Marugame

Seaport and industrial city in Kagawa prefecture, on Shikoku island, Japan, 140 km/87 mi southwest of Kobe; population (1995 est) 78,100. The main industries include the manufacture of ships, salt, cotton textiles, and chemicals. Since the 1980s, salt production and the use of salt as a raw material in the chemical industry have been boosted by progressive reclamation from the sea of large salt fields.

Marugame developed around a castle (1597), the ruins of which remain, and prospered as the landing-point for pilgrims en route to the Kotohika shrine. Traditional folding fans, uchiwa, were manufactured in Marugame and were bought by the pilgrims as souvenirs or presents.