Coor din ates: 3 4 °3 4 ′N 1 3 5 °4 6 ′E Nara Prefecture 奈良県 Nara Prefecture ( Nara-ken) is a prefecture in Nara Prefecture the Kansai region of Japan.[2] The capital is the city of 奈良県 Nara.[3] Nara Prefecture has the distinction of having more UNESCO World Heritage Listings than any other Prefecture [4] prefecture. Japanese transcription(s) • Japanese 奈良県 • Rōmaji Nara-ken Contents History Up to Nara Period Nara in the Heian period Medieval Nara Flag Symbol The Sengoku and Edo periods to present Geography Climate Cities Towns and villages Mergers Demographics Politics Economy Culture Dialect Food culture Traditional arts Museums Education Country Japan Universities Region Kansai Sports Island Honshu Tourism World Heritage sites Capital Nara (city) Transportation Government Railroad • Governor Shōgo Arai Bus from Nara and Tenri Area from Yamato Yagi and Gose • Total 3,691.09 km2 Road (1,425.14 sq mi) Expressways and toll roads Area rank 40th National highways Population (September 1, 2017) Notes • Total 1,348,930 References • Rank 29th External links • Density 365.46/km2 (946.5/sq mi) ISO 3166 JP-29 code Districts 7 History Municipalities 39 Nara Prefecture region is considered one of the oldest Flower Nara yae zakura regions in Japan, having been in existence for thousands (Prunus verecunda cultivar) of years. The current form of Nara Prefecture was Tree Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) officially created in 1887 when it became independent Bird Japanese robin (Erithacus akahige) of Osaka Prefecture. Fish Goldfish ( Carassius auratus [1] Historically, Nara Prefecture was also known as auratus ) Ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis Y amato-no-kuni or Y amato Province.[5] altivelis)[1] Amago (Oncorhynchus masou ishikawae)[1] Up to Nara Period Website www.pref.nara.jp/english (ht From the third century to the fourth century, a poorly tp://www.pref.nara.jp/englis documented political force existed at the foot of Mount h) Miwa, east of Nara Basin. It sought unification of most parts in Japan. Since the historical beginning of Japan, Y amato was its political center. Ancient capitals of Japan were built on the land of Nara, namely Asuka-kyō, Fujiwara-kyō (694–7 10)[6] and Heijō-kyō (most of 7 10–7 84).[7] 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 7 th century, Nara accepted the many immigrants including refugees of Baekje 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 (7 10–7 84 AD). Nara in the Heian period In 7 84, Emperor Kanmu decided to relocate the capital to Nagaoka-kyō in Y amashiro Province, followed by another move in 7 94 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 to the end of Heian period, Taira no Shigehira, a son of Taira no Kiyomori, was ordered by his father to depress the power of Kōfuku-ji various parties, mainly Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji, who were backing up an opposition group headed by Prince Mochihito. The movement led to a collision between the Taira and the Nara temples in 1180. This clash eventually led to Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji being set on fire, resulting in vast destruction of architectural heritage. Medieval Nara At the rise of the Minamoto to its ruling seat and the opening of Kamakura shogunate, Nara enjoyed the support of Minamoto no Y oritomo 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 Y amato Province. With the reconstruction of Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji, a town was growing again near the two temples. The Nanboku-chō period, starting in 1336, brought more instability to Nara. As Emperor Go-Daigo chose Y oshino 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 recovered 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 The red autumn leaves in Yoshino temple itself opened a way for the local samurai clans to spring up and fight with each other, gradually acquiring their own territories, thus diminishing the influence of Kōfuku-ji overall. The Sengoku and Edo periods to present Later the whole province of Y amato 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 Y amato 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 Y amato 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 The restored turret of Kōriyama commercial capital of Japan at the time. Castle The economic dependency to Osaka even characterizes 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 Honshu. 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 7 8.5 km from east to west and 103.6 km from north to south. Most of the prefecture is covered by mountains and forests, leaving an inhabitable area of only 851 km². The ratio of inhabitable area to total area is 23%, ranked 43rd among the 47 prefectures in Japan.[8] Nara Prefecture is bisected by the Japan Median Tectonic Line (MTL) running through its territory east to west, along the Y oshino River. On the northern side of the MTL is the so-called Inner Zone, where active faults running north to south are still shaping the landscape. The Ikoma Mountains in the northwest form the border with Osaka Prefecture. The Nara Basin, which lies to the east of these mountains, contains the highest concentration of population in Nara Prefecture. Further east are the Kasagi Mountains, which separate the Basin from the Y amato Highlands. South of the MTL is the Outer Zone, comprising the Kii Mountains, which occupy about 60% of the land area of the prefecture. The Ōmine Range is in the center of the Kii Mountains, running north to south, with steep valleys on both sides. The tallest mountain in Nara Prefecture, and indeed in the Kansai region, is Mount Hakkyō. To the west, separating Nara Prefecture from Wakayama Prefecture, is the Obako Range, with peaks around 1,300 metres. To the east, bordering Mie Prefecture, is the Daikō Range, including Mount Ōdaigahara. This mountainous region is also home to a World Heritage Site, the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range". Map of Nara Prefecture About 17 % of the total land area of the prefecture is designated City Town Village as National Park land, comprising the Y oshino-Kumano National Park, Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen, Kōya-Ryūjin, Murō-Akame-Aoyama, and Y amato-Aogaki Quasi-National Parks; and the Tsukigase-Kōnoyama, Y ata, and Y oshinogawa-Tsuboro Prefectural Natural Parks.[9] Climate In the Nara Basin the climate has 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 is not 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 Y oshino has been popular both historically and presently for its beautiful cherry blossoms in Tanzan Shrine in autumn the spring. In the fall, the southern mountains are equally beautiful with the changing of the oak trees. Cities There are twelve cities in Nara Prefecture: Hōryū-ji at cherry blossom, Ikaruga Town Gojō Kashihara Tenri Gose Katsuragi Uda Ikoma Nara (capital) Yamatokōriyama Kashiba Sakurai Yamatotakada Towns and villages There are seven districts in Nara, which are further divided into 15 towns and 12 villages as follows: Ikoma District Shiki District Yoshino District Ando Kawanishi Higashiyoshino Heguri Miyake Kamikitayama Ikaruga Tawaramoto Kawakami Sangō Takaichi District Kurotaki Kitakatsuragi District Nosegawa Asuka Ōyodo Kanmaki Takatori Shimoichi Kawai Uda District Shimokitayama Kōryō Mitsue Tenkawa Ōji Soni Totsukawa Yamabe District Yoshino Yamazoe Mergers Demographics 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.[11] The decline continued in 2006, with another [10] decrease of 4,987 people compared to 2005.