Префектура Хёго: География, История и Экономика

Prefecture of Japan
the prefecture

Hyōgo Prefecture (兵庫県) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 (as of 2019) and a geographic area of Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, and Okayama and Tottori prefectures to the west. Kōbe is the capital and largest city of Hyōgo Prefecture, and the seventh largest city in Japan, with other major cities including Himeji, Nishinomiya, and Amagasaki. Hyōgo Prefecture's mainland stretches from the Sea of Japan to the Seto Inland Sea, where Awaji Island and a small archipelago of islands belonging to the prefecture are located. Hyōgo Prefecture is a major economic center, transportation hub, and tourist destination in western Japan, with 20% of the prefecture's land area designated as Natural Parks. Hyōgo Prefecture forms part of the Kobe metropolitan area and Osaka metropolitan area, the second most populated urban region in Japan after the Greater Tokyo area and one of the world's most productive regions by GDP.

Present day Hyōgo Prefecture includes the former provinces of Harima, Tajima, Awaji, and parts of Tanba and Settsu. In 1180, near the end of the Heian period, Emperor Antoku, Taira no Kiyomori, and the Imperial court moved briefly to Fukuhara, in what is now the city of Kobe. There the capital remained for five months. Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in the city of Himeji. Southern Hyōgo Prefecture was severely devastated by the 6.9 Mw Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995, which destroyed major parts of Kobe and Awaji, as well as Nishinomiya and Ashiya and the neighboring Osaka Prefecture, killing nearly 6,500 people.

Hyōgo has coastlines on two seas: to the north, the Sea of Japan, to the south, the Seto Inland Sea. On Awaji Island, Hyōgo borders the Pacific Ocean coastline in the Kii Channel. The northern portion is sparsely populated, except for the city of Toyooka, The central highlands are only populated by tiny villages. Most of Hyōgo's population lives on the southern coast, which is part of the Osaka Kobe Kyoto metropolitan area. Awaji is an island that separates the Inland Sea and Osaka Bay, lying between Honshu and Shikoku. Summertime weather throughout Hyōgo is hot and humid. As for winter conditions, the north of Hyōgo tends to receive abundant snow, whilst the south receives only the occasional flurry. Hyōgo borders on Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture. as of 2008, 20% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Sanin Kaigan and Setonaikai National Parks; Hyōnosen Ushiroyama Nagisan Quasi National Park; and Asago Gunzan, Harima Chūbu Kyūryō, Inagawa Keikoku, Izushi Itoi, Kasagatayama Sengamine, Kiyomizu Tōjōko Tachikui, Onzui Chikusa, Seiban Kyūryō, Seppiko Mineyama, Tajima Sangaku, and Taki Renzan Prefectural Natural Parks.

The city of Akō and the only town in Akō District (Kamigōri), were scheduled to merge and the city would still retain the name Akō. Akō District would be defunct if the merger was successful. However, the merger has not taken place.

As in all prefectures nationwide, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries play a big role in the economy of Hyogo Prefecture. Hyōgo Prefecture also has an IT industry, many heavy industries, metal and medical, Kobe Port being one of the largest ports in Japan. Kobe Port also hosts one of the world's fastest supercomputers, and Hyogo Prefecture passed laws to keep Kobe Port free of nuclear weapons (a nuclear free zone) since the year 1975. Hyōgo is a part of the Hanshin Industrial Region. There are two research institutes of Riken, natural sciences research institute in Japan, in Kobe and Harima. "SPring 8", a synchrotron radiation facility, is in Harima.

A popular troupe of Takarazuka Revue plays in Takarazuka. Arima Onsen in the south of the province in Kita ku, Kobe is one of the Three Ancient Springs in Japan. The north of Hyogo Prefecture has sightseeing spots such as Kinosaki Onsen, Izushi, and Yumura Onsen. Takeda Castle in Asago is often referred to locally as the "Machu Picchu of Japan". The matsuba crab and Tajima beef are both national delicacies.

Hyogo entered a sister state relationship with Washington state in the United States on October 22, 1963, the first such arrangement between Japan and the United States. In 1981, a sister state agreement was drawn up between Hyogo and the state of Western Australia in Australia. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of this agreement in 1992, the Hyogo Prefectural Government Cultural Centre was established in Perth.

Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press. .