Kōchi Prefecture

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**Kochi Prefecture (高知県 *Kōchi-ken*)**

Capital	Kochi
Region	Shikoku
Island	Shikoku
Governor	Daijiro Hashimoto
Area	7,104.87 km² (14^th)
- % water	0.2%
Population (October 1, 2005)
- Population	796,196 (45^th)
- Density	115 /km²
Districts	6
Municipalities	35
ISO 3166-2	JP-39
Website	www.pref.kochi.jp/ index_e.html
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Yamamomo (Myrica rubra)
- Tree	Yanase Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica)
- Bird	Fairy pitta (Pitta nympha)
Symbol of Kochi Prefecture

Kōchi Prefecture (高知県, Kōchi-ken^?) is located on the south coast of Shikoku, Japan. The capital is the city of Kochi.

1 History
2 Geography
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

Prior to the Meiji Restoration, Kochi was known as Tosa Province.

[edit] Geography

Map of Kochi Prefecture.

Kochi Prefecture comprises the southwestern part of the island of Shikoku, facing the Pacific Ocean. It is the largest but least populous of Shikoku's four prefectures. Most of the province is mountainous, and in only a few areas such as around Kochi and Nakamura is there a coastal plain. Kochi is famous for its many rivers.

[edit] Cities

Eleven cities are located in Kochi Prefecture:

[edit] Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district.

Agawa District
- Harunoǂ
- Ino
- Niyodogawa
Aki District
- Geisei
- Kitagawa
- Nahari
- Tano
- Toyo
- Umaji
- Yasuda

Hata District
- Kuroshio
- Mihara
- Otsuki
Nagaoka District
- Motoyama
- Otoyo

Takaoka District
- Hidaka
- Nakatosa
- Ochi
- Sakawa
- Shimanto
- Tsuno
- Yusuhara
Tosa District
- Okawa
- Tosa

ǂScheduled to dissolve after the mergers

[edit] Mergers

(as of March 27, 2006)

Main article: Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan

On October 1, 2004 the village of Hongawa from Tosa District and the village of Gohoku from Agawa District merged with the old town of Ino (also from Agawa District) to form the new town of Ino in Agawa District.

On January 1, 2005 the villages of Tosayama and Kagami from Tosa District merged into the city of Kochi.

On February 1, 2005 the villages of Hayama and Higashitsuno from Takaoka District merged to form the new town of Tsuno.

On April 10, 2005 the city of Nakamura and the village of Nishitosa from Hata District merged to form the new city of Shimanto.

On August 1, 2005 the town of Ikegawa and the village of Agawa (both from Agawa District) and the village of Niyodo from Takaoka District merged to form the new town of Niyodogawa in Agawa District.

On January 1, 2006 the village of Onomi from Takaoka District merged into the town of Nakatosa.

On March 1, 2006, the towns of Akaoka, Kagami, Noichi and Yasu and the village of Yoshikawa (all from Kami District) merged to form the new city of Konan.

On March 1, 2006, the towns of Tosayamada and Kahoku and the village of Monobe (all from Kami District) merged to form the new city of Kami. Kami District was dissolved as a result of these mergers.