Gunma Prefecture

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**Gunma Prefecture (群馬県; *Gunma-ken*)**

Capital	Maebashi
Region	Kantō
Island	Honshū
Governor	Hiroyuki Kodera
Area	6,363.16 km² (21st)
- % water	0.2%
Population (January 10, 2005)
- Population	2,024,044 (19th)
- Density	318 /km²
Districts	8
Municipalities	39
ISO 3166-2	JP-10
Website	www.pref.gunma.jp/ english/
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Japanese azalea (Rhododendron japonicum)
- Tree	Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii)
- Bird	Copper pheasant (Phasianus soemmerringii)
- Fish	Sweetfish (Plecoglossus altivelis)
Symbol of Gunma Prefecture

Gunma Prefecture (群馬県, Gunma-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantō region on Honshū island. Its capital is Maebashi.

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

The remains of Paleolithic man going back 100,000 years were found at Iwajuku, Gunma Prefecture, in the early 20th century and there is a public museum there.

Japan was without horses until around the early centuries AD, and present-day Gunma was a center of the horsebreeding and trading activities when continental peoples and Japanese began a strong trade in the animals.

When Mt Haruna erupted in the late 6th century Japan was still in pre-history, but the Gunma Prefectural archaeology unit in 1994 was able to date the eruption through zoological anthropology at the corral sites that were buried in ash.

In the past, Gunma was joined with Tochigi Prefecture and called Kenu Province. This was later divided into Kami-kenu (Upper Kenu, Gunma) and Shimo-kenu (Lower Kenu, Tochigi). The area is sometimes referred to as Jomo (上毛, Jōmō). For most of Japanese history, Gunma was known as the province of Kozuke.

In the early period of contact between western nations and Japan, particularly the late Tokugawa, it was referred to by foreigners as the "Joushu States", inside (fudai, or loyalist) Tokugawa retainers and the Tokugawa family symbol is widely seen at public buildings, temples and shrines.

The first modern silk factories were built with Italian and French assistance at Annaka in the 1870s.

In the early Meiji period, a bloody political struggle between idealistic democratic westernizers and conservative Prussian-model nationalists took place in Gunma and neighboring Nagano. This was locally called the Gunma Incident of 1884. In it the modern Japanese army gunned down the farmers with their new Japanese-built repeating rifles. It is said that the farmers of Gunma were the first victims of the Murata rifle.

In the twentieth century, the Japanese aviation pioneer Nakajima Chikushi of Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture, founded Nakajima Aircraft. At first he produced mostly licensed models of foreign designs, but beginning with the famous all- Japanese Nakajima 91 fighter plane of 1931 his firm became a world leader in aeronautical design and manufacture, with its headquarters at Ota, Gunma Ken. That factory now produces Subaru motorcars and many other industrial products under the Fuji Heavy Industries name.

In the 1930s, the great German architect Bruno Julius Florian Taut (May 4, 1880, Königsberg, Germany - December 24, 1938, Istanbul) lived for a while and did research in Takasaki, Gunma Ken.

The Girard Incident, which disturbed US-Japanese relations in the 1950s, occurred in Gunma in 1957, at Somogahara Base near Shibukawa. Gunma has produced four modern Prime Ministers of Japan; Takeo Fukuda, Yasuhiro Nakasone, Keizo Obuchi, and Yasuo Fukuda, the son of Takeo.

Map of Gunma Prefecture.

One of only eight landlocked prefectures in Japan, Gunma is the northwestern-most prefecture of the Kantō plain. Except for the central and southeast areas, where most of the population is concentrated, it is mostly mountainous. To the north are Niigata and Fukushima prefectures, while to the east lies Tochigi. To the west lies Nagano prefecture, and Saitama is to the south.

Some of the major mountains in Gunma are Mount Akagi, Mount Haruna, Mount Myogi, Mount Nikkō-Shirane and Mount Asama, which is located on the Nagano border. Major rivers include the Tone River, the Agatsuma River, and the Karasu River.

Twelve cities are located in Gunma Prefecture:

Towns and villages in each district:

Agatsuma District

Kanra District

Kanra

Nanmoku

Shimonita

Kitagunma District

Shintō

Yoshioka

Ōra District

Sawa District

Tamamura

Seta District

Fujimi

Tano District

Kanna

Ueno

Yoshii

Tone District

(as of October 1, 2006)

Main article: Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan

On April 1, 2003, the town of Manba and the village of Nakasato from Tano District merged to form the new town of Kanna.

On December 5, 2004, the town of Ogo and the villages of Kasukawa and Miyagi from Seta District merged into the expanded city of Maebashi.

On January 1, 2005, the towns of Akabori and Sakai and the village of Azuma from Sawa District merged with city of Isesaki to create the new city of Isesaki.

On February 13, 2005, the villages of Shirasawa and Tone from Tone District merged into the expanded city of Numata.

On March 28, 2005, the towns of Nitta, Ojima, and Yabuzukahonmachi merged with the old city of Ota to form the city of Ota.

On June 13, 2005, the villages of Niisato and Kurohone from Seta District merged into the expanded city of Kiryu.

On October 1, 2005, the village of Niiharu and the former towns of Tsukiyono and Minakami merged to form the new town of Minakami.

On January 1, 2006, the town of Onishi merged into the expanded city of Fujioka.

On January 23, 2006, the municipalities of Gunma, Kurabuchi and Misato from Gunma District and the town of Shin from Tano District merged into the expanded city of Takasaki.

On February 20, 2006, the municipalities of Ikaho, Komochi and Onogami from Kitagunma District and the villages of Akagi and Kitatachibana from Seta District merged with the city of Shibukawa to create the new city of Shibukawa.

On March 18, 2006, the town of Matsuida from Usui District merged with the city of An'naka to create the new city of An'naka. Usui District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

On March 27, 2006, the towns of Omama and Kasakake and the village of Azuma merged to form the city of Midori. Nitta District and Yamada District were dissolved as a result of this merger.

On March 27, 2006, the town of Myogi from Kanra District merged with the city of Tomioka to create the new city of Tomioka.

On March 27, 2006, the towns of Agatsuma and Azuma from Agatsuma District merged to form the new town of Higashiagatsuma.

On October 1, 2006, the town of Haruna from Gunma District merged into the city of Takasaki. Gunma District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

Because Gunma is situated in inland Japan, the difference in temperature in the summer compared to the winter is large, and there is less precipitation. This is because of the kara-kaze, a strong, dry wind which occurs in the winter when the snow falls on the coasts of Niigata. The wind carrying clouds with snow bang into the Echigo Mountain Range, and it also snows there, although the high peaks do not let the wind go past them. For this reason, the wind changes into the kara-kaze.

Climate in Maebashi
- Average yearly precipitation: 1,163 mm
- Average yearly temperature: 14.2 degrees Celsius

Gunma's modern industries include transport equipment and electrical equipment, concentrated around Maebashi and the eastern region nearest Tokyo. More traditional industries include sericulture and agriculture. As for agriculture, Gunma's major products include cabbages and konjacs. Gunma produces 90% of Japan's konjacs, and two-thirds of the farms in the village of Tsumagoi are cabbage farms. Also, the city of Ōta is famous for car industry, notably the Subaru factory.

Gunma has a traditional card game called Jomo Karuta (上毛かるた). Both children and old people can enjoy this card game. Mitsuru Adachi, one of the most famous Japanese manga writers, well-known for "Touch" and "H2",was born in Gunma.

The sports teams listed below are based in Gunma.

Football (soccer)

Thespa Kusatsu (Kusatsu)
Arte Takasaki (Takasaki)

Rugby

Sanyo Wild Knights (Ota)

Gunma is also famous for its ski resorts in the mountains, which attracts many tourists.

Many places in Gunma are famous for their hot spring resorts. Another draw to the mountainous Gunma is the ski resorts.

Other attractions include:

The prefectural symbol consists of the first kanji of the word 'Gunma' surrounded by three stylized mountains symbolizing the three important mountains of Gunma Prefecture: Mount Haruna, Mt. Akagi, and Mt. Myogi.