Shizuoka Prefecture

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Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県 Shizuoka-ken)
Map of Japan with Shizuoka highlighted
Capital Shizuoka
Region Chūbu
Island Honshū
Governor Yoshinobu Ishikawa
Area (rank) 7,779.63 km² (13th)
 - % water 2.6%
Population  (October 1, 2005)
 - Population 3,792,457 (10th)
 - Density 487 /km²
Districts 9
Municipalities 42
ISO 3166-2 JP-22
Website [http://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/a_foreign/english/

www.pref.shizuoka.jp/
a_foreign/english/]

Prefectural Symbols
 - Flower Azalea (Rhododenron)
 - Tree Sweet Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus)
 - Bird Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata)
Symbol of Shizuoka Prefecture
Symbol of Shizuoka Prefecture

Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県 Shizuoka-ken?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.

Contents

[edit] History

The prefecture was previously divided into Tōtōmi Province, Suruga Province and Izu Province. The most noted history of the prefecture is that it was once home to the first Tokugawa Shogun.

The region was held by Tokugawa Ieyasu until he conquered the lands of the Hōjō clan in the Kantō region and gave his lands to the stewardship of Oda Nobunaga. After becoming shogun Tokugawa took the land back for his family, particularly putting the area around modern-day Shizuoka city under direct shogunal supervision.

It once again became the residence of the Tokugawa family after 1868, with the creation of Shizuoka han.

[edit] Geography

Map of Shizuoka Prefecture.
Map of Shizuoka Prefecture.

Shizuoka Prefecture is an elongated region following the coast of the Pacific Ocean at the Suruga Bay. In the west, the prefecture extends deep into the Japan Alps, while farther east it becomes a narrower coast bounded on the north by Mount Fuji, until it comes to the Izu Peninsula, a popular resort area pointing south into the Pacific.

[edit] Tokai earthquakes

Every 100–150 years, an earthquake of disastrous proportions called the Tokai Earthquake occurs in the Shizuoka Prefecture. The previous earthquake was in 1854.

[edit] Cities

Twenty-three cities are located in Shizuoka Prefecture:

Hamakita-ku
Higashi-ku
Kita-ku
Minami-ku
Naka-ku
Nishi-ku
Tenryū-ku
Shimizu-ku
Aoi-ku
Suruga-ku

[edit] Towns

Towns in each district:

Shibakawa
Kawane
Kawanehon
Yoshida
Arai
Fujikawa
Yui
Higashiizu
Kawazu
Matsuzaki
Minamiizu
Nishiizu
Ōigawa
Okabe
Mori
Nagaizumi
Oyama
Shimizu
Kannami

‡ Scheduled to be dissolved following mergers.

[edit] Mergers

[edit] Future mergers

[edit] Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Shizuoka.

Football (soccer)

Volleyball

Rugby


[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:


Shadow picture of Shizuoka Prefecture Shizuoka Prefecture
Flag of Shizuoka Prefecture
Cities
Atami | Fuji | Fujieda | Fujinomiya | Fukuroi | Gotemba | Hamamatsu | Itō | Iwata | Izu | Izunokuni | Kakegawa | Kikugawa | Kosai | Makinohara | Mishima | Numazu | Omaezaki | Shimada | Shimoda | Shizuoka (capital) | Susono | Yaizu
Districts
Fuji | Haibara | Hamana | Ihara | Kamo | Shida | Shūchi | Suntō | Tagata
  See also: Towns and villages by district edit

Coordinates: 34°55′N, 138°19′E