District), an exclave between Nara and Mie prefectures, was merged with Shingū. Government Shingū has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 15 members. Shingū contributes one member to the Wakayama Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Wakayama 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan. Economy Shingū is the central commercial city of the Kumano Region and is one of the largest cities in Wakayama Prefecture. Primary industries include forestry, commercial fishing, growing of leafy vegetables such as komatsuna and horticulture, and "Kumano brand" beef. Secondary industries are centered around timber and paper processing. Education Shingū has five public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government and two public high schools operated by the Wakayama Prefectural Department of Education. The city also has one private middle school and one private high school. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped, and one vocational education school. Transportation Railway JR Tōkai – Kisei Main Line JR West – Kisei Main Line - - Highway Nachikatsuura-Shingū Road Local attractions Shingū Castle ruins, National Historic Site Kumano Hayatama Taisha, one of the Kumano Sanzan shrines Ōmine Okugakemichi and the Kumano Kodō, parts of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, a UNESCO World Heritage Site Kumano River Kamikura Shrine, with the object of worship a great sacred rock called "". Cuisine A main dish is Nare-zushi, a very traditional type of sushi which, centuries ago, was imported from Southeast Asia to China, and from China to Japan. Narezushi was the birth of sushi, and influenced how the Japanese later made their own styles of sushi that most of us know today. Sister city relations Santa Cruz, California. Notable people from Shingū Yasuyuki Kishino, football player and manager Haruo Satō, former novelist and poet Kenji Nakagami, novelist References External links Shingu City Tourist Association Cities in Wakayama Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Shingū, Wakayama