GUMMA

landlocked ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, containing the western Kanto Plain. Most of its area is mountainous, with two-thirds more than 1,650 feet (500 m) in elevation and volcanic peaks towering over 6,560 feet (2,000 m). The prefectural capital, Maebashi, and most of the population are on a small segment of the plain in the southeast. Sericulture and wheat cultivation are major economic activities. Industry, particularly auto manufacturing, increased dramatically during the late 1960s, influenced by the Keihin Industrial Region to the southeast. Mountain forests and mineral deposits (sulfur, manganese, limestone) are exploited. The silk-reeling industry is conducted on a small scale in Maebashi, Tomioka, Kiryu, and Isezaki. Mount Haruna is a popular tourist attraction, and nearby Lake Haruna offers ice fishing in winter. Gumma University in Maebashi was founded in 1949. Area 2,454 square miles (6,356 square km). Pop. (1992 est.) 1,983,000.