Yamagata Prefecture
From Freepedia
| Image:Japan Yamagata large.png | |
| Capital | Yamagata (city) |
| Region | Tohoku |
| Island | Honshu |
| Governor | Hiroshi Saito |
| Area | 9,323.34 km² (9th) |
| - % water | 0.02% |
| Population (October 1, 2000) | |
| - Population | 1,240,877 (33rd) |
| - Density | 133 /km² |
| Districts | 9 |
| Municipalities | 44 |
| ISO 3166-2 | JP-06 |
| Web site | www.pref.yamagata.jp/ index-e.html |
| Prefectural Symbols | |
| - Flower | Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) |
| - Tree | Cherry tree |
| - Bird | Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) |
| Image:PrefSymbol-Yamagata.png Symbol of Yamagata Prefecture | |
Yamagata Prefecture (山形県; Yamagata-ken) is located in the Tohoku region on Honshu island, Japan. Its capital is Yamagata.
Contents |
History
Yamagata, with Akita Prefecture, composed Dewa Province until the Meiji Restoration.
Geography
Yamagata Prefecture is located in the southwest corner of Tohoku, facing the Sea of Japan. It border Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture on the south, Miyagi Prefecture on the east, and Akita Prefecture on the north. All of these boundaries are marked by mountains, with most of the population residing in a limited central plain.
Cities
- Higashine
- Kaminoyama
- Murayama
- Nagai
- Nan'yo
- Obanazawa
- Sagae
- Sakata
- Shinjo
- Tendo
- Tsuruoka
- Yamagata (capital)
- Yonezawa
Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each district.
Mergers and changes of municipalities
Merger: Southern Shonai (1 October 2005)
The City of Tsuruoka, the Towns of Fujishima, Atsumi, Haguro and Kushibiki and the Village of Asahi are to be merged to form the new City of Tsuruoka (Tsuruoka-Shi).
The merger of Mikawa with Tsuruoka has been postponed until 2007.
The Merger Council of Southern Shonai (in Japanese)
Merger: Northern Shonai (1 November 2005)
The City of Sakata, the Towns of Hirata, Matsuyama and Yawata are to be merged to form the new City of Sakata (Sakata-Shi).
The Merger Council of Northern Shonai (in Japanese)
Economy
Agriculture - Fruit
Yamagata Prefecture is the largest producer of cherries and pears in Japan. A large quantity of other kinds of fruits such as grapes, apples, peaches, melons, persimmons and watermelons are also produced here.
Demographics
Culture
Yamagata Prefecture has a number of annual festivals and events.
The largest is the hanagasa matsuri (花笠祭り) which takes place in Yamagata City on the first weekend in August, when thousands of people perform the hanagasa dance in the city centre and attracts up to 300,000 spectators.
In February, a snow lantern festival is held in Yonezawa at the Uesugi Shrine. Hundreds of candle-lit lanterns light pathways dug into the snow around the shrine.
Yonezawa is also the site of the Uesugi Festival (上杉祭り, uesugi matsuri) in mid-spring. The festival's highlight is a re-enactment of the 'Battle of Kawanakajima' on the banks of the Matsukawa River.
Yamagata City is the home of the bi-annual Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival in October.
Yamagata Prefecture is also known for its local dialect Yamagata-ben, sometimes thought of as backward sounding and the butt of jokes in other parts of Japan.
Transportation
Airports
- Yamagata Airport(Tokyo,Osaka,Nagoya,Sapporo byJALGroup)
- Shonai Airport(Tokyo,Osaka,Sapporo byANAGroup)
Railways(JR East)
- Yamagata_Shinkansen
- Senzan Line
- Aterazawa Line
- Yonesaka Line
- Rikuu West Line
- Rikuu East Line
- Flower Nagai Line
- Oou Main Line
- Uetsu Main Line
Tourism
The temple of Yamadera, carved into the mountainside near Yamagata City, is a major attraction.
The Dewa Sanzan are three holy mountains that form a traditional pilgrimage for followers of the Shugendo branch of Shinto. The famous Gojudo (five-story pagoda) is on one of these mountains, Haguro-san.
Mount Zao is a famous winter ski resort, also known for its snow monsters (frozen snow covered trees) in the winter, and the Okama crater lake, also known as the Goshiki Numa (Five Color Swamp) because its colour changes according to the weather.
Media
News Paper
- Yamagata Shimbun
TV & Radio
Prefectural symbols
Miscellaneous topics
External links
- Official Yamagata Prefecture homepage
- Climate in Yamagata City in English
- Travel guide to Yamagata (prefecture) from Wikitravel
| |||
| Cities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Higashine | Kaminoyama | Murayama | Nagai | Nanyo | Obanazawa | Sagae | Sakata | Shinjo | Tendo | Tsuruoka | Yamagata (capital) | Yonezawa | |||
| Districts | |||
| Akumi | Higashimurayama | Higashiokitama | Higashitagawa | Kitamurayama | Mogami | Nishimurayama | Nishiokitama | Nishitagawa | |||
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| edit | Prefectures of Japan | Image:Flag of Japan.svg |
|---|---|---|
| Aichi | Akita | Aomori | Chiba | Ehime | Fukui | Fukuoka | Fukushima | Gifu | Gunma | Hiroshima | Hokkaido | Hyogo | Ibaraki | Ishikawa | Iwate | Kagawa | Kagoshima | Kanagawa | Kochi | Kumamoto | Kyoto | Mie | Miyagi | Miyazaki | Nagano | Nagasaki | Nara | Niigata | Oita | Okayama | Okinawa | Osaka | Saga | Saitama | Shiga | Shimane | Shizuoka | Tochigi | Tokushima | Tokyo | Tottori | Toyama | Wakayama | Yamagata | Yamaguchi | Yamanashi | ||
| Regions of Japan | ||
| Hokkaido | Tohoku | Kantō | Chubu (Hokuriku - Koshinetsu - Tokai) | Kansai | Chugoku | Shikoku | Kyushu | ||
| Major Cities (Cities designated by government ordinance) | ||
| 23 wards of Tokyo | Chiba | Fukuoka | Hiroshima | Kawasaki | Kitakyushu | Kobe | Kyoto | Nagoya | Osaka | Saitama | Sapporo | Sendai | Shizuoka | Yokohama | ||
