Shizuoka Prefecture

Shizuoka Prefecture

静岡しずおか県けん
Shizuoka Prefecture 静岡しずおか県けん
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
• Japanese	静岡しずおか県けん
• Rōmaji	Shizuoka-ken
	Flag Symbol
	Anthem: "Shizuoka kenka" [ja] and "Fuji yo yume yo tomo yo" [ja]
	Coordinates: 34°55′N 138°19′E / 34.917°N 138.317°E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūbu (Tōkai)
Island	Honshu
Capital	Shizuoka
Largest city	Hamamatsu
Subdivisions	Districts: 5, Municipalities: 35
Government
• Governor	Heita Kawakatsu
Area
• Total	7,777.42 km2 (3,002.88 sq mi)
• Rank	13th
Highest elevation (Mount Fuji)	3,778 m (12,395 ft)
Population (1 September 2023)
• Total	3,555,818
• Rank	10th
• Density	460/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
• Dialect	Shizuoka dialect
GDP
• Total	JP¥ 17,866 billion; US$ 163.9 billion (2019)
ISO 3166 code	JP-22
Website	www.pref.shizuoka.jp/a_foreign/english
Symbols of Japan
Bird	Japanese paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata)
Flower	Azalea (Rhododendron)
Tree	Sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus)

Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡しずおか県けん, Shizuoka-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu.^[2] As of September 2023,^[update] 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.

Shizuoka is the capital and Hamamatsu is the largest city in Shizuoka Prefecture, with other major cities including Fuji, Numazu, and Iwata.^[3] Shizuoka Prefecture is located on Japan's Pacific Ocean coast and features Suruga Bay formed by the Izu Peninsula, and Lake Hamana which is considered to be one of Japan's largest lakes. Mount Fuji, the tallest volcano in Japan and cultural icon of the country, is partially located in Shizuoka Prefecture on the border with Yamanashi Prefecture. Shizuoka Prefecture has a significant motoring heritage as the founding location of Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha, and is home to the Fuji International Speedway.

History[edit]

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[edit]

Shizuoka Prefecture is an elongated region following the coast of the Pacific Ocean at the Suruga Bay. In the west, the prefecture extends deep into 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[edit]

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[edit]

On 15 March 2011, Shizuoka Prefecture was hit with a magnitude 6.2 earthquake approximately 42 km (26 mi) NNE of Shizuoka City. It is said, that throughout history, Shizuoka area has experienced a large earthquake every 100 to 150 years.

Demographics[edit]

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

Municipalities[edit]

Since 2010, Shizuoka has consisted of 35 municipalities: 23 cities and 12 towns.

^{Shizuoka (capital)}_{静岡しずおか市し}

^Hamamatsu_{浜松はままつ市し}

^Atami_{熱海あたみ市し}

^Fuji_{富士ふじ市し}

^Fujieda_{藤枝ふじえだ市し}

^Fujinomiya_{富士宮ふじのみや市し}

^Fukuroi_{袋井ふくろい市し}

^Gotemba_{御殿場ごてんば市し}

^Itō_{伊東いとう市し}

^Iwata_{磐田いわた市し}

^Izu_{伊豆いず市し}

^Izunokuni_{伊豆いずの国くに市し}

^Kakegawa_{掛川かけがわ市し}

^Kikugawa_{菊川きくかわ市し}

^Kosai_{湖西こせい市し}

^Makinohara_{牧之原まきのはら市し}

^Mishima_{三島みしま市し}

^Numazu_{沼津ぬまづ市し}

^Omaezaki_{御前崎おまえざき市し}

^Shimada_{島田しまだ市し}

^Shimoda_{下田しもだ市し}

^Susono_{裾野すその市し}

^Yaizu_{焼津やいづ市し}

^Higashiizu_{東伊豆ひがしいず町まち}

^Kawazu_{河津かわづ町まち}

^Minamiizu_{南伊豆みなみいず町まち}

^Matsuzaki_{松崎まつざき町まち}

^Nishiizu_{西伊豆にしいず町まち}

^Kannami_{函南かんなみ町まち}

^Kawanehon_{川根かわね本町ほんまち}

^Yoshida_{吉田よしだ町まち}

^Mori_{森町もりまち}

^Nagaizumi_{長泉ながいずみ町まち}

^Oyama_{小山おやま町まち}

^Shimizu_{清水しみず町まち}

class=notpageimage|

Municipalities in Shizuoka Prefecture Government Ordinance Designated City City Town

Mergers[edit]

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)[edit]

#	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Political Party
1	Takeji Kobayashi (小林こばやし武治たけはる) (1899–1988)	23 April 1947	22 April 1951	Independent
2	Toshio Saito (斎藤さいとう寿夫としお) (1908–1999)	1 May 1951	8 January 1967	Liberal Party (1951–1959) Liberal Democratic Party (1959–1967)
3	Yutaro Takeyama (竹山たけやま祐太郎ゆうたろう) (1901–1982)	31 January 1967	24 June 1974	LDP
4	Keizaburo Yamamoto (山本やまもと敬たかし三郎さぶろう) (1913–2006)	10 June 1974	6 July 1986	LDP
5	Shigeyoshi Saito (斉藤さいとう滋しげる与あずか史し) (1918–2018)	7 July 1986	23 June 1993	LDP
6	Yoshinobu Ishikawa (石川いしかわ嘉よしみ延のべ) (born in 1940)	3 August 1993	17 June 2009	Independent
7	Heita Kawakatsu (川勝かわかつ平太へいた) (born in 1948)	7 July 2009	Incumbent	Independent

Industry[edit]

Motorcycles[edit]

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[edit]

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]