Kyoto Prefecture

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**Kyoto Prefecture (京都府; *Kyōto-fu*)**

Capital	Kyoto (city)
Region	Kinki
Island	Honshū
Governor	Keiji Yamada
Area	4,612.71 km² (31^st)
- % water	1.0%
Population (2000)
- Population	2,644,331 (13^th)
- Density	573 /km²
Districts	6
Municipalities	28
ISO 3166-2	JP-26
Website	www.pref.kyoto.jp/ index_e.html
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Weeping cherry blossom (Prunus spachiana)
- Tree	Kitayama Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica)
- Bird	Streaked shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas)
Symbol of Kyoto Prefecture

The Iwashimizu Hachimangu, a Shinto shrine in Yawata.

Kyoto Prefecture (京都府, Kyōto-fu^?) is part of the Kinki region of the island of Honshū, Japan. The capital is the city of Kyoto.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Economy
4 Demographics
5 Culture
6 Sports
7 Tourism
8 Prefectural symbols
9 Sister areas
10 Miscellaneous topics
11 External links

[edit] History

For most of its history, the city of Kyoto was the Imperial capital of Japan. The history of the city itself can be traced back as far as the 6th century. In 544, the Aoi Matsuri was held in Kyoto to pray for good harvest and good weather.

Kyoto did not start out as the capital of Japan. A noteworthy earlier capital was Nara. In 741, Emperor Shōmu moved the capital briefly to a place called Kuni-kyo, between the cities of Nara and Kyoto, in present-day Kyoto Prefecture. In 784, the capital was moved to Nagaokakyo, also in present-day Kyoto Prefecture. In 794, Emperor Kammu moved the capital to Heian-kyo, and this was the beginning of the current-day city of Kyoto. Even today, almost all of the streets, houses, stores, temples and shrines in the city of Kyoto exist where they were placed in this year.

Although in 1192 real political power shifted to Kamakura, where a samurai clan established the shogunate, Kyoto still remained the imperial capital as the powerless emperors and their court continued to be seated in the city. Imperial rule was briefly restored in 1333, but another samurai clan established a new shogunate in Kyoto three years later.

In 1467, a great civil war, the Ōnin no Ran, took place inside Kyoto, and most of the town was burned down. Japan plunged into the age of warring feudal lords. A new strong man, Tokugawa Ieyasu, established the shogunate at Edo (today's Tokyo) in 1603.

The Meiji Restoration returned Japan to imperial rule in 1868. Emperor Meiji, who was now the absolute sovereign, went to stay in Tokyo next year. The imperial court never returned to Kyoto.

Although many Japanese major cities were heavily bombed by US bombers during World War II, the old capital was protected from devastating bombing. During the occupation, the U.S. 6th Army was headquartered in Kyoto.

[edit] Geography

Map of Kyoto Prefecture.

Kyoto is located almost in the center of Honshū and of Japan. It covers an area of 4612.71 km², which is 1.2% of Japan. Kyoto is 31st by size. To the north, Kyoto faces the Sea of Japan and Fukui Prefecture. To the south, it faces Osaka and Nara Prefectures. To the east, it faces Mie and Shiga Prefectures. To the west, it faces Hyogo Prefecture. Kyoto is separated in the middle by the Tanba Mountains. This makes the climate of Kyoto very different in the north and south.

[edit] Cities

Fifteen cities are located in Kyoto Prefecture.

[edit] Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Funai District

Kyotamba

Kuse District

Kumiyama

Otokuni District

Oyamazaki

Souraku District

Tsuzuki District

Ide

Ujitawara

Yosa District

Ine

Yosano

[edit] Mergers

(as of March 12, 2007)

On April 1, 2004, the towns of Mineyama, Omiya, Amino, Tango, Yasaka and Kumihama merged to form the city of Kyotango. As a result of the merger, Naka, Takeno and Kumano Districts disappeared.

On April 1, 2005, the town of Keihoku from Kitakuwada District merged into the city of Kyoto (Ukyo Ward).

On October 11, 2005, the towns of Tamba, Mizuho and Wachi from Funai District merged to form the new town of Kyotamba. (Merger Information Page)

On January 1, 2006, the towns of Miwa, Yakuno from Amata District and the town of Oe from Kasa District merged into the city of Fukuchiyama. Amata District and Kasa District were both dissolved as a result of this merger. (Merger Information Page)

On January 1, 2006, the towns of Hiyoshi, Sonobe and Yagi from Funai District and the town of Miyama from Kitakuwada District merged to form the new city of Nantan. Kitakuwada District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

On March 1, 2006, the towns of Kaya, Iwataki and Nodagawa from Yosa District merged to form the new town of Yosano.

On March 12, 2007, the towns of Kamo, Kizu, and Yamashiro from Souraku District merged to create the new city of Kizugawa.

[edit] Economy

The city of Kyoto is largely dependent on tourism. Northern Kyoto on the Tango Peninsula has fishing and water transportation, and midland Kyoto has agriculture and forestry. Nintendo is headquartered in the city of Kyoto.

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Culture

Kyoto has been and still remains to this day, the cultural center of Japan. For over 1000 years it was Japan's capital. When the capital was changed to Tokyo, the culture remained in Kyoto.

[edit] Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Kyoto.

Football (soccer)

Kyoto Purple Sanga (in the city of Kyoto)
Sagawa Printing S.C. (Muko)

[edit] Tourism

The city of Kyoto is one of the most popular tourist spots in Japan, and many people from far and wide visit there. Along with Nara, Kyoto is a favorite location for the graduation trip of Elementary and Junior High schools.

Some of the festivals held in Kyoto are Aoi Matsuri from 544, Gion Matsuri from 869, Ine Matsuri from the Edo-era, Daimonji Gozan Okuribi from 1662, and Jidai Matsuri from 1895. Every shrine and temple holds some sort of event, and many of them are open for public viewing.

[edit] Prefectural symbols

The prefectural flower of Kyoto is the weeping cherry. The Kitayama Sugi is the official tree, and the streaked shearwater the bird that symbolizes the prefecture.