Tochigi

▪ prefecture, Japan

 ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, in the northern Kantō chihō (region). It occupies an area of 2,476 square miles (6,414 square km). The eastern border with Ibaraki prefecture is formed by Mount Yamizo and associated mountains. Western Tochigi prefecture is occupied by the Ashio Highlands and bordered by the mountains associated with Mounts Taishaku and Shirane. The Ashio Highlands are the site of the resorts of Nikkō, Shiobara, and Kawaji. Nikkō National Park in Tochigi contains Lake Chūzenji. The main river in the prefecture, the Kinu River, runs longitudinally between the eastern and western mountain groups.

      Major agricultural products of the prefecture are rice, vegetables, tobacco, hemp, and wax gourds. Cattle are also raised. There is some mining in the Ashio Highlands, yielding copper and manganese. Traditional industries include the manufacture of ceramics, while modern industry produces automobiles, processed foods, and electric appliances. Major cities include Utsunomiya, the prefectural capital, and the commercial and industrial centre of Tochigi prefecture. The Keihin Industrial Zone spread to prefectures in the northern Kantō region, including Tochigi, during the 1960s. Pop. (1987 est.) 1,892,000.

* * *