Everything about Nara Prefecture totally explained
is a
prefecture in the
Kinki region on
Honshū Island,
Japan. The capital is the city of
Nara.
History
, especially for history pre-Heian Period
The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of
Osaka Prefecture.
Historically, Nara Prefecture was also known as
Yamato-no-kuni or Yamato Province.
Up to Nara Period
It is certain that a political force established at the foot of
Mount Miwa in the east of Nara Basin, seeking unification of most parts in Japan from the third century until the fourth century, though the process wasn't well documented. At the dawn of history, Yamato was clearly the political center of Japan.
Ancient capitals of Japan were built on the land of Nara, namely
Asuka-kyō,
Fujiwara-kyō (694–710) and
Heijō-kyō (most of 710–784). The capital cities of Fujiwara and Heijō are believed to have been modeled after Chinese capitals at the time, incorporating grid layout patterns. The royal court also established relations with
Sui and then
Tang Dynasty China and sent students to the Middle Kingdom to learn high civilization. By 7th century, Nara accepted the many immigrants including Korean refugees who had escaped from war disturbances of the southern part of the
Korean peninsula. The first high civilization with royal patronage of
Buddhism flourished in today's Nara city (710–784 AD).
Nara in the Heian period
In 784,
Emperor Kammu decided to relocate the capital to
Nagaoka-kyō in
Yamashiro Province, followed by another move in 794 to
Heian-kyō, marking the start of the
Heian period.
The temples in Nara remained powerful beyond the move of political capital, thus giving Nara a synonym of
Nanto (meaning "South Capital") as opposed to Heian-kyō, situated in the north. Close at the end of Heian period,
Taira no Shigehira, a son of
Taira no Kiyomori, was ordered by his father to depress the power of mainly
Kōfuku-ji and
Tōdai-ji, who were backing up an opposition group headed by
Prince Mochihito. The movement has led into a collision between the
Taira and the Nara temples in 1180, when eventually
Kōfuku-ji and
Tōdai-ji were set on fire, resulting in the vast loss of its architectures.
Middle age Nara
At the rise of the
Minamoto to its ruling seat and the opening of
Kamakura Shogunate, Nara enjoyed the support of
Minamoto no Yoritomo toward restoration.
Kōfuku-ji, being the "home temple" to the
Fujiwara since its foundation, not only regained the power it had before but became a
de facto regional chief of Yamato Province. With the recovery of
Kōfuku-ji and
Tōdai-ji, there was a town growing near the two temples.
The
Nanboku-chō period, starting in 1336, brought more instability to Nara. As
Emperor Go-Daigo chose
Yoshino as his base, a power struggle arose in Kōfuku-ji with a group supporting the South and another siding the North court. Likewise, local clans were split into two. Kōfuku-ji recovers its control over the province for a short time at the surrender of the South Court in 1392, while the internal power game of the temple itself opened a way for the local samurai clans to spring up and fight with each other, gradually acquire their own territories, thus diminishing the influence of Kōfuku-ji overall.
The Sengoku, Edo periods and beyond
Later the whole province of Yamato got drawn into the confusion of the
Sengoku period. Tōdai-ji was once again set on fire in 1567, when
Matsunaga Hisahide, who was later appointed by
Oda Nobunaga to the lord of Yamato Province, fought for supremacy against his former master
Miyoshi family. Followed by short appointments of
Tsutsui Junkei and
Toyotomi Hidenaga by
Toyotomi Hideyoshi to the lord, the
Tokugawa Shogunate ultimately ruled the city of Nara directly, and most parts of Yamato province with a few feudal lords allocated at
Kōriyama,
Takatori and other places. With industry and commerce developing in the 18th century, the economy of the province was incorporated into prosperous
Osaka, the commercial capital of Japan at the time.
The economic dependency to Osaka characterizes even today's Nara Prefecture, for many inhabitants commute to Osaka to work or study there.
Geography
Nara Prefecture is part of the
Kansai, or Kinki, region of Japan, and is located in the middle of the
Kii Peninsula on the western half of Honshū. Nara Prefecture is landlocked. It is bordered to the west by
Wakayama Prefecture and
Osaka Prefecture; on the north by
Kyoto Prefecture and on the east by
Mie Prefecture.
Nara Prefecture is 78.5 km from East to West and 103.6 km from North to South.
The prefecture is covered by mountains and forests for most of its part, leaving only an inhabitable area of 851 km², smallest of the 47 prefectures of Japan. The ratio of inhabitable area over total area is 23%, ranked 43rd nationwide.
Geologically, Nara Prefecture is bisected by the Median
Tectonic Line (MTL) running through its territory East-West, along
Yoshino River. On the north side is located the so-called Inner Zone, where North-South active
faults are shaping the landscape. There is Ikoma Mountains in the north-west forming a border line between Osaka, then the Nara Basin laid out next to it in the east, where the highest population of Nara Prefecture concentrates. Further to the east is the Kasagi Mountains separating the basin from Yamato Highlands. In the south of the MTL, the Outer Zone, is the Kii Mountains. This mountainous area occupies about 60% of the prefecture's land. The Ōmine Mountain Range is in the center of the Kii Mountains running North-South, with steep valleys on its both sides. The 1915m high tallest mountain of Nara and Kansai, the
Hakken-zan is in this range. In the west side separating Nara from Wakayama is the Obako Mountain Range, with its 1300m class mountains. On the east end bordering Mie is the Daikō Mountain Range, including the 1695m high
Mount Ōdaigahara. This wide mountain area is also home to sites collectively inscribed as the "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range" by UNESCO.
Climate
The climate of Nara Prefecture is overall warm, while there are important differences between the north-western basin area and the rest of the prefecture, that is, in the mountains.
In the basin area the climate has an inland characteristics, as represented in the bigger temperature variance within the same day, and the difference of summer and winter temperatures. Winter temperatures average about 3 to 5°C, and 25 - 28°C in the summer with highest reaching close to 35°C. There isn't a single year over the last decade (since 1990, up to 2007) with more than 10 days of snowfall recorded by Nara Local Meteorological Observatory.
The climate in the rest of the prefecture are mountainous, and especially in the south, with below −5°C being the extreme minimum in winter. Heavy rainfall is observed in summer. The annual accumulated rainfall ranges as much as 3000 to 5000 mm, which is among the heaviest in Japan.
Spring and fall are both temperate and beautiful. The mountainous region of
Yoshino has been popular both historically and presently for its beautiful
cherry blossoms in the spring. In the fall, the southern mountains are equally beautiful with the changing of the
oak trees.
Cities
Twelve cities are located in Nara Prefecture:
Towns and villages
Towns and villages in each
district:
Mergers
Demographics
| Population by districts |
| District |
Area Size
(km²) |
Population |
Density
per km² |
| Yamato flat inland plain |
837.27 |
1,282 |
1,531 |
| (Share in %) |
22.7% |
89.7% |
|
| Yamato highland |
506.89 |
56 |
110 |
| (Share in %) |
13.7% |
3.9% |
|
| Gojō, Yoshino |
2,346.84 |
92 |
39 |
| (Share in %) |
63.6% |
6.4% |
|
| Total Prefecture |
3,691.09 |
1,430 |
387 |
| (Share in %) |
100.0% |
100.0% |
|
According to the 2005 Census of Japan, Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,421,310, which is a decrease of 1.5%, since the year 2000.
The decline continued in 2006, with another decrease of 4,987 people compared to 2005. This includes a natural decrease from previous year of 288 people (11,404 births minus 11,692 deaths) and a decrease due to net domestic migration of 4,627 people outbound from the prefecture, and a decrease of 72 registered foreigners. Net domestic migration has turned into a continuous outbound trend since 1998. The largest destinations of migration in 2005 were the prefectures of Kyoto, Tokyo and Hyōgo, with respectively a net of 1,130, 982 and 451 people moving over. The largest inbound migration was from
Niigata Prefecture, contributing to a net increase of 39 people. 13.7% of its population were reported as under 15, 65.9% between 15 and 64, and 20.4% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 52.5% of the population.
As of 2004, the average density of the prefecture is 387 people per km². By districts, the so-called Yamato flat inland plain holds as much as about 90% of total population within the approximately 23% size of area in the north-west, including the Nara
Basin, representing a density of 1,531 people per km². To the contrast, the combined district Gojō and
Yoshino District occupies almost 64% of the land, while only 6% of people lives there, resulting in a density of 39 people km².
Nara prefecture had the highest rate in Japan of people commuting outbound for work, at 30.9% in 2000. A similar tendency is seen in prefecutes as
Saitama,
Chiba and
Kanagawa, all three of them having over 20% of people commuting for other prefectures.
Economy
The 2004 total gross prefecture product (GPP) for Nara was ¥3.8 trillion, an 0.1% growth over previous year. The per capita income was ¥2.6 million, which is a 1.3% decrease from previous year. The 2004 total gross prefecture product (GPP) for Nara was ¥3.8 trillion, an 0.1% growth over previous year. Manufacturing has the biggest share in the GPP of Nara with 20.2% of share, followed by services (19.1%) and real estates (16.3%). The share of agriculture including forestry and fishery was a mere 1.0%, only above mining, which is quasi-inexistent in Nara.
Tourism is treated by the prefectural government as one of the most important features of Nara, because of its natural beauty and historical significance.
Nara is famed for its Kaki persimmon. Strawberry and tea are some other popular products of the prefecture, while rice and vegetables, including spinach, tomato, eggplants and others are the dominant in terms of amount of production.
Nara is a center for the production of instruments used in conducting traditional Japanese artforms. Brush and ink (sumi) are the best known products from Nara for calligraphy. Wooden or bamboo instruments, especially from Takayama area (in Ikoma city) are famous products for tea ceremony.
Goldfish from Yamatokoriyama in Nara have been a traditional aquacultural product since the 18th century.
Due to its rich history, Nara is also the location of many archeological digs, with many famous ones being located in the village of Asuka.
Culture
Because of its background, the better part of Nara's culture can only be described through learning the history of Japan, notably in Nara Period.
Nara is currently in its preparation to celebrate the 1300th anniversary of the opening of Heijō Palace.
Tourism
Many Jinja (Shinto shrines) and Buddhist temples, and kofun exist in Nara Prefecture, and many tourists are visiting there. Moreover, many world heritage sites, such as the temple Tōdai-ji and Kasuga Shrine, exist in the capital city of Nara.
World Heritage sites
Buddhist monuments
in the Horyu-ji area
Ancient Nara monuments
Sacred sites and pilgrimage routes
in the Kii mountain range
Buddhist temples
Shinto shrines
Kofun and heritage
Hot springs
Mountains
Other attractions
Miscellaneous topics
Gallery
Image:Akishinodera1.jpg|Akishino-dera, a Buddhist temple in Nara
Image:JRNaraStationNovember2004.jpg|JR Nara Station
Image:Isonokami.jpg|Isonokami Jingu, a Shinto shrine in Tenri.
Image:TodaijiDaibutsuden.jpg|Tōdai-ji
Image:NaraTodaijiDaibutsu0212.jpg|The Daibutsu
Image:KasugaTaisha1.jpg|Kasuga Shrine
Further Information
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