Okayama Prefecture
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Okayama is the capital and largest city of Okayama Prefecture, with other major cities including Kurashiki, Tsuyama, and Sōja.[2][3][4] Okayama Prefecture's south is located on the Seto Inland Sea coast across from Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, which are connected by the Great Seto Bridge, while the north is characterized by the Chūgoku Mountains.
History
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Prior to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the area of present-day Okayama Prefecture was divided between Bitchū, Bizen and Mimasaka Provinces. Okayama Prefecture was formed and named in 1871 as part of the large-scale administrative reforms of the early Meiji period (1868–1912), and the borders of the prefecture were set in 1876.[3][5]
Geography
Government Ordinance Designated City City Town Village
Okayama Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture, and Hiroshima Prefecture.[3] It faces Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku across the Seto Inland Sea and includes 90 islands in the sea.
Okayama Prefecture is home to the historic town of Kurashiki. Most of the population is concentrated around Kurashiki and Okayama. The small villages in the northern mountain region are aging and declining in population - more than half of the prefecture's municipalities are officially designated as depopulated.[6]
As of 1 April 2014, 11% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Daisen-Oki and Setonaikai National Parks; the Hyōnosen-Ushiroyama-Nagisan Quasi-National Park; and seven Prefectural Natural Parks.[7]
Cities
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Fifteen cities are located in Okayama Prefecture:
Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each district:
Mergers
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Demographics
Per Japanese census data,[8] and,[9] Okayama prefecture has had continual negative population growth since 2005
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Education
Universities
- Okayama
- Kurashiki
- Soja
- Tsuyama
- Niimi
- Niimi Public University
High schools
- Okayama
- Kurashiki High School
- Okayama Asahi Senior High School
- Okayama Takahashi High School
- Okayama Ichinomiya Senior High School
- Okayama Hosen Senior High School
- Okayama Joto Senior High School
- Okayama Sakuyo High School[10]
- Okayama Sozan Senior High School
Transportation
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Rail
- JR West and JR Shikoku
- Chizu Express
- Ibara Railway
- Mizushima Rinkai Railway
Tramways
Roads
Expressways
- Chugoku Expressway
- Okayama Expressway
- Sanyo Expressway
- Seto Central Expressway
- Tottori Expressway
- Yonago Expressway
National highways
- Route 2 (Osaka-Kobe-Himeji-Bizen-Okayama-Kurashiki-Asakuchi-Onomichi-Hiroshima-Shūnan-Shimonoseki-Kitakyushu)
- Route 30 (Okayama-Uno-Takamatsu
- Route 53 (Okayama-Tsuyama-Tottori)
- Route 179
- Route 180 (Okayama-Takahashi-Niimi)
- Route 181 (Tsuyama-Maniwa-Yonago-Yasugi-Matsue)
- Route 182
- Route 183
- Route 250 (Okayama-Setouchi-Ako-Aioi-Takasago-Akashi)
- Route 313 (Fukuyama-Takahashi-Maniwa-Kurayoshi)
- Route 373
- Route 374
- Route 429
- Route 430
- Route 482 (Kyotango-Toyooka-Wakasa-Kagamino-Maniwa-Kōfu of Tottori
- Route 484
Airport
Culture
- Bizen-yaki (Bizen pottery)
- Bizen Osafune/Bitchu Aoe swords
Association with Momotarō legend
Okayama Prefecture is closely associated with the folklore hero, Momotarō. This tale is said to have roots in the legendary story of Kibitsuhiko-no-mikoto and Ura which explains that the Prince Ura of Kudara used to live in Kinojo (castle of the devil) and was a cause of trouble for the people living in the village. The emperor's government sent Kibitsuhiko-no-mikoto (Momotarō) to defeat Ura. The city of Okayama holds an annual Momotarō-matsuri, or Momotarō Festival.[4][11]
Arts
- Inryoji Temple
- Hayashibara Museum of Art
- Okayama Orient Museum
- Okayama Prefectural Museum
- Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art
- Okayama Symphony Hall
- Yumeji Art Museum
Sports
The sports teams listed below are based in Okayama.
Football
Volleyball
Basketball
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Tourism
Some tourist attractions are:
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- Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, Takahashi
- Brazilian Park Washuzan Highland, Kurashiki
- Kakuzan Park, Tsuyama
- Koraku-en Japanese garden in Okayama
- Ki Castle, Sōja
- Maki-do Cave, in Niimi
- Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki
- Okayama Castle, Okayama
- Shizutani School, Bizen
Notable people
- Yuko Arimori (born 1966), marathon runner[12]
- Kenji Doihara (1883–1948), army officer
- Tesshō Genda (born 1948), voice actor
- Morihiro Hashimoto (1977–2017), darts player
- Naoki Hoshino (1892–1978), politician
- Koshi Inaba (born 1964), singer
- Masaki Kajishima (born 1962), creator of Tenchi Muyo!
- Shiro Kawase (1889–1946), admiral
- Sadahiko Miyake (1891–1956), general
- Chiura Obata (1885–1975), artist
- Mori Takashi, former member of Gentouki
- Yōji Takikawa (born 1949), pedagogist
- Mutsuo Toi (1917–1938), perpetrator of the Tsuyama massacre
- Inukai Tsuyoshi (1855–1932), former Prime Minister of Japan
- Jiro Watanabe (born 1955), boxer
- Takeo Yasuda (1889–1964), lieutenant general
- Eisuke Yoshiyuki (1906–1940), author
- Fujii Kaze (born 1997), singer
- Nishimura Riki, also known as Ni-ki of ENHYPEN (born 2005), K-pop idol,[13] dancer, singer, rapper
- Issei Mamehara (born 2002), singer, dancer, member of JO1
Notes
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- ↑ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Okayama-ken" in Template:Trim&pg=PA745 Japan Encyclopedia, p. 745, p. 745, at Google Books; "Chūgoku" at Template:Trim&pg=PA127 p. 127, p. 127, at Google Books.
- ↑ Nussbaum, "Okayama" at Template:Trim&pg=PA745 p. 745, p. 745, at Google Books.
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- ↑ Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at Template:Trim&pg=PA780 p. 780, p. 780, at Google Books.
- ↑ Okayama official website Template:Webarchive accessed November 2007
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References
- Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Template:ISBN; Template:Catalog lookup link.
External links
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- Official tourism site
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