The term '''prefecture''' (from the Latin Praefectura) indicates the office, seat, territorial circumscription of a
Prefect. In English the term '''prefecture''' is also used to refer to offices deemed equivalent in other languages' cultural traditions.
Literal prefectures
Antiquity
For subsequent types of ''praefectura'', see ''
Praefectus''.
It has been used most prominently to denote a somewhat self-governing body or area since the
tetrarchy, when emperor
Diocletian divided the
Roman Empire into 4 districts (each divided into
dioceses, grouping under a ''Vicarius'' a number of
Roman provinces, listed under that article), although he maintained two pretorian prefectures as an administrative level above the also surviving dioceses (a few of which were split).
Ecclesiastic
As
Canon law is strongly inspired by Roman law, it is not surprising that the Catholic Church has several offices under a prefect. That term occurs also in otherwise styled offices, such as the head of a congregation or department of the Roman curia. Various ecclesiastical areas, too small for a diocese, are termed prefects.
French ''préfecture''
:''Main article:
Prefectures in France''
In
France, a ''préfecture'' is the
capital city of a ''
département''. As there are 100 départements in France, there are 100 ''préfectures'' in France. A ''préfecture de région'is the capital city of a ''
région''.
Analogous prefectures
Brazilian equivalent of ''prefecture''
In
Brazil, the prefecture (''prefeitura'' in
Portuguese) is the
City Hall, home to the
Executive of a city and to the
mayor's office.
Greek equivalent of ''prefecture''
:''Main article:
Prefectures of Greece''
Modern
Greece, under its 1975 Constitution, is divided into 51 ''
nomoi'' (
Greek: νομοί) which form the units of local government. These are most commonly translated into
English as ''prefectures''.
Each ''nomos'' is headed by a ''prefect'' ''(nomarch),'' who was until recently a ministerial appointee but is nowadays elected by direct popular vote. Municipal elections in Greece are held every four years and voting for the election of nomarchs and mayors is carried out concurrently but with separate ballots.
Chinese equivalents of ''prefecture''
:''Main article:
Prefecture (China)''
The ancient sense
''Xian'' (县/縣)
:''Main article:
County (PRC and ROC)''
When used in the context of
Chinese history, especially China before the
Tang Dynasty, the word "prefecture" is used to translate ''xian'' (县/縣). This unit of administration is translated as "county" when used in a contemporary context.
''Zhou''
:''Main article:
Zhou (country subdivision)''
In the context of Chinese history during or after the
Tang Dynasty, the word "prefecture" is used to translate ''zhou'' (州), another ancient unit of administration in China.
The modern sense
In modern-day
People's Republic of China, the prefecture (地区;
pinyin: dìqū) is an administrative division found in the
second level of the administrative hierarchy. In addition to prefectures, this level also includes autonomous prefectures,
leagues, and
prefecture-level cities. The prefecture level comes under the
province level, and in turn oversees the
county level.
Japanese sense of ''prefecture''
:''Main article:
Prefectures of Japan''
In reference to the
Japanese system of administrative subdivisions, ''prefecture'' is used as the translation for ''todōfuken'' (都道府県). The system of local government in Japan consists of two classes: prefectures as the large-area local governing units and
municipalities as the basic local-level governing units. In Asian practice, the administrative segregation of a
country or unified
nation-state is usually trifold: the
state, large-area local governing units, and basic local-level governing units; Japan follows this pattern.
Japan is divided into
47 prefectures, and each is further divided into municipalities. These prefectures and municipalities neither overlap geographically nor leave any area uncovered; all residents of Japan are therefore residents of one municipality and one prefecture. The prefecture plays a sufficiently large role in personal identity that Japanese introducing themselves abroad often mention their prefecture of origin as well as (or instead of) their municipality.
The prefectures and municipalities function as more than just the country's administrative units: they are incorporated bodies—independent from the national government—that possess their own basic spheres of responsibility and local residents as their constituents, holding administrative authority within their respective geographical boundaries. In
Hokkaidō and several other prefectures,
subprefectures are used as special administrative units, due to peculiarities of governmental evolution and the difficulty in centrally governing certain geographically large or remote areas.
Prefectures are all followed with the suffix -ken (Kanagawa-ken for example). Osaka and Kyoto are both referred to as a -fu, [Osaka-fu and Kyoto-fu respectively] but are also translated as prefectures. There are two government units that are not technically referred to as prefectures in Japan. Tokyo's prefecture-level government and its area is followed by -to, (都 lit. capital) and whose government calls itself "Tokyo Metropolitan Government" in English. Finally Hokkaidō's dō is a suffix for
ancient region names but it was so named in
1869. Hokkaidō's government calls itself "Hokkaidō Government" in English. Below a prefecture are -shi (cities) and -ku (wards).
Japan's current prefectural system was established in the Meiji era after the new Meiji government abolished fiefs run by
feudal clans known as ''
han''. This change is called the
abolition of the han system; see
"Meiji Restoration" in the History of Japan article and the "
Meiji era" article for more historical details of this event.
Mongolian equivalent
Mongolian prefectures (
Aimags) were adopted under the
Manchu Empire. Today these are usually translated as "provinces".
Venezuelan equivalent
Traditionally the prefecture as being the
City Hall and the prefect as being the equivalent of a mayor and commissioner until recently; now the prefectures and prefect are analogous with the figure of
Town Clerk
See also
★
County
★
Politics of the People's Republic of China
★
Politics of Japan
★
Politics of the Republic of China
★
Politics of Mongolia
★
Subprefecture
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