Tokai region - Tokai

Traditionally, the three prefectures of Shizuoka, Aichi, and Gifu were the natural geographical division, but recently, with the formation of the Nagoya metropolitan area (Chukyo region), Mie Prefecture has often been included, and Aichi, Gifu, and Mie are often referred to as the "Three Tokai Prefectures." Examples of this are the Chukyo region and the Ise Bay area. As a natural and human geographical division, it is appropriate to define the four Tokai prefectures, including Mie Prefecture, as the Tokai region. The topography is dominated by coastal plains on the Pacific slope and gentle hilly plateaus, and the climate belongs to the Tokai climate zone compared to the Hokuriku climate zone, with generally mild temperatures, and mandarin oranges and tea are specialty products, and there are many warm-climate plants growing on the coast. Precipitation is rainy in the summer and dry in the winter, with many clear days in winter and no heavy snowfall. In terms of transportation history, it has flourished since ancient times as the "main corridor of east-west transportation" connecting Kinai and Kanto, and was also the route of the Kamakura Kaido and the old Tokaido. Since the Meiji period, the Tokaido Line and Shinkansen have been established, and the area has become an economic and cultural hub, part of the Pacific Belt Zone and Tokaido Megalopolis.

[Gohei Ito]

"Chubu Region" edited by Kenjiro Fujioka (1983, Daimeido)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

従来の自然地理区では静岡、愛知、岐阜3県をさすが、最近では名古屋大都市圏（中京圏）の形成によって三重県を含める場合が多く、愛知、岐阜、三重3県を「東海三県」というケースが多くなっている。中京圏、環伊勢(いせ)湾地域という場合がそれである。自然的・人文的地理区としては三重県を含めた東海4県をもって東海地方と規定するのが妥当である。地形は太平洋斜面の海岸平野と緩やかな丘陵台地が多く、気候は北陸式に対して東海式気候区に属し、気温は一般に温和でミカン、茶などが特産、海岸部には暖地性植物の自生地も多い。降雨は夏が雨期、冬が乾期で、冬季の快晴日数が多く豪雪現象は皆無である。交通史上では、古くから畿内(きない)、関東を結ぶ「東西交通の表回廊」として栄え、鎌倉街道、旧東海道のルートでもあった。明治以降は東海道線、新幹線が通じ、経済文化の中枢地帯として、太平洋ベルト地帯、東海道メガロポリスの一部となっている。

［伊藤郷平］

『藤岡謙二郎監修『中部地方』（1983・大明堂）』

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