Kanagawa Prefecture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県; *Kanagawa-ken*)**

Capital	Yokohama
Region	Kantō
Island	Honshū
Governor	Shigefumi Matsuzawa
Area	2,415.42 km² (43^rd)
- % water	2.3%
Population (January 1, 2000)
- Population	8,639,665 (3^rd)
- Density	3,577 /km²
Districts	7
Municipalities	35
ISO 3166-2	JP-14
Website	www.pref.kanagawa.jp/ menu/english.htm
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Golden-rayed lily (Lilium auratum)
- Tree	Ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba)
- Bird	Common gull (Larus canus)
Symbol of Kanagawa Prefecture

Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県, Kanagawa-ken^?) is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Honshū, Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.

1 History
2 Geography
- 2.1 Cities
- 2.2 Towns and villages
3 Transportation
4 Culture
5 Sports
6 Tourism
7 Miscellaneous topics
8 External links

[edit] History

In medieval Japan, Kanagawa was part of the provinces of Sagami and Musashi.

Kamakura in central Sagami was the capital of Japan during the Kamakura period (1185-1333).

During the Edo period, the western part of Sagami Province was governed by the daimyo of Odawara Castle, while the eastern part was directly governed by the Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo (Tokyo).

Commodore Matthew Perry landed in Kanagawa in 1853 and 1854, and signed the Convention of Kanagawa to force open Japanese ports to the United States. Yokohama, the largest deep-water port in Tokyo Bay, was opened to foreign traders in 1859 after several more years of foreign pressure, and eventually developed into the largest trading port in Japan. Nearby Yokosuka, closer to the mouth of Tokyo Bay, developed as a naval port and now serves as headquarters for the U.S. 7th Fleet and the fleet operations of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

Yokohama, Kawasaki and other major cities were heavily damaged by the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923 and U.S. bombing in 1945.

[edit] Geography

Map of Kanagawa Prefecture.

Kanagawa is a relatively small prefecture wedged between Tokyo on the north, the foothills of Mount Fuji on the northwest, and the Pacific Ocean and Tokyo Bay on the south and east. The eastern side of the prefecture is relatively flat and heavily urbanized, including the large port cities of Yokohama and Kawasaki, but becomes more relaxed to the southeast, near the Miura Peninsula, where the ancient city of Kamakura draws tourists to its temples and shrines. The western part is more mountainous and includes resort areas like Odawara and Hakone.

The Tama River forms much of the boundary between Kanagawa and Tokyo. The Sagami River flows through the middle of the prefecture.

[edit] Cities

Nineteen cities are located in Kanagawa Prefecture:

Atsugi
Ayase
Chigasaki
Ebina
Fujisawa
Hadano
Hiratsuka
Isehara
Kamakura
Kawasaki
- Asao-ku
- Kawasaki-ku
- Miyamae-ku
- Nakahara-ku
- Saiwai-ku
- Takatsu-ku
- Tama-ku
Minamiashigara
Miura
Odawara
Sagamihara
Yamato

Yokohama (capital)
- Aoba-ku
- Asahi-ku
- Hodogaya-ku
- Isogo-ku
- Izumi-ku
- Kanagawa-ku
- Kanazawa-ku
- Kōhoku-ku
- Kōnan-ku
- Midori-ku
- Minami-ku
- Naka-ku
- Nishi-ku
- Sakae-ku
- Seya-ku
- Totsuka-ku
- Tsuzuki-ku
- Tsurumi-ku
Yokosuka
Zama
Zushi

[edit] Towns and villages

Aiko District
- Aikawa
- Kiyokawa
Ashigarakami District
- Kaisei
- Matsuda
- Nakai
- Oi
- Yamakita

Naka District
- Ninomiya
- Oiso
Tsukui District*
- Fujino*
- Shiroyama*

* To be dissolved in the near future.

[edit] Transportation

Kanagawa's transport network is heavily intertwined with that of Tokyo (see: Transportation in Greater Tokyo). Most air travel to Kanagawa goes through Tokyo International Airport or Narita International Airport. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen provides high-speed rail service to Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and other major cities.

[edit] Culture

Hokusai's The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.

One of the most famous Ukiyo-e paintings is In the Hollow of a Wave off the Coast at Kanagawa by Hokusai.
Kamakura city, known for its historical buildings, is a favored location used in many manga (comic) or anime (animation), including Elfen Lied, Grrl Power, Kamakura Monogatari, Koi Kaze, Lovers' Kiss, Midori no Hibi, Nagisa Me-Kōnin, Princess Comet, Saka Monogatari, Slam Dunk, Twin Spica, and The Vision of Escaflowne.
Manga or anime set in other parts of Kanagawa include: Dokaben, I'll, Kare Kano (set in Kawasaki), Kimi ga Nozomu Eien (Yokohama), Major, Neon Genesis Evangelion (Hakone), Ping Pong, s-CRY-ed, Steel Angel Kurumi, Tsuyokiss (Yokosuka), and Slam Dunk (manga).
Love Hina, the manga series by Kanagawa-native Ken Akamatsu, is set in the fictional town of Hinata, located at Kanagawa's Sagami Bay, the onsen located at 1 Hinata Street.
The setting of Tsukihime, most of them in the area of Misaki.^{[citation needed]}
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō takes place in Kanagawa after the world's oceans have risen and destroyed the coast lines.
Yokohama is sung about in many songs, including Blue Light Yokohama by Ayumi Ishida, Furimukeba Yokohama by Marcia, Isezakichō Blues by Mina Aoe, Koibito mo Nureru Machikado by Masatoshi Nakamura, Sakuragichō by Yuzu, Minato no Yōko Yokohama Yokosuka by Downtown Boogie Woogie Band, One more time, One more chance by Masayoshi Yamazaki, and Yokohama Tasogare by Hiroshi Itsuki.
Southern All Stars, one of the most successful rock bands in Japan, are originally from Kanagawa. They sing a lot of songs dedicated to the area.
Film representations of Kanagawa include: A Scene at the Sea (set in Yokosuka), The Funeral, Inamura Jane, Ping Pong, and Tengoku to Jigoku.
The students in the film version of Battle Royale live in Shiroiwa, a fictional town in the Kanagawa Prefecture (the original novel and the manga set the town in the rural Kagawa Prefecture)
TV series representations include: Abunai Deka series (set in Yokohama), Kanojo ga Shinjatta., and Shiritsu Tantei Hama Mike.
The Stephen Sondheim musical Pacific Overtures, includes the song Welcome to Kanagawa, set in a Japanese brothel. The work also includes a dramatization of the Convention of Kanagawa.
The Hakone marquetry ware which was appointed to the economy minister designated traditional industrial art object
The movie Midnight Sun (タイヨウのうた, Taiyō no Uta, officially "Song to the Sun") was filmed in the Kanagawa Prefecture. Kaoru lived in Kamakura and her first date was at Yokohama.