Mie.Iga City

Mie.Iga City

Iga (伊賀市, Iga-shi) is a city located in central Kii Peninsula, in the mountainous western Mie Prefecture, Japan.

As of September 2012, the city has an estimated population of 95,137.

The area around the modern city of Iga corresponds to a portion of ancient Iga Province. The area was noted in the Sengoku period as one of the centers for ninjutsu. The town developed in the Edo period under the Tokugawa Shogunate as a castle town under Iga Ueno Castle. Iga is known as the birthplace of the haiku poet Matsuo Bashō and the home of the ninja Hattori Hanzō.

Iga is also known as a center for Kumihimo, a traditional braiding art, with several artisans still in activity.

The city of Ueno was founded on September 10, 1941. It was renamed Iga on November 1, 2004 following a merger with the towns of Iga (former) and Ayama, the villages of Shimagahara and Ōyamada (all from Ayama District); and the town of Aoyama (from Naga District).