Hyōgo Prefecture

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**Hyōgo Prefecture (兵庫県 *Hyōgo-ken*)**
Image:Map of Japan with highlight on 28 Hyogo 兵庫県.svg
Capital	Kobe
Region	Kinki
Island	Honshū
Governor	Toshizo Ido
Area	8,393.34 km² (12^th)
- % water	0.6%
Population (October 1, 2005)
- Population	5,595,212 (8^th)
- Density	667 /km²
Districts	8
Municipalities	41
ISO 3166-2	JP-28
Website	web.pref.hyogo.jp/FL/english/
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Nojigiku (Chrysanthemum japonense)
- Tree	Camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora)
- Bird	Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
Symbol of Hyōgo Prefecture

Hyōgo Prefecture (兵庫県, Hyōgo-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kinki region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.

The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Economy
4 Demographics
5 Culture
6 Sports
7 Tourism
8 Prefectural symbols
9 Miscellaneous topics
10 External links

[edit] History

Present-day Hyōgo Prefecture includes the former provinces of Harima, Tajima, Awaji, and parts of Tamba and Settsu.

In 1180, near the end of the Heian Period, Emperor Antoku, Taira no Kiyomori, and the Imperial court moved briefly to Fukuhara, in what is now the city of Kobe. There the capital remained for five months.

Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in the city of Himeji.

The Ako Han, home of the 47 Ronin, is in Hyōgo Prefecture.

Southern Hyōgo Prefecture was severely devastated by the magnitude 7.2 Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995, which destroyed major parts of Kobe and Awaji, as well as Takarazuka and neighboring Osaka prefecture, killing nearly 5500 people.

[edit] Geography

Image:HyogoMapCurrent.png

Map of Hyōgo Prefecture.

Hyōgo has coastlines on two seas: to the north, the Sea of Japan, to the south, the Inland Sea. The northern portion is sparsely populated, except for the city of Toyooka, and the central highlands are only populated by tiny villages. Most of Hyōgo's population lives on the southern coast, which is part of the Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe metropolitan area. Awaji Island is an island in the Inland Sea, lying between Honshū and Shikoku.

Summertime weather throughout Hyōgo is hot and humid. During the winter, the north side tends to get lots of snow, while the south side only gets occasional flurries.

Hyōgo borders on Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture.

[edit] Cities

Twenty-nine cities are located in Hyōgo Prefecture:

Kobe (capital)

[edit] Towns and villages

Towns and villages in each district:

Akō District

Kamigōri

Ibo District

Taishi

Kako District

Harima

Inami

Kanzaki District

Fukusaki

Ichikawa

Kamikawa

Kawabe District

Inagawa

Mikata District

Kami

Shinonsen

Sayō District

Sayō

Taka District

Taka

[edit] Mergers

(as of March 27, 2006)

Main article: Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan

April 1, 1999 — The towns of Sasayama, Nishiki, Tannan, and Konda merged into the city of Sasayama. (Taki District was dissolved as a result of this merger.) (Merger Information Page)

April 1, 2004 — The towns of Sekinomiya, Oya, Yabu, and Yoka merged to form the city of Yabu. (Yabu District was dissolved as a result of this merger.)

November 1, 2004 — The towns of Aogaki, Ichijima, Kaibara, Kasuga, Sannan, and Hikami merged to form the city of Tamba. (Hikami District was dissolved as a result of this merger.)

January 11, 2005 — The towns of Midori, Seidan, Mihara, and Nandan merged to form the city of Minamiawaji. (Mihara District was dissolved as a result of this merger.)

April 1, 2005
- The towns of Awaji, Higashiura, Hokudan, Ichinomiya, and Tsuna (all from Tsuna District) merged to form the city of Awaji.
- The towns of Asago, Ikuno, Santō, and Wadayama merged to form the city of Asago. (Asago District was dissolved as a result of this merger.) (Merger Information Page)
- The towns of Hidaka, Kinosaki, Takeno, Izushi and Tantō, as well as the city of Toyooka merged to form the new city of Toyooka. (Due to this merger and the merger of Kasumi into Kami, Kinosaki District and Izushi District were dissolved.)
- The town of Kasumi from the former Kinosaki District and the towns of Mikata from Mikata District and Muraoka from Mikata District merged to form the town of Kami in Mikata District.
- The towns of Chikusa, Haga, Ichinomiya, and Yamasaki (all from Shisō District) merged to form the city of Shisō.

October 1, 2005
- The towns of Hamasaka and Onsen (both from Mikata District) merged to form the town of Shin'onsen.
- The towns of Kōzuki, Mikazuki, Nankō, and the old town of Sayō (all from Sayō District) merged to form the new town of Sayō.
- The town of Kurodasho from Taka District and the city of Nishiwaki merged to form the new city of Nishiwaki.
- The towns of Ibogawa, Mitsu, and Shingū (all three from Ibo District) and the city of Tatsuno merged to form the new city of Tatsuno. (Tatsuno's written name changed from kanji (龍野) to hiragana (たつの) with this merger.)

October 24, 2005 — The town of Yokawa from Mino District merged into the city of Miki. (Mino District was dissolved as a result of this merger.)

November 1, 2005 — The towns of Kami, Naka, and Yachiyo (all from Taka District) merged to form the town of Taka.

November 7, 2005 — The towns of Kanzaki and Ōkawachi (both from Kanzaki District) merged to form the town of Kamikawa.

February 11, 2006 — The town of Goshiki from Tsuna District and the city of Sumoto merged to form the new city of Sumoto. (Tsuna District was dissolved with this merger.)

March 20, 2006 — The towns of Takino, Tōjō, and Yashiro (all three from Katō District) merged to form the city of Katō. (Katō District was dissolved with this merger.)

March 27, 2006 — The towns of Ieshima and Yumesaki (both from Shikama District), as well as the towns of Yasutomi from Shisō District, and the town of Kōdera from Kanzaki District merged into the city of Himeji. (Shikama District and Shisō District were both dissolved as a result of this merger.)

[edit] Future mergers

The city of Akō and the only town in Akō District, is scheduled to merge together and the city will retain the name Akō. Akō District will be defunct if the merger is successful. [1]

[edit] Economy

Hyōgo Prefecture has many heavy industries, metal and medical, and Kobe is one of the largest ports in Japan.

Hyōgo is a part of Hanshin Industrial Region. There are two research institute of Riken, natural sciences research institute in Japan, in Kobe and Harima. It has "SPring-8",a synchrotron radiation facility in Harima.

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Culture

The Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art in Nada Ward, Kobe.

[edit] Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Hyōgo.

Football (soccer)

Vissel Kobe (Kobe)

Baseball

Orix Buffaloes (Kobe)
Hanshin Tigers (Nishinomiya)

Volleyball

Hisamitsu Springs (Kobe)
JT Marvelous (NIshinomiya)

Rugby

[edit] Tourism

Image:Himeji Castle The Keep Towers.jpg

Himeji Castle

Kobe remains a popular tourist destination. To Japanese, it symbolizes contact with the West. Many homes of early American, English and European visitors still stand on the bluff overlooking the harbor. The vista of the Inland Sea remains a "million-dollar view."

The Kobe port is one of the ports which are the most famous in Japan.

The Takarazuka Revue plays in the city of Takarazuka. This is popular among Japanese tourists.

Himeji Castle receives this (and more) praise from UNESCO: "masterpiece of construction in wood, combining function with aesthetic appeal... ." Together with its historical significance and its easy access from Kyoto or Osaka by Shinkansen, Himeji Castle receives tremendous numbers of visitors annually.