Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Nara Prefecture
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Capital | Nara |
| Region | Kinki |
| Island | Honshū |
| Governor | Yoshiya Kakimoto |
| Area | 3,691.09 km² (40th) |
| - % water | 0.5% |
| Population (April 1, 2005) | |
| - Population | 1,425,839 (29th) |
| - Density | 386 /km² |
| Districts | 7 |
| Municipalities | 39 |
| ISO 3166-2 | JP-29 |
| Website | www.pref.nara.jp/english/ |
| Prefectural Symbols | |
| - Flower | Nara yae zakura (Prunus verecunda cultivar) |
| - Tree | Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) |
| - Bird | Japanese robin (Erithacus akahige) |
 Symbol of Nara Prefecture |
|
Nara Prefecture (奈良県 Nara-ken?) is part of the Kinki region on Honshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.
Contents |
- See also: Asuka Period and Nara period, especially for history pre-Heian Period
Statue at Tōdai-ji
The present-day Nara Prefecture has been created in 1887, becoming independent from Osaka Prefecture.
Historically, Nara Prefecture was also known as Yamato-no-kuni or Yamato Province.
It is certain that a political force established at the foot of Mt. Miwa in the east of Nara basin succeeded in unifying most parts of Japan from the third century until the fourth century, though the process was not well documented. At the dawn of history Yamato was clearly the political center of Japan.
In 7th century, Nara accepted the many Korean refugees who had escaped from war disturbances of the southern part of a Korean peninsula. The royal court also established relations with Sui and then Tang Dynasty China and sent students to the Middle Kingdom to learn high civilization. Ancient capitals of Japan were built on the land of Nara, namely Asuka-kyō, Fujiwara-kyō (694-710) and Heijō-kyō (most of 710-784), the last believed to have been modelled after the Chinese capital at the time, Chang'an (today's Xi'an). The first high civilization with royal patronage of Buddhism flourished in today's Nara city (710–784 AD).
In 784, Emperor Kammu has decided to relocate the capital to Nagaoka-kyō in the Yamashiro Province, followed by another move in 794 to Heian-kyō, marking the start of the Heian Period. The temples in Nara remained powerful beyond the move of political capital, thus giving Nara a synonym of Nanto (lit. meaning "South Capital") as opposed to Heian-kyō, situated in the North. Close at the end of Heian period, Taira no Shigehira, a son of Taira no Kiyomori, was ordered by his father to depress the power of mainly Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji, who were backing up an opposition group headed by Prince Mochihito. The movement has led into a collision between the Taira and the Nara temples in 1180, when eventually Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji were put on fire, resulting in the vast loss of its architectures.
At the rise of the Minamoto to its ruling seat and the opening of Kamakura Shogunate, Nara enjoyed the backup by Minamoto no Yoritomo towards restoration. Notably Kōfuku-ji, being the "home temple" to the Fujiwara since its foundation, not only regained the power it had before but became a defacto regional chief of Yamato Province.
Later, however, many local samurai clans sprang up and fought with each other. The Tokugawa Shogunate, ultimately unifying warring lords, directly ruled the city of Nara and most parts of Yamato province with a few feudal lords allocated at Koriyama, Takatori and other places. With the commercial economy developing in the eighteenth century, the economy of the province was incorporated into prosperous Osaka, the commercial capital of Japan at that time. The economic dependency to Osaka characterizes even today's Nara Prefecture, for many inhabitants commute to Osaka to work or study there.
Nara Prefecture is part of the Kansai, or Kinki, region of Japan, and is located in the middle of the Kii Peninsula on the western half of Honshū. Nara Prefecture is landlocked. It is bordered to the west by Wakayama Prefecture and Osaka Prefecture; on the north by Kyoto Prefecture and on the east by Mie Prefecture.
Nara Prefecture is 78.5 km from East to West and 103.6 km from North to South. Its inhabitable area is 851 km², smallest of the 47 prefectures of Japan. The ratio of inhabitable area over total area is 23%, ranked 43rd nationwide.[1] Most of the inhabitable area is on the Nara Basin, situated in the northwestern corner of the prefecture facing Osaka and Kyoto, thus urban development concentrates there, including not only Nara city but all other cities.
The basin is completely bounded by mountains, with the tallest one in Kansai region located in the south of the prefecture.
The climate of Nara Prefecture is overall warm, while there are important differences between the north-western basin area and the rest of the prefecture, that is, in the mountains.
In the basin, where most of the population concentrates, the climate has an inland characteristics, as represented in the bigger temperature variance within the same day, and the difference of summer and winter temperatures. Winter temperatures average about 3 to 5°C, and 25 - 28°C in the summer with highest reaching close to 35°C. There is not a single year over the last decade (since 1990, upto 2007) with more than 10 days of snowfall recorded by Nara Local Meteorological Observatory.
The climate in the rest of the prefecture are mountaneous, and especially in the south, with below −5°C being the extreme minimum in winter. Heavy rainfall is observed in summer. The annual accumulated rainfall ranges as much as 3000 to 5000 mm, which is among the heaviest in Japan.
Spring and fall are both temperate and beautiful. The mountainous region of Yoshino has been popular both historically and presently for its beautiful cherry blossoms in the spring. Yoshino and Omine, in these mountains, recently shared the honor of designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In the fall, the southern mountains are equally beautiful with the changing of the oak trees.
Twelve cities are located in Nara Prefecture:
|
Towns and villages in each district:
| District | Towns/villages |
|---|---|
| Ikoma | Ando · Heguri · Ikaruga · Sangou |
| Kitakatsuragi | Kanmaki · Kawai · Koryo · Ōji |
| Shiki | Kawanishi · Miyake · Tawaramoto |
| Takaichi | Asuka · Takatori |
| Uda | Mitsue · Soni |
| Yamabe | Yamazoe |
| Yoshino | Higashiyoshino · Kamikitayama · Kawakami · Kurotaki · Nosegawa · Ōyodo · Shimoichi · Shimokitayama · Tenkawa · Totsukawa · Yoshino |
(as of 01/07/06)
- On October 1, 2004 the towns of Shinjo and Taima from Kitakatsuragi District merged to form the new city of Katsuragi.
- On April 1, 2005 the villages of Tsuge from Yamabe District and Tsukigase from Soekami District merged into the city of Nara. Soekami District was dissolved as a result of this merger.
- On September 25, 2005 the villages of Oto and Nishiyoshino from Yoshino District merged into the city of Gojo.
- On January 1, 2006 the towns of Haibara, Ouda and Utano and the village of Murou (all from Uda District) merged to form the new city of Uda.
- Modern prefectural government was established in 1871. Prefectural governors were appointed by the central government until elected in 1947.
- Mr. Yoshiya Kakimoto, who long served for the central government, has continued to be elected as governor since 1991.
The 2004 total gross prefecture product (GPP) for Nara was ¥3.8 trillion, an 0.1% growth over previous year. The per capita income was ¥2.6 million, which is a 1.3% decrease from previous year. The 2004 total gross prefecture product (GPP) for Nara was ¥3.8 trillion, an 0.1% growth over previous year. Manufacturing has the biggest share in the GPP of Nara with 20.2% of share, followed by services (19.1%) and real estates (16.3%). The share of agriculture including forestry and fishery was a mere 1.0%, only above mining, which is quasi-inexistent in Nara.[2]
- Tourism is treated by the prefectural government as one of the most important features of Nara, because of its natural beauty and historical significance.
- Nara is famed for its persimmon. Strawberry and tea are some other popular products of the prefecture, while rice and vegetables, including spinach, tomato, eggplants and others are the dominant in terms of amount of production.
- Nara is a center for the production of instruments used in conducting traditional Japanese artforms. Brush and ink (sumi) are the best known products from Nara for calligraphy. Wooden or bamboo instruments, especially from Takayama area (in Ikoma city) are famous products for tea ceremony.
- Goldfish from Yamatokoriyama in Nara is a traditional aquacultural product since 18th century.
- Due to its rich history, Nara is also the location of many archeological digs, with many famous ones being located in the village of Asuka.
According to the 2005 Census of Japan, Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,421,367, which is a decrease of 1.5%, since the year 2000.[1]
Because of its background, the better part of Nara's culture can only be described through learning the history of Japan, notably in Nara Period.
Nara is currently in its preparation to celebrate the 1300th anniversary of the opening of Heijo Palace.
Many Jinja (Shinto shrines) and Buddhist temples, and kofun exist in Nara Prefecture, and many tourists are visiting there. Moreover, many world heritage sites, such as the temple Tōdai-ji and Kasuga Shrine, exist in the capital city of Nara.
|
Buddhist monuments
|
Ancient Nara monuments
|
Sacred sites and pilgrimage routes
|
|
Buddhist temples
|
Shinto shrines
|
|
Kofun and heritage
|
Hot springs
|
|
Mountains
|
Other attractions
|
||||||||||||||||||
 JR Nara Station |
 Isonokami Jingu, a Shinto shrine in Tenri. |
 Tōdai-ji |
 The Daibutsu |
 Kasuga Shrine |
- ^ a b 奈良県統計情報 "100の指標" ("100 Indices of Nara" by Nara Statistics Division, Nara Prefecture) (Japanese). Retrieved on March 17, 2007.
- ^ 奈良県民経済計算 (Nara kenmin keizai keisan Nara Prefectural Economy). Nara Prefecture (2002-04-09). Retrieved on March 28, 2007. English page with much less details are available here.
- Official Nara Prefecture homepage
- Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area (UNESCO)
- Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (UNESCO)
- Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (UNESCO)
- Map of Nara Prefecture
- Photos of Nara's temples & shrines
- Nara Tourist Information Center
- Commemorative Events of the 1300th Anniversary of Nara Heijo-kyo Capital
Nara Prefecture|
Cities |
|
Districts |
| See also: Towns and villages in Nara Prefecture by district |
Regions
Hokkaidō · Tōhoku · Kantō · Chūbu (Hokuriku • Kōshinetsu • Tōkai • Chūkyō) · Kansai · Chūgoku · Shikoku · Kyūshū · Ryūkyū
Prefectures
Aichi · Akita · Aomori · Chiba · Ehime · Fukui · Fukuoka · Fukushima · Gifu · Gunma · Hiroshima · Hokkaidō · Hyōgo · Ibaraki · Ishikawa · Iwate · Kagawa · Kagoshima · Kanagawa · Kōchi · Kumamoto · Kyōto · Mie · Miyagi · Miyazaki · Nagano · Nagasaki · Nara · Niigata · Ōita · Okayama · Okinawa · Ōsaka · Saga · Saitama · Shiga · Shimane · Shizuoka · Tochigi · Tokushima · Tōkyō · Tottori · Toyama · Wakayama · Yamagata · Yamaguchi · Yamanashi
Designated cities
Special wards of Tokyo · Chiba · Fukuoka · Hamamatsu · Hiroshima · Kawasaki · Kitakyushu · Kobe · Kyoto · Nagoya · Niigata · Osaka · Saitama · Sakai · Sapporo · Sendai · Shizuoka · Yokohama