Ise (Japanese: 伊勢市, Hepburn: Ise-shi), formerly called Ujiyamada (宇治山田), is a city in central Mie Prefecture, on the island of Honshū, Japan.

Ise has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall.

Because of the religious importance of Ise Grand Shrine, the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period viewed the area as politically significant and installed a magistrate in Yamada.

During the Meiji period, these two villages were merged with the establishment of the modern municipal system to form the town of Ujiyamada.

These lines were responsible for a large increase in pilgrims and tourists visiting Ise Grand Shrine, peaking with an estimated eight million visitors in the year 1940, per government-sponsored ceremonies celebrating the 2600th anniversary of the foundation of the Japanese empire.

The significance of the Ise Grand Shrine to State Shinto made Ujiyamada a target for six air raids during World War II, the largest of which was on July 28, 1945 when 93 Twentieth Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers dropped incendiaries, burning 39% of the city.

[6] On January 1, 1955 Ujiyamada absorbed the villages of Toyohama, Kitahama, Shigō and Kida and was renamed Ise City.

Ise has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 28 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Mie 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

JR Central, offers direct service to Ise from Nagoya once an hour on the Mie Rapid, which takes about 90 minutes.