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Hyōgo Prefecture
	Hyōgo Prefecture
Japanese:	兵庫県
	Hyōgo-ken
Capital	Kobe
Region	Kansai
Island	Honshū
Governor	Toshizo Ido
Area (rank)	8,393.34 km² (12th)
- % water	0.6%
	Population (October 1, 2005)
- Population	5,595,212 (8th)
- Density	667 /km²
Districts	8
Municipalities	41
ISO 3166-2	JP-28
Website	web.pref.hyogo.jp/FL/english/
	Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Nojigiku (Chrysanthemum japonense)
- Tree	Camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora)
- Bird	Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
- Fish	{{{Fish}}}
	; Symbol of Hyōgo Prefecture
	Template ■ Discussion ■ WikiProject Japan

Hyōgo Prefecture (兵庫県, Hyōgo-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.

The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.

[edit] History

Present-day Hyōgo Prefecture includes the former provinces of Harima, Tajima, Awaji, and parts of Tamba and Settsu.

In 1180, near the end of the Heian Period, Emperor Antoku, Taira no Kiyomori, and the Imperial court moved briefly to Fukuhara, in what is now the city of Kobe. There the capital remained for five months.

Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in the city of Himeji.

The Ako Han, home of the 47 Ronin, is in Hyōgo Prefecture.

Southern Hyōgo Prefecture was severely devastated by the magnitude 7.2 Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995, which destroyed major parts of Kobe and Awaji, as well as Takarazuka and neighboring Osaka prefecture, killing nearly 5500 people.

[edit] Geography

Map of Hyōgo Prefecture.

Hyōgo has coastlines on two seas: to the north, the Sea of Japan, to the south, the Inland Sea. The northern portion is sparsely populated, except for the city of Toyooka, and the central highlands are only populated by tiny villages. Most of Hyōgo's population lives on the southern coast, which is part of the Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe metropolitan area. Awaji Island is an island in the Inland Sea, lying between Honshū and Shikoku.

Summertime weather throughout Hyōgo is hot and humid. As for winter conditions in Hyōgo, the north of Hyōgo tends to receive abundant snow, whilst the south receives only the occasional flurry.

Hyōgo borders on Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture.

[edit] Cities

Twenty-nine cities are located in Hyōgo Prefecture:

Kobe (capital)

[edit] Towns and villages

Towns and villages in each district:

Akō District

Kamigōri

Ibo District

Taishi

Kako District

Harima

Inami

Kanzaki District

Fukusaki

Ichikawa

Kamikawa

Kawabe District

Inagawa

Mikata District

Kami

Shin'onsen

Sayō District

Sayō

Taka District

Taka

[edit] Islands

Two major artificial islands are located Hyōgo Prefecture:

[edit] Mergers

Main article: List of mergers in Hyōgo Prefecture

[edit] Future mergers

The city of Akō and the only town in Akō District (Kamigōri), are scheduled to merge together and the city will retain the name Akō. Akō District will be defunct if the merger is successful. [1]

[edit] Economy

Hyōgo Prefecture has many heavy industries, metal and medical, and Kobe is one of the largest ports in Japan.

Hyōgo is a part of the Hanshin Industrial Region. There are two research institute of Riken, natural sciences research institute in Japan, in Kobe and Harima. It has "SPring-8",a synchrotron radiation facility in Harima.

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Culture

The Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art in Nada Ward, Kobe.

[edit] Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Hyōgo.

Football (soccer)

Vissel Kobe (Kobe)

Baseball

Orix Buffaloes (Kobe)
Hanshin Tigers (Nishinomiya)

Volleyball

Hisamitsu Springs (Kobe)
JT Marvelous (NIshinomiya)

Rugby

[edit] Tourism

Himeji Castle

Kobe remains a popular tourist destination. The region symbolizes Japan's earliest contact with the West. Many homes of early American, English and European visitors still stand on the bluff overlooking the harbor.

The vista of the Inland Sea remains a "million-dollar view." The Kobe port is one of the ports which are the most famous in Japan.

A popular troupe of Takarazuka Revue plays in Takarazuka.

Himeji Castle receives this praise from UNESCO: "masterpiece of construction in wood, combining function with aesthetic appeal... ." Together with its historical significance and its easy access from Kyoto or Osaka by Shinkansen, Himeji Castle receives tremendous numbers of visitors annually.

[edit] Miscellaneous topics

Miyavi, although born in Konohana-ku, Osaka grew up in Kawanishi City in Hyōgo Prefecture.
So Taguchi, outfielder for the Chicago Cubs, was born in Hyōgo Prefecture.
Katsumi Yamada, one of the All-Star competitors of Sasuke (and who is known as Mr. Sasuke), is from Harima in Hyōgo Prefecture.
Juri Ueno, Japanese Academy Award-winning actress best known for her performances in Swing Girls and the live-action adaptation of Nodame Cantabile, is from Kakogawa in Hyōgo Prefecture.
Kaoru (musician), Guitarist of Dir en grey, resides in Hyōgo Prefecture.
Shota Yasuda, Guitarist of Kanjani8, is from Amagasaki in Hyōgo Prefecture.
Aya Matsuura, Singer from Hello Project, is from Himeji in Hyōgo
Ayaka Kimura, Singer from Hello Project, is from Kobe in Hyōgo
Hiroshi Morie or HEATH in X JAPAN is a musician, songwriter and bassist from Amagasaki in Hyōgo
Chisa Maekawa, vocalist for band Girl Next Door grew up in Hyōgo Prefecture.