Yamanashi
(2002 est. pop. 898,000). Yamanashi Prefecture is situated in the central region of Japan's island of Honshu. Occupying an area of 4463 square kilometers, the prefecture has several mountain ranges, including Kanto, Misaka, and Akaishi, with Mount Fuji, the nation's highest peak, bordering Shizuoka Prefecture on the southeast. On Fuji's northern slopes are the Fuji Five Lakes: Yamanakako, Kawaguchiko, Saiko, Shojiko, and Motosuko, all created by lava flows. The rivers Fuefukigawa and Kamanashigawa form the central Kofu Basin. Yamanashi is surrounded by Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Nagano, and Saitama prefectures. Once known as Kai Province, it assumed its present name and borders in 1871.
The prefecture's capital city is Kofu, which grew as the castle town of the ruling Takeda family in the sixteenth century and flourished in the Edo period (1600/ 1603–1868). The prefecture's other important cities are Otsuki, Tsuru, and Fuji Yoshida; a smaller city named Yamanashi lies in the central area.
During feudal times, the province was ruled by a series of military families, including the Kai Minamoto, Takeda, and Asano. In the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate (military government) took over its administration.
Today the nation's premier grape-growing and wine-producing prefecture, Yamanashi also raises large crops of rice, vegetables, and other fruit, including peaches. Long the fabricator of crystal ware and textiles, it now also produces precision instruments, electrical goods, and machinery. Many visitors are drawn from nearby Tokyo, especially to Mount Fuji and the Five Lakes. Other attractions are the prefecture's three national parks, its various hot spring resorts, and the Minobusan Buddhist temple, headquarters to the Buddhist Nichiren sect.
Further Reading
"Yamanashi Prefecture." (1993) Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Tokyo: Kodansha.
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