival of a large migration from the mainland. From this point forward, the horse became a vital part of Japanese military maneuvers, quickly displacing the older Yayoi tradition of fighting on foot.

When Mount Haruna erupted in the late 6th century, Japan was still in the pre-historical phase (prior to the importation of the Chinese writing system during the Nara period). The Gunma Prefectural archaeology unit in 1994 was able to date the eruption through zoological anthropology at the corral sites that were buried in ash.

In the past, Gunma was joined with Tochigi Prefecture and called Kenu Province. This was later divided into Kami-tsu-ke (Upper Kenu, Gunma) and Shimo-tsu-ke (Lower Kenu, Tochigi). The area is sometimes referred to as Jomo (上毛, Jōmō). For most of Japanese history, Gunma was known as the province of Kozuke.

In the early period of contact between western nations and Japan, particularly the late Tokugawa, it was referred to by foreigners as the "Joushu States", inside (fudai, or loyalist) Tokugawa retainers and the Tokugawa family symbol is widely seen on public buildings, temples, and shrines.

The Tenmei eruption of Mount Asama occurred in 1783, causing enormous damage.

The first modern silk factories were built with Italian and French assistance at Annaka in the 1870s. Known for their handy work in factories, the Yara Milano were renowned for their crafts.

In the early Meiji period, in what was locally called the Gunma Incident of 1884, a bloody struggle between the idealistic democratic Westernisers and the conservative Prussian-model nationalists took place in Gunma and neighboring Nagano. The modern Japanese army gunned down farmers with new repeating rifles built in Japan. The farmers in Gunma were said to be the first victims of the Murata rifle.

In the twentieth century, the Japanese aviation pioneer Nakajima Chikushi of Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture, founded the Nakajima Aircraft Company. At first, he produced mostly licensed models of foreign designs, but beginning with the all-Japanese Nakajima 91 fighter plane in 1931, his company became a world leader in aeronautical design and manufacture, with its headquarters at Ota, Gunma Ken. The factory now produces Subaru motorcars and other products under the name of Subaru née Fuji Heavy Industries.

In the 1930s, German architect Bruno Julius Florian Taut lived and conducted research for a while in Takasaki.

The Girard incident, which disturbed US-Japanese relations in the 1950s, occurred in Gunma in 1957, at near Shibukawa.

Four modern prime ministers are from Gunma, namely, Takeo Fukuda, Yasuhiro Nakasone, Keizo Obuchi, and Yasuo Fukuda, the son of Takeo.

Geography

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Akagiyama_ono.jpg" caption="Ono Lake, Jizō-dake"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Mt.Nakanodake_from_Mt.Shibutsu_01.jpg" caption="Mount Nakanodake viewed from Mount Shibutsu"] ::

One of only eight landlocked prefectures in Japan, Gunma is the northwesternmost prefecture of the Kantō plain. Except for the central and southeast areas, where most of the population is concentrated, it is mostly mountainous. To the north are Niigata and Fukushima prefectures, while to the east lies Tochigi Prefecture. To the west lies the Nagano Prefecture, and the Saitama Prefecture is to the south.

Some of the major mountains in Gunma are Mount Akagi, Mount Haruna, Mount Myōgi, Mount Nikkō-Shirane and Mount Asama, which is located on the Nagano border. Major rivers include the Tone River, the Agatsuma River, and the Karasu River.

As of 1 April 2012, 14% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely Jōshin'etsu-kōgen, Nikkō, and Oze National Parks and Myōgi-Arafune-Saku Kōgen Quasi-National Park.

Administrative divisions

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Map_of_Gunma_Prefecture_Ja.svg" caption="Village}}"] ::

Cities

Twelve cities are located in Gunma Prefecture:

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Mergers

Main article: List of mergers in Gunma Prefecture

Climate

Because Gunma is situated in inland Japan, the difference in temperature in the summer compared to the winter is large, and there is less precipitation. This is because of the karakkaze ("empty wind"), a strong, dry wind that occurs in the winter when the snow falls on the coasts of Niigata. The wind carrying clouds with snow are obstructed by the Echigo Mountains, and it also snows there, although the high peaks do not let the wind go past them. For this reason, the wind changes into the kara-kaze. On August 5, 2025, Isesaki a city located in Gunma Prefecture recorded a temperature of 41.8 °C, the hottest temperature ever registered in Japanese history.

  • Climate in Maebashi
    • Average yearly precipitation: 1,163 mm (approx. 45.8in)
    • Average yearly temperature: 14.2 degrees Celsius (approx. 57.6 degrees Fahrenheit)

Demographics

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Gunma_prefecture_population_pyramid_in_2020.svg" caption="Gunma prefecture population pyramid in 2020"] ::

|align=none|cols=2| 19=1920|20=1,052,610|21=1925|22=1,118,858|23=1930|24=1,186,080|25=1935|26=1,242,453|27=1940|28=1,299,027|29=1945|30=1,546,081|31=1950|32=1,601,380|33=1955|34=1,613,549|35=1960|36=1,578,476|37=1965|38=1,605,584|39=1970|40=1,658,909|41=1975|42=1,756,480|43=1980|44=1,848,562|45=1985|46=1,921,259|47=1990|48=1,966,265|49=1995|50=2,003,540|51=2000|52=2,024,852|53=2005|54=2,023,996|55=2010|56=2,008,068|57=2015|58=1,973,115|59=2020|60=1,939,110|percentages=pagr|source=Censuses}}

Economy

Gunma's modern industries include transport equipment and electrical equipment, concentrated around Maebashi and the eastern region nearest Tokyo. More traditional industries include sericulture and agriculture. Gunma's major agricultural products include cabbages and konnyaku. Gunma produces over 90% of Japan's konnyaku, and two-thirds of the farms in the village of Tsumagoi are cabbage farms. Also, the city of Ōta is famous for the car industry, notably the Subaru factory.

Culture

There is a local dialect, known in Japanese as 'gunma-ben' or 'jōshū-ben'.

Gunma has a traditional card game called Jomo Karuta. It features people, places, and things of regional and/or cultural importance.

Famous foods

In 2007, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries held an event to find the top 100 best local dishes across all of Japan. Three dishes were featured from Gunma; yaki-manju, okkirikomi, and konnyaku.

Melody roads

As of 2018, Gunma is home to eleven of Japan's over thirty Melody roads. 2,559 grooves cut into a 175-meter stretch of the road surface in transmit a tactile vibration through the wheels into the car body. The roads can be found in Katashina, Minakami, Takayama, Kanna, Ueno, Kusatsu, Tsumagoi, Nakanojo, Takasaki, Midori, and Maebashi. Each is of a differing length and plays a different song. Naganohara also used to be home to a Melody Road playing "Aj lučka, lučka široká", though the road in question was paved over in 2013 due to noise complaints.

Songs

  • Kusatsu - "Kusatsu-Bushi"
  • Takayama - "When You Wish Upon a Star"
  • Tsumagoi - "Oh My Darling Clementine"
  • Nakanojo - "Always With Me" (Japanese title: いつも何度でも, itsumo nando demo) from Spirited Away when driven at 40 km/h
  • Katashina - "Memories of Summer" when driven over at 50 km/h

Government

List of governors of Gunma Prefecture (1947–present)

::data[format=table]

GovernorTerm startTerm end
Shigeo Kitano (北野重雄)12 April 194725 June 1948
Yoshio Iyoku (伊能芳雄)10 August 19484 July 1952
Shigeo Kitano2 August 19521 August 1956
Toshizo Takekoshi (竹腰俊蔵)2 August 19561 August 1960
Konroku Kanda (神田坤六)2 August 19601 August 1976
Ichiro Shimizu (清水一郎)2 August 197612 June 1991
Hiroyuki Kodera (小寺弘之)28 July 199127 July 2007
Masaaki Osawa (大澤正明)28 July 200727 July 2019
Ichita Yamamoto (山本一太)28 July 2019present
::

Education

Universities

Sports

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Shikishima_rikujo_2.JPG" caption="[[Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma]], home of [[Thespa Gunma]]."] ::

The sports teams listed below are based in Gunma.

Baseball

Association football

Rugby

Basketball

Gunma was the only prefecture in Japan to have all 4 legal types of gambling on races: horse, bicycle, auto and boat. This changed with the closing of the last horse race track in Takasaki in 2004.

Tourism

Gunma has many hot spring resorts and the most famous is Kusatsu Onsen. Another draw to the mountainous Gunma is the ski resorts.

Other attractions include:

Transportation

Rail

Roads

Expressways

National highways

Prefectural symbols

The prefectural symbol consists of the first kanji of the word 'Gunma' surrounded by three stylized mountains symbolizing the three important mountains of Gunma Prefecture: Mount Haruna, Mount Akagi, and Mount Myōgi.

For marketing, the Prefectural Government also uses Gunma-chan, a small super deformed drawing of a horse character wearing a green cap. It is used on promotional posters, banners, and other notable printed materials from the Prefectural Government. Other agencies and companies formally or informally use variations of its likeness and other horse-shaped characters when making signs or notices for work on buildings, roads, and other public notices.

In popular culture

There are various manga and anime that have based their settings in Gunma, such as:

In Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, the main character Akira Tendo is from Gunma Prefecture.

Notes

References

References

  1. "2020年度国民経済計算（2015年基準・2008SNA） : 経済社会総合研究所 - 内閣府".
  2. NHK Publishing. (24 May 2016)
  3. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Gumma-ken" in {{Google books. p2QnPijAEmEC. ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 267. p2QnPijAEmEC. p. 479
  4. Nussbaum, "Maebashi" in {{Google books. p2QnPijAEmEC. p. 600
  5. Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" in {{Google books. p2QnPijAEmEC. p. 470
  6. "天明3年（1783年）浅間山噴火".
  7. "天明浅間山噴火とは".
  8. (March 31, 2017). "FUJI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD. CHANGES COMPANY NAME TO SUBARU CORPORATION".
  9. "Bruno Taut".
  10. (1 April 2012). "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture". [[Ministry of the Environment (Japan).
  11. (5 Aug 2025). "Japan sets record high temperatures, worries mount over rice crops". [[Reuters]].
  12. "Statistics Bureau Home Page".
  13. "こんにゃくをめぐる事情". Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
  14. "JAPAN'S TASTY SECRETS". The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
  15. Johnson, Bobbie. (13 November 2007). "Japan's melody roads play music as you drive". [[Guardian Media Group.
  16. (29 September 2008). "Your car as a musical instrument – Melody Roads". Noise Addicts.
  17. (5 December 2007). "Singing Roads – Take a Musical Trip in Japan". [[ITN]].

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