Kyoto Prefecture
From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.
Kyōto prefecture (京都府; Kyōto-fu) is part of the Kinki region on Honshu island, Japan. The capital is Kyoto. The Existence of Kyoto is so important and dominant that "Kyoto" is almost never used to mean the Kyoto prefecture. Likewise, the area outside the boundary of Kyoto city is rarely considered the part of Kyoto prefecture except by those who live there.
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| Capital | Kyoto |
| Region: | Kinki |
| Island: | Honshu |
| Area - Total |
Ranked 31st 4,612.71 km² |
| Population |
Ranked 13th 2,644,331 |
| Districts: | 12 |
| Municipalities: | 44 |
| ISO 3166-2: | JP-26 |
| Symbols | |
|---|---|
| Pref. Flower: | Weeping cherry blossom (Prunus spachiana) |
| Pref. Tree: | Kitayama Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) |
| Pref. Bird: | Streaked shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas) |
| Contents |
History
Kyoto had been for most of its history, the capital of Japan and its history can be traced back as far as 6th century. In 544 A.D., Aoi Matsuri was held in Kyoto to pray for good harvest and good weather. In 741, the capital was moved to the palace called Kuni-kyo. In 784, the capital was moved to Nagaoka-kyo. In 794, the capital was moved to Heian-kyo and this is the beginning of current day Kyoto city. Even today, almost all of the streets, houses, stores, temples and shrines in the city of Kyoto exist where they had been placed from this year.
Kyoto had rarely been touched by the war. In 1156 and 1159, two major battles, "Hogen no Ran" and "Heiji no Ran" took place near Kyoto. In 1467, "Ounin no Ran" took place inside Kyoto and many buildings were burned down. These three events are only times Kyoto had ever seen the war. Thus when a Kyoto resident say "In the last war", it is most likely about 1467 and not World War II that claimed many lives.
Kyoto Hu, or Kyoto prefecture was established in 1868 folowing Meiji Restoration and in 1989, City of Kyoto was officially born. In 1994, Kyoto celebrated its 1200 anniversaries of establishent of Heiankyo.
Geography
Kyoto is located in almost center of the Japan and has the area of 4612.71 km² and 1.2% of all lands. Kyoto is 31st in the size. To the North, Kyoto faces Sea of Japan and Fukui prefecture. To the South, it faces Osaka and Nara prefectures. To the East, it faces Mie and Siga prefectures. To the West, it faces Hyougo prefectures. Kyoto is separated in the middle by Tanba Mountains and this makes climate of Kyoto very different in the north and south.
Cities
Districts
Economy
Demographics
Culture
It is commonly said that to be a Kyoto citizen, one has to live for 10 generations and this is not a joke.
Tourism
The city of Kyoto is the tourist spot of Japan and many people from far and wide visit there. Along with Nara, Kyoto is the favorite location for the graduation trip of Elementary and Junior High school.
Few of festivals held in Kyoto are Aoi Matsuri from 544, Gion Matsuri from 869, Ine Matsuri from Edo-era, Daimonji Gozan Okuribi from 1662, and Jidai Matsuri from 1895. Every shrines and temples hold some sort of events and many of them are open to public viewing.
Prefectural symbols
Miscellaneous topics
External links
- Official Kyoto prefecture homepage (requires Macromedia Flash plugin)
| 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 | ||
de:Präfektur Kyoto
es:Prefectura de Kyoto
eo:Kiota prefektujo
fr:Préfecture de Kyoto
ko:교토부
ja:京都府
