Shizuoka prefecture - Definition and Overview

Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県; Shizuoka-ken)

Symbol of Shizuoka Prefecture
Capital	Shizuoka (city)
Region	Chubu
Island	Honshu
Governor	Yoshinobu Ishikawa
Area	7,779.46 km² (13th)
- % water	2.6%
Population (July 19, 1999)
- Population	3,768,416 (10th)
- Density	484 /km²
Districts	12
Municipalities	74
ISO 3166-2	JP-22
Web site	www.pref.shizuoka.jp/ kikaku/ki-20/english/ (http://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/kikaku/ki-20/english/)
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Azalea (Rhododenron)
- Tree	Kinmokusei (Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus)
- Bird	Asian paradise-flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata)

Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県; Shizuoka-ken) is located in the Chubu region on Honshu island, Japan. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.

History

The prefecture was previously divided into 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 Hojo clan in the Kanto region and gave his lands to a retainer of Oda Nobunaga. After becoming shogun Tokugawa took the land back for his family.

Geography

Shizuoka Prefecture is an elongated region following the coast of the Pacific Ocean. In the west, the prefecture extends deep into the Japan Alps, while further 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.

Cities

• Atami
• Fuji
• Fujieda
• Fujinomiya
• Fukuroi
• Gotenba
• Hamakita
• Hamamatsu
• Ito
• Iwata
• Izu
• Kakegawa
• Kosai
• Mishima
• Numazu
• Omaezaki
• Shimada
• Shimoda
• Shizuoka
• Susono
• Tenryu
• Yaizu

Districts

Economy

Demographics

Culture

Tourism

Prefectural symbols

Miscellaneous topics

External links

• Official Shizuoka Prefecture homepage (http://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/kikaku/ki-20/english/index.htm)

Shizuoka Prefecture
Cities
Atami | Fuji | Fujieda | Fujinomiya | Fukuroi | Gotenba | Hamakita | Hamamatsu | Ito | Iwata | Izu | Kakegawa | Kosai | Mishima | Numazu | Omaezaki | Shimada | Shimoda | Shizuoka (capital) | Susono | Tenryu | Yaizu
Districts
Fuji | Haibara | Hamana | Ihara | Inasa | Iwata | Kamo | Ogasa | Shida | Shuchi | Sunto | Tagata

edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Template:Japan)	Prefectures of Japan
Aichi | Akita | Aomori | Chiba | Ehime | Fukui | Fukuoka | Fukushima | Gifu | Gunma | Hiroshima | Hokkaido | Hyogo | Ibaraki | Ishikawa | Iwate | Kagawa | Kagoshima | Kanagawa | Kochi | Kumamoto | Kyoto | Mie | Miyagi | Miyazaki | Nagano | Nagasaki | Nara | Niigata | Oita | Okayama | Okinawa | Osaka | Saga | Saitama | Shiga | Shimane | Shizuoka | Tochigi | Tokushima | Tokyo | Tottori | Toyama | Wakayama | Yamagata | Yamaguchi | Yamanashi
Regions of Japan
Hokkaido | Tohoku | Kanto | Chubu (Hokuriku - Koshinetsu - Tokai) | Kansai | Chugoku | Shikoku | Kyushu
Major Cities
23 wards of Tokyo | Chiba | Fukuoka | Hiroshima | Kawasaki | Kitakyushu | Kobe | Kyoto | Nagoya | Osaka | Saitama | Sapporo | Sendai | Yokohama