page_title: Ikata
section_title: Modern era
hierarchical_section_title: Ikata / History / Modern era
caption_attribution_description: The 9 War Heroes (九軍神) monument in the Mitsukue neighborhood of Ikata, Ehime, Japan. Celebrates the lives of 9 young men who gave their lives for their country in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
context_page_description: Ikata is a small town located in Nishiuwa District, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. Following a recent merger with the neighboring towns of Misaki and Seto, the town now spans the mountainous Sadamisaki Peninsula, the narrowest peninsula in Japan and the westernmost point on the island of Shikoku.
  This unique geography has greatly influenced Ikata's growth. On the one hand, it has presented significant challenges to urban development that were not overcome until recently in the town's long history. On the other, the peninsula is what gives the town its beautiful mountain and ocean scenery which, bolstered by significant investments in infrastructure and tourist facilities, has formed the basis for a burgeoning tourism industry.
  In addition to the beauty of its rugged, natural landscape, Ikata has long been known for fishing and mikan orange farming. In recent years Ikata has also become a hotspot of modern energy production—the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant produced much of Shikoku's electricity until it was shut down in 2012 following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and the town's windy mountains are dotted by dozens of windmills.
context_section_description: A decade after the Meiji Restoration, in March 1878 the Uwa District was divided into the current Kitauwa, Minamiuwa, Higashiuwa, and Nishiuwa districts (North-, South-, East-, and West-Uwa, respectively). Ikata was designated a village (村, mura) in 1889, and other neighborhoods along the peninsula soon followed suit, many merging to reduce the number of independent settlements from 26 to 6.
  More recently, Seto's Mitsukue Bay was used for submarine training operations by the Japanese navy leading up to World War II, as the bay's shape is similar to that of Pearl Harbor. A monument named The Nine War Heroes (九軍神, Kyū gunshin) stands in Suka Park in Mitsukue as a memorial dedicated to the nine young men (ages 21–28) who were stationed in the Mitsukue area for these exercises. According to the plaque on the monument, the men were quite friendly with the locals, and stories are still told about them in the neighborhood to this day. The men died on December 8, 1941, during one of the initial attacks on Pearl Harbor.
  In 1955 another round of mergers corresponding to the Great Shōwa Merger reduced the number of municipal entities to 3.
  In 1977 the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant began operation as the first nuclear power plant on the island of Shikoku.
  On April 1, 2005, Ikata merged with the nearby towns of Misaki and Seto to create the new town of Ikata, which spans the Sadamisaki Peninsula.
caption: The Nine War Heroes monument in Suka Park
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