ISESAKI

city, Gumma Prefecture (ken), Honshu, Japan, on the Ryomo Line (railway) between Takasaki and Oyama. Isesaki prospered as a market town around a castle built in the early Tokugawa period (16031867) and was known for its silk manufacture, which employed a large number of women. After the Meiji Restoration (1868) the city rapidly became a centre of the silk-weaving industry; synthetic textiles were introduced in 1957. Other industrial products include machinery, transport equipment, and electrical appliances. Pop. (1985 prelim.) 112,458.