Hyōgo Prefecture

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan on the island of Honshu.[1] The capital city is Kobe.[2]

Hyōgo Prefecture
Japanese: 兵庫県
Hyōgo-ken
Map of Japan with Hyōgo highlighted
Capital Kobe
Region Kansai
Island Honshu
Governor Motohiko Saitō
Area (rank) 8,396.13 km² (12th)
 - % water 0.6%
Population  (November 1, 2011)
 - Population 5582978 (7th)
 - Density auto /km²
Districts 8
Municipalities 41
ISO 3166-2 JP-28
Website web.pref.hyogo.lg.jp/fl/english/
Prefectural Symbols
 - Flower Nojigiku (Chrysanthemum japonense)
 - Tree Camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora)
 - Bird Oriental white stork (Ciconia boyciana)
 - Fish
Symbol of Hyōgo Prefecture
Symbol of Hyōgo Prefecture
TemplateDiscussion
Emblem

History

In the Meiji period, Hyōgo Prefecture was formed by merging the provinces of Harima, Tajima, Awaji, and parts of Tamba and Settsu.[3]

In 1993, Himeji Castle was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is in the city of Himeji.[4]

In 1995, the Great Hanshin earthquake damaged Kobe and neighboring Osaka Prefecture. It caused the deaths of 5,000+ people.[5]

Geography

Hyōgo has coastlines on two seas. The Sea of Japan is north of the prefecture and the Seto Inland Sea is on the south. Awaji Island in the Inland Sea is part of Hyōgo.

Hyōgo shares land borders with Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture.

Cities

There are twenty-nine cities in Hyōgo Prefecture, including

Chūō-ku
Higashinada-ku
Hyōgo-ku
Kita-ku
Nada-ku
Nagata-ku
Nishi-ku
Suma-ku
Tarumi-ku

National Parks

National Parks are established in about 20% of the total land area of the prefecture.[6]

Shrines and Temples

Izumo daijinju is the chief Shinto shrines (ichinomiya) in the prefecture. [7]

Hyōgo Prefecture Media

Related pages

References

  1. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Hyōgo prefecture" in Japan Encyclopedia, pp. 363-365; "Kansai" at p. 477.
  2. Nussbaum, "Kobe" at p. 537.
  3. Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780.
  4. Japan-i.jp, Himeji-jo[dead link]. Retrieved 2012-8-30.
  5. Fukushima, Glen S. "The Great Hanshin Earthquake," Archived 2012-12-18 at the Wayback Machine Japan Policy Research Institute (JPRI), March 1995. Retrieved 2012-8-30.
  6. Japan Ministry of the Environment, "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture". Retrieved 2012-3-13.
  7. "Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 2 Archived 2013-05-17 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-3-13.

Other websites

  Media related to Hyōgo prefecture at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 34°41′26.94″N 135°10′59.08″E / 34.6908167°N 135.1830778°E / 34.6908167; 135.1830778