Shikoku

Template: Infobox Island / Maintenance / height missing

The island of Shikoku (四 国Japanese, four countries '; German also Schikoku ) is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. She is 18300.95 km ² and has a population of about 4 million residents. It is divided into four prefectures: Ehime, Kagawa, Kochi and Tokushima.

The island is a region of Shikoku (四 国 地方Shikoku - Chiho ), belong to the even the surrounding islands, as well as a region of Japan. This has an area of ​​18,806.36 km ² and 4,086,457 inhabitants (as of 1 October 2005).

The name four countries for the island comes from the fact that it has existed since the time of the provinces of four provinces, namely Awa, Sanuki, Iyo and Tosa. The boundaries of these old provinces are similar to those of today's prefectures.

Geography

With the main Japanese island of Honshu it is connected by ferries and since 1988 by the Seto Ohashi Bridge. Until the completion of the bridge Shikoku was very isolated from the rest of Japan. The connection through the bridge should allow for better economic development, but has not set until today. Today there are a total of three bridges between Shikoku and Honshu, which connect the three prefectures on the Seto Inland Sea with Honshu. The main cities in Shikoku are Takamatsu, Matsuyama, Tokushima and Kochi, the capitals of prefectures. In each prefecture with an airport and there are flights to major cities such as Tōkyō or Osaka.

Mountains to the east and west of the island of Shikoku share in a narrow northern subregion of the Seto Inland Sea and a southern part of the Pacific Ocean. Most of the 4.5 million inhabitants live in the north, and all major cities, except for Kōchi, are located there. The mountain Ishitsuchi in Ehime with its height of 1982 meters is the highest mountain on the island. The larger southern area of ​​Shikoku is mountainous and sparsely populated. The only significant lowland is the alluvial plain on which lies the city Kōchi.

Economy

The industry is moderately well developed and consists in part of the processing of ore from the major copper mine Besshi. The paper industry has made the lush forests and hydroelectric power advantage.

The soil is used very intensively. In wide shallow areas, especially in the east of the island rice is planted. In the southern region of Shikoku it can be harvested twice a year. In winter, the same soil used for planting of winter wheat and barley. In the whole of the north most diverse varieties of fruit are grown, such as Citrus fruits like Sudachi and tangerines, persimmons (kaki ), peaches and grapes.

In addition, large-scale cultivation of lotus flowers ( Renkon ) whose starchy roots are used in Japanese cuisine, as well as sweet potato ( satsuma - imo ) is operated. The mild climate of the area led to the specialization in the cultivation of vegetables under plastic sheeting out of season.