The San'yō Region (山陽 地方 San'yō-chihō) is an area in the south of Honshū, the main island of Japan.[1] It consist of the southern part of the Chūgoku region, facing the Seto Inland Sea. The name San'yo means "southern, sunny (yō) side of the mountains" and contrasts with the San'in or "northern, shady (in) side of the mountains".
The region is generally considered to include the prefectures of Okayama, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi. Sometimes, Harima area in Hyōgo is considered to be included in this group.
The San'yō encompasses the pre-Meiji provincial areas of Harima, Mimasaka, Bizen, Bitchu, Bingo, Aki, Suō and Nagato.[2]
Due to its closer and faster access to Osaka, Kyoto and ultimately Tokyo, plus the fact that Japan looked away from Asia for Western-style development during the Meiji period and beyond, the San'yō region has always been considered the better-developed area of Chugoku.
Contents |
The region is served by the Sanyō Main Line and Sanyō Shinkansen.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||