Yamagata Prefecture

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**Yamagata Prefecture (山形県; *Yamagata-ken*)**

Capital	Yamagata
Region	Tohoku
Island	Honshū
Governor	Hiroshi Saito
Area	9,323.34 km² (9^th)
- % water	0.02%
Population (October 1, 2004)
- Population	1,223,000 (33^rd)
- Density	133 /km²
Districts	8
Municipalities	35
ISO 3166-2	JP-06
Website	http://www.pref.yamagata.jp/ english/index-e.html
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius)
- Tree	Cherry
- Bird	Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata)
Symbol of Yamagata Prefecture

Yamagata Prefecture (山形県, Yamagata-ken^?) is located in the Tohoku region on Honshū island, Japan. Its capital is Yamagata.

[edit] History

The aboriginal Ezo people (蝦夷）once inhabited the area now known as Yamagata. During the Heian Period (794-1185), the Fujiwara (藤原) family ruled the area. Yamagata City flourished during the Edo Period (1603- 1867) due to its status as a castle town and post station, famous for beni (crimson safflower dye used in the production of handspun silk). In 1649, the famous haiku poet, Matsuo Bashō visited Yamagata during his five-month trip to the northern regions of Japan. Yamagata, with Akita Prefecture, composed Dewa Province until the Meiji Restoration.

[edit] Geography

Map of Yamagata Prefecture:

Yamagata Prefecture is located in the southwest corner of Tohoku, facing the Sea of Japan. It borders 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.

[edit] Cities

Thirteen cities are located in Yamagata Prefecture:

[edit] Towns and villages

Towns and villages in each district:

Akumi District

Yuza

Higashimurayama District

Nakayama

Yamanobe

Higashiokitama District

Kawanishi

Takahata

Higashitagawa District

Mikawaǂ

Shōnai

Kitamurayama District

Ōishida

Mogami District

Nishimurayama District

Nishiokitama District

Iide

Oguni

Shirataka

ǂ Scheduled to be dissolved following mergers.

[edit] Mergers

Merger: Shōnai Town (1 July 2005)

The towns of Amarume and Tachikawa from Higashitagawa District merged to form the new town of Shōnai.

Merger: Southern Shōnai #1 (1 October 2005)

The city of Tsuruoka, the towns of Fujishima, Haguro and Kushibiki and the village of Asahi (all from Higashitagawa District) and the town of Atsumi from Nishitagawa District merged to form the new city of Tsuruoka. Nishitagawa District was dissolved as a result.
(Japanese) The Merger Council of Southern Shonai

Merger: Northern Shōnai (1 November 2005)

The city of Sakata and the towns of Hirata, Matsuyama and Yawata from Akumi District merged to form the new city of Sakata.
(Japanese) The Merger Council of Northern Shonai

[edit] Future mergers

Merger: Southern Shōnai #2 (1 February 2007)

The town of Mikawa is scheduled to merge into the city of Tsuruoka.

[edit] Economy

[edit] Fruit

Persimmons in October, Yamagata Prefecture.

Yamagata cherries, such as these, often sell for USD $30 per pound or more.

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.

[edit] Demographics

As of October 2004, Yamagata Prefecture had a population of 1,223,000 [1]. This represented a 5.3% decrease on the previous year, giving Yamagata the equal-fourth highest depopulation rate in Japan [2]. This figure consists of a 2.2% natural decrease in the population, and a net 3.1% emigration to other prefectures, again one of the highest rates in Japan.

The prefecture also has one of the oldest populations in Japan. As of 2004, 12.8% of the population was aged between 65 and 74, and 12.1% was over 75 (the fourth and third highest in Japan, respectively) [3]. Over 40% of households in Yamagata contain one or more relatives aged 65 or over (one of the three highest in Japan) [4].

[edit] Culture

[edit] Festivals and events

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. Yamagata City is the home of the bi-annual Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival in October.

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.

In September, Yamagata Prefecture is famous for its imoni, a potato stew popular in Northern Japan during the autumn. Imonikai, potato soup parties, are very popular during this season, and many tourists come to Yamagata Prefecture specifically for its particular style of imoni.

[edit] Art

Beginning in 2003, Yamagata city officials with the aid of Tohoku University of Art and Design began a three-year project in which the Buddhist art of the city’s temples would be catalogued and compared to a set of guidelines in order to identify “cultural assets.” ^[1] One hundred and ninety temples have had their works of art examined and several significant examples of Buddhist sculpture have been discovered. At Heisenji Temple, in the Hirashimizu district, a particularly rare statue, a seated Vairocana Buddha made from zelkova wood, was found. Other significant works include sculptures from the Heian Period (794-1185) and Kamakura Period (1192-1333).

The Yamagata Museum of Art, located in Yamagata City, was opened in 1964 through the efforts of a foundation led by Yoshio Hattori, the president of Yamagata Shimbun and Yamagata Broadcasting Co, Ltd. The permanent collection consists of three types of art: Japanese and Asian, regional, and French. Special exhibitions are held periodically.

[edit] Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Yamagata.

Football (soccer)

Montedio Yamagata

Volleyball

Pioneer Red Wings (Tendo)

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Airports

Yamagata Airport(Tokyo,Osaka,Nagoya,Sapporo byJALGroup)
Shonai Airport(Tokyo,Osaka,Sapporo byANAGroup)

[edit] Railways(JR East)

[edit] Tourism

Yamedera, Yamagata Prefecture.

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 at the base of Mt. Haguro, the lowest of the three mountains.

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.

[edit] Media

[edit] Newspapers

Yamagata Shimbun [5]
Yonezawa Shimbun
Shonai Nippo

[edit] TV and radio

YBC TV and Radio (NNN, JRN, and NRN)
YTS TV(ANN)
TUY TV(JNN)
SAY TV(FNN)
Boy-FM(Japan FM Network)

[edit] Prefectural symbols

[edit] Trivia

Yamagata was the last Japanese prefecture in which McDonalds opened a restaurant. It was opened in December 1990, some seven months later than the first McDonalds in the communist Soviet Union.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Japan was registered in Yamagata (40.8 C on July 25, 1933)

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. The 2004 movie Swing Girls (スウィングガールズ), co-written and directed by Shinobu Yaguchi, is set in Yamagata and makes use of Yamagata-ben for comedic purposes.