Shizuoka Prefecture

Coordinates: 34°55′N 138°19′E / 34.917°N 138.317°E / 34.917; 138.317
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Shizuoka Prefecture
静岡県
Japanese transcription(s)
 • Japanese静岡県
 • RōmajiShizuoka-ken
Sweet osmanthus
(Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus)

Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県, Shizuoka-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu.[2] As of September 2023, Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of 7,777.42 km2 (3,002.88 sq mi). Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northeast, Nagano Prefecture to the north, and Aichi Prefecture to the west.

Fuji International Speedway
.

View of Mt. Fuji from Numazu

History

Shizuoka Prefecture was established from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.[4]

The area was the home of the first Tokugawa shōgun.[citation needed] Tokugawa Ieyasu held the region until he conquered the lands of the Hōjō clan in the Kantō region and placed land under the stewardship of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After becoming shōgun, Tokugawa took the land back for his family and put the area around modern-day Shizuoka City under the direct supervision of the shogunate. With the creation of the Shizuoka han from the Sunpu Domain in 1868, it once again became the residence of the Tokugawa family.

Geography

Shizuoka Prefecture is an elongated region following the coast of the

Japan Alps. In the east, it becomes a narrower coast bounded in the north by Mount Fuji, until it comes to the Izu Peninsula, a popular resort area pointing south into the Pacific.[citation needed
]

As of April 2012,[update] 11% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as natural parks, namely the Fuji-Hakone-Izu and Minami Alps National Parks; Tenryū-Okumikawa Quasi-National Park; and four Prefectural Natural Parks.[5]

Climate

In Shizuoka prefecture, the temperature, over the course of the year, typically varies from 34 °F to 87 °F and is rarely below 28 °F or above 93 °F. The summers in Shizuoka are warm, oppressive, and mostly cloudy; the winters are very cold, windy, and mostly clear.[6]

Disaster

On 15 March 2011, Shizuoka Prefecture was hit with

Shizuoka City
. It is said, that throughout history, Shizuoka area has experienced a large earthquake every 100 to 150 years.

Demographics

Shizuoka prefecture population pyramid in 2020

3,635,220 people live in Shizuoka Prefecture, according to the 2020 census.[7]

Municipalities

Since 2010, Shizuoka has consisted of 35

towns
.

Yaizu焼津市
Higashiizu東伊豆町
Higashiizu東伊豆町
Kawazu河津町
Kawazu河津町
Minamiizu南伊豆町
Minamiizu南伊豆町
Matsuzaki松崎町
Matsuzaki松崎町
Nishiizu西伊豆町
Nishiizu西伊豆町
Kannami函南町
Kannami函南町
Kawanehon川根本町
Kawanehon川根本町
Yoshida吉田町
Yoshida吉田町
Mori森町
Mori森町
Nagaizumi長泉町
Nagaizumi長泉町
Oyama小山町
Oyama小山町
Shimizu清水町
Shimizu清水町
Municipalities in Shizuoka Prefecture      Government Ordinance Designated City      City      Town

Mergers

After the introduction of modern municipalities in 1889, Shizuoka consisted of 337 municipalities: 1 (by definition: district-independent) city and 23 districts with 31 towns and 305

villages
. The Great Shōwa mergers of the 1950s reduced the total from 281 to 97 between 1953 and 1960, including 18 cities by then. The Great Heisei mergers of the 2000s combined the 74 remaining municipalities in the year 2000 into the current 35 by 2010.

List of governors of Shizuoka (since 1947)

# Name
(Birth–Death)
Term of office Political Party
1 Takeji Kobayashi (小林武治)
(1899–1988)
23 April 1947 22 April 1951 Independent
2 Toshio Saito (斎藤寿夫)
(1908–1999)
1 May 1951 8 January 1967 Liberal Party (1951–1959)
Liberal Democratic Party (1959–1967)
3 Yutaro Takeyama (竹山祐太郎)
(1901–1982)
31 January 1967 24 June 1974 LDP
4 Keizaburo Yamamoto (山本敬三郎)
(1913–2006)
10 June 1974 6 July 1986 LDP
5 Shigeyoshi Saito (斉藤滋与史)
(1918–2018)
7 July 1986 23 June 1993 LDP
6 Yoshinobu Ishikawa (石川嘉延)
(born in 1940)
3 August 1993 17 June 2009 Independent
7 Heita Kawakatsu (川勝平太)
(born in 1948)
7 July 2009 Incumbent Independent

Industry

Motorcycles

Shizuoka-based companies are world leaders in several major industrial sectors. Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki all have their roots in Shizuoka prefecture and are still manufacturing here. Thanks to this, Shizuoka pref. accounts for 28% of Japanese motorcycle exports.[8]

Musical instruments

Yamaha and Kawai are both global piano brands. Yamaha has the largest share in the global piano market. Kawai has the second largest share. They both got their start in Shizuoka pref. in the early twentieth century.[8][9]

Yamaha and Roland are major brand for electronic musical instruments. In the electronic piano world market, Yamaha has the world's largest share. Roland and Kawai have the second and third place share. Roland and Yamaha also manufacture high-quality synthesizers and drum machines for professional musicians.

In addition, various instruments such as wind instruments and guitars are manufactured in this prefecture. There are about 200 companies that manufacture musical instruments, in this prefecture.

Most of these musical instruments are especially produced in Hamamatsu City.[9]

Transportation

Rail

Tōkaidō Shinkansen
Minobu Line
Izuhakone Railway
Gakunan Railway
Ōigawa Railway

Roads

Expressways

Toll roads

  • Shizuoka East-West Road
  • Shizuoka South-North Road
  • West Fuji Road (not a toll road anymore as of 2012)
  • Fujinomiya Road
  • Nishi-Fuji Road

National highways

Airports

Shizuoka Airport

Ports

  • Shimizu Port
  • Atami Port and Shimoda Port - Mainly ferry route to Izu Island
  • Numazu Port

Education

Universities

National universities

Public universities

Private universities

Senior high schools

Sports

IAI Stadium Nihondaira in Shimizu-ku.

The sports teams listed below are based in Shizuoka.

Basketball

Motorsport

  • Fuji International Speedway

Rugby

Football

Volleyball

Tourism

Museums

Theme parks

  • Air Park Japan Air Self-Defense Force Hamamatsu Public Information Building)[10]
  • Shimizu Sushi Museum[11]

Festivals and events

A kite festival in Hamamatsu, May 2013
  • Shimoda Black Ship Festival, held in May
  • Shimizu Port Festival, held on August 5 to 7
  • Shizuoka Festival, held in April
  • Daidogei World Cup in central
    Shizuoka City
    , held in November
  • Enshu Daimyo Festival in Iwata, held in April
  • Numazu Festival, held in July
  • Mishima Festival, held in August

Notes

  1. ^ "2020年度国民経済計算(2015年基準・2008SNA) : 経済社会総合研究所 - 内閣府". 内閣府ホームページ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  2. ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Shizuoka-ken" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 876, p. 876, at Google Books; "Chūbu" in p. 126, p. 126, at Google Books
  3. ^ Nussbaum, "Shizuoka" at p. 876, p. 876, at Google Books.
  4. ^ Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780, p. 780, at Google Books.
  5. ^ "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  6. ^ weatherspark, Shizuoka prefecture.
  7. ^ Shizuoka prefecture official statistics(令和2年国勢調査 静岡県の人口(速報値))
  8. ^ a b Shizuoka Prefecture official website, Industry in Shizuoka.
  9. ^ a b (In Japanese) Kyoto University of Arts, Musical instruments industry in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture.
  10. ^ "About Air Park Japan Air Self-Defense Force Hamamatsu Public Information Building - Shizuoka Travel Guide | Planetyze". Planetyze. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  11. ^ "About Shimizu Sushi Museum - Shizuoka Travel Guide | Planetyze". Planetyze. Retrieved 2017-11-17.

References

External links