Nagano
(2002 est. pop. 2.2 million). Nagano Prefecture is situated in the central region of Japan's island of Honshu, where it occupies an area of 13,585 square kilometers. Its primary geographical features are the Hida, Kiso, Akaishi, and Mikuni mountain ranges. Among its many rivers are the Chikumagawa, Himekawa, Kisogawa, and Tenryugawa. Landlocked Nagano is bordered by Niigata, Gumma, Saitama, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, and Toyama prefectures. Once known as Shinano Province, it assumed its present name in 1871 and its present borders in 1876.
The prefecture's capital is Nagano city in the north. It was founded in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) as the Buddhist temple town of Zenkoji; today its temple complex remains one of the nation's most popular Buddhist pilgrimage sites. During the Edo period (1600/1603–1868), Nagano city evolved into a market center and a highway post station. Today it is home to Shinshu University and to such commercial enterprises as printers, publishers, electrical machinery manufacturers, and food processors. As host of the XVIII Winter Olympics in 1998, the city was connected by bullet train to Tokyo. The prefecture's other important cities are Matsumoto, Ueda, and Iida.
Historically, the region was at the crossroads of several primary routes between western and eastern Honshu. Various warrior clans, including the Uesugi and Takeda, ruled the province for centuries. During the Edo period, it was divided into many small domains.
Once a center of silk production, the prefecture remains a major source of rice, apples, yams, and dairy products. Its larger and more recent industries are metals processing, machinery fabrication, and woodworking. Visitors are drawn to Matsumoto, gateway to the Japan Alps, one-time Nara period (710–794 CE) provincial capital, and the site of Matsumoto castle, built in 1597. Other attractions are the scenic mountains and lakes, located in four national and three quasi-national parks.
Further Reading
Tamanoi, Mariko A. (1998) Under the Shadow of Nationalism: Politics and Poetics of Rural Japanese Women. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
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