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Shizuoka Prefecture

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**Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県 *Shizuoka-ken*)**

Capital	Shizuoka
Region	Chūbu
Island	Honshū
Governor	Yoshinobu Ishikawa
Area	7,779.63 km² (13^th)
- % water	2.6%
Population (October 1, 2005)
- Population	3,792,457 (10^th)
- Density	487 /km²
Districts	9
Municipalities	42
ISO 3166-2	JP-22
Website	[http://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/a_foreign/english/ www.pref.shizuoka.jp/ a_foreign/english/]
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Azalea (Rhododenron)
- Tree	Sweet Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus)
- Bird	Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata)
Symbol of Shizuoka Prefecture

Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県, Shizuoka-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Sports
4 External links

History

The prefecture was previously divided into Tōtōmi Province, Suruga Province and Izu Province. The most noted history of the prefecture is that it was once home to the first Tokugawa Shogun. The region was held by Tokugawa Ieyasu until he conquered the lands of the Hōjō clan in the Kantō region and gave his lands to the stewardship of Oda Nobunaga. After becoming shogun Tokugawa took the land back for his family, particularly putting the area around modern-day Shizuoka city under direct shogunal supervision. It once again became the residence of the Tokugawa family after 1868, with the creation of Shizuoka han.

Geography

Map of Shizuoka Prefecture.

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, while farther east it becomes a narrower coast bounded on the north by Mount Fuji, until it comes to the Izu Peninsula, a popular resort area pointing south into the Pacific.

Tokai earthquakes

Every 100–150 years, an earthquake of disastrous proportions called the Tokai Earthquake occurs in the Shizuoka Prefecture. The previous earthquake was in 1854.

Cities

Twenty-three cities are located in Shizuoka Prefecture:

Hamakita-ku

Higashi-ku

Kita-ku

Minami-ku

Naka-ku

Nishi-ku

Tenryū-ku

Shimizu-ku

Aoi-ku

Suruga-ku

Towns

Towns in each district:

Fuji District

Shibakawa

Haibara District

Kawane‡

Kawanehon

Yoshida

Hamana District

Arai

Ihara District

Fujikawa

Yui

Kamo District

Shida District

Ōigawa

Okabe

Shūchi District

Mori

Suntō District

Nagaizumi

Oyama

Shimizu

Tagata District

Kannami

‡ Scheduled to be dissolved following mergers.

Mergers

(as of March 31, 2006)

April 1, 2004 onward

The former cities of Shimizu and Shizuoka merged to create the new city of Shizuoka. Former city of Shimizu is co-extensive to current Shimizu-ku.
The towns of Omaezaki from Haibara District and Hamaoka from Ogasa District merged to form the city of Omaezaki.
The towns of Amagiyugashima, Toi, Nakaizu and Shuzenji from Tagata District merged to form the new city of Izu.

January 17, 2005 - The towns of Kikugawa and Ogasa from Ogasa District merged to form the city of Kikugawa.
April 1, 2005 onward

The towns of Ohito, Izunagaoka and Nirayama from Tagata District merged to form the new city of Izunokuni.
The village of Kamo and town of Nishiizu from Kamo District merged to form the new town of Nishiizu.
The town of Asaba from Iwata District merged with the city of Fukuroi to form the new city of Fukuroi.
The towns of Daito and Osuka from Ogasa District merged with the city of Kakegawa to form the new city of Kakegawa. Ogasa District was dissolved with this merger.
The new city of Iwata was formed when the old city of Iwata merged with the towns of Ryuyo, Fukude, Toyoda and the village of Toyooka from Iwata District.
The village of Heda from Tagata District merged into the city of Numazu.

May 5, 2005 - Two long time twin cities, the town of Kanaya from Haibara District and the city of Shimada(original) merged together to become the new city of Shimada(2nd one).
July 1, 2005 - The cities of Tenryū and Hamakita and the towns of Haruno (from Shuchi District), Hosoe, Inasa and Mikkabi (from Inasa District), Sakuma, Misakubo and Tatsuyama (from Iwata District), Maisaka and Yuto (from Hamana District) merged into the city of Hamamatsu. Inasa District and Iwata District were both dissolved, and there are no more villages left as a result of this merger.
September 20, 2005 - The towns of Nakakawane and Honkawane from Haibara District merged to form the new town of Kawanehon.
October 11, 2005 - The towns of Sagara and Haibara from Haibara District merged to form the new city of Makinohara.
March 1, 2006 - The town of Kanbara from Ihara District merged into the city of Shizuoka (Shimizu-ku).