Wajima, Ishikawa

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**Wajima**
**輪島市**
Wajima's location in Ishikawa, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu (Hokuriku)
Prefecture	Ishikawa
Physical characteristics
Area	426.25 km² (164.58 sq mi)
Population (as of January 2008)
Total	31,532
Density	74 /km² (192 /sq mi)
Location	37°23′N, 136°54′E
Symbols
Flag
Wajima Government Office
Mayor	Fumiaki Kaji
Address	〒928-8525 2-29 Futatsuyamachi, Wajima-shi, Ishikawa-ken
Phone number	0768-22-2211
Official website: Wajima City

The market in Wajima

Wajima (輪島市, Wajima-shi^?) is a city located in Ishikawa, Japan.

As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 31,532 and the density of 74 persons per km². The total area is 426.25 km².

The city was founded on March 31, 1954.

Noto Airport serves Wajima.

Kanakura is a town in the northern part of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is a small, peaceful village with ancient temples and rice terraces. This town celebrates an annual light festival (matsuri) in which the residents place one candle in each of 10,000 sake bottles and then arrange them in geometric configurations after dark while listening to traditional Japanese music.

The town is known within Japan for its lacquerware, called Wajima-nuri (輪島塗). There are artifacts showing lacquer was used to decorate and strengthen a shrine door from the 14th century. Wajima-nuri uses a technique that is unique to the area, mixing a finely powdered mineral, jinoko, with the lacquer in the early stages of production. Jinoko adds extra durability to Wajima-nuri items. The rougher, earlier layers are then coated with more layers of finer lacquer, which is then polished to a lustrous shine, and often decorated with designs made of gold and other precious materials. The lacquer tree was once abundant in the area, but is now scarce and most of the lacquer used is imported from China.

On 25 March 2007, the 2007 Noto earthquake caused one death, injuries, and property damage in Wajima and other parts of Ishikawa Prefecture.