is located in the
Tohoku region on
Honshū island,
Japan. Its capital is
Yamagata.
History
The aboriginal
Ezo people (è¦å¤·ï¼‰once inhabited the area now known as Yamagata. During the
Heian Period (794–1185), the
Fujiwara (藤原) family ruled the area. Yamagata City flourished during the
Edo Period (1603–1867) due to its status as a castle town and post station, famous for'' beni'' (red
safflower dye used in the production of handspun silk). In 1649, the famous
haiku poet,
Matsuo BashÅ visited Yamagata during his five-month trip to the northern regions of Japan. Yamagata, with
Akita Prefecture, composed
Dewa Province until the
Meiji Restoration.
Geography
Map of Yamagata Prefecture:
Yamagata Prefecture is located in the southwest corner of Tohoku, facing the
Sea of Japan. It borders
Niigata Prefecture and
Fukushima Prefecture on the south,
Miyagi Prefecture on the east, and
Akita Prefecture on the north. All of these boundaries are marked by mountains, with most of the population residing in a limited central plain.
Cities
Thirteen cities are located in Yamagata Prefecture:
Towns and villages
Towns and villages in each
district:
Ç‚ Scheduled to be dissolved following mergers.
Mergers
★ 'Merger: ShÅnai Town (
1 July 2005)'
The towns of
Amarume and
Tachikawa from
Higashitagawa District merged to form the new town of
ShÅnai.
★ 'Merger: Southern ShÅnai #1 (
1 October 2005)'
The city of
Tsuruoka, the towns of
Fujishima,
Haguro and
Kushibiki and the village of
Asahi (all from
Higashitagawa District) and the town of
Atsumi from
Nishitagawa District merged to form the new city of
Tsuruoka.
Nishitagawa District was dissolved as a result.
The Merger Council of Southern Shonai
★ 'Merger: Northern ShÅnai (
1 November 2005)'
The city of
Sakata and the towns of
Hirata,
Matsuyama and
Yawata from
Akumi District merged to form the new city of
Sakata.
The Merger Council of Northern Shonai
Future mergers
★ 'Merger: Southern ShÅnai #2 (
1 February 2007)'
The town of
Mikawa is scheduled to merge into the city of
Tsuruoka.
Economy
Fruit
Yamagata
cherries, such as these, often sell for USD $30 per pound or more.
Yamagata Prefecture is the largest producer of cherries and pears in Japan. A large quantity of other kinds of fruits such as grapes, apples, peaches, melons, persimmons and watermelons are also produced here.
Demographics
As of October 2004, Yamagata Prefecture had a population of 1,223,000
[1]. This represented a 5.3% decrease on the previous year, giving Yamagata the equal-fourth highest depopulation rate in Japan
[2]. This figure consists of a 2.2% natural decrease in the population, and a net 3.1% emigration to other prefectures, again one of the highest rates in Japan.
The prefecture also has one of the oldest populations in Japan. As of 2004, 12.8% of the population was aged between 65 and 74, and 12.1% was over 75 (the fourth and third highest in Japan, respectively)
[3]. Over 40% of households in Yamagata contain one or more relatives aged 65 or over (one of the three highest in Japan)
[4].
Culture
Festivals and events
Yamagata Prefecture has a number of annual festivals and events.
The largest is the ''hanagasa matsuri'' (èŠ±ç¬ ç¥ã‚Š) which takes place in
Yamagata City on the first weekend in August, when thousands of people perform the hanagasa dance in the city centre and attracts up to 300,000 spectators. Yamagata City is the home of the bi-annual
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival in October.
In February, a snow lantern festival is held in
Yonezawa at the
Uesugi Shrine. Hundreds of candle-lit lanterns light pathways dug into the snow around the shrine. Yonezawa is also the site of the ''Uesugi Festival'' (上æ‰ç¥ã‚Š, ''uesugi matsuri'') in mid-spring. The festival's highlight is a re-enactment of the 'Battle of Kawanakajima' on the banks of the Matsukawa River.
In September, Yamagata Prefecture is famous for its
imoni, a potato stew popular in Northern Japan during the autumn. Imonikai, potato soup parties, are very popular during this season, and many tourists come to Yamagata Prefecture specifically for its particular style of imoni.
Art
Beginning in 2003, Yamagata city officials with the aid of Tohoku University of Art and Design began a three-year project in which the Buddhist art of the city’s temples would be catalogued and compared to a set of guidelines in order to identify “cultural assets.â€
[1] One hundred and ninety temples have had their works of art examined and several significant examples of Buddhist sculpture have been discovered. At Heisenji Temple, in the Hirashimizu district, a particularly rare statue, a seated
Vairocana Buddha made from
zelkova wood, was found. Other significant works include sculptures from the
Heian Period (794–1185) and
Kamakura Period (1192–1333).
The Yamagata Museum of Art, located in Yamagata City, was opened in 1964 through the efforts of a foundation led by Yoshio Hattori, the president of Yamagata Shimbun and Yamagata Broadcasting Co, Ltd. The permanent collection consists of three types of art: Japanese and Asian, regional, and French. Special exhibitions are held periodically.
Language
Yamagata Prefecture is also known for its local dialect
Yamagata-ben, sometimes thought of as backward sounding and the butt of jokes in other parts of Japan. The
2004 movie ''
Swing Girls'' (スウィングガールズ), co-written and directed by
Shinobu Yaguchi, is set in Yamagata and makes use of Yamagata-ben for comedic purposes.
Sports
The sports teams listed below are based in Yamagata.
Football (soccer)
★
Montedio Yamagata
Volleyball
★
Pioneer Red Wings (
Tendo)
Transportation
Airports
★ Yamagata Airport(Tokyo,Osaka,Nagoya,Sapporo by
JALGroup)
★ Shonai Airport(Tokyo,Osaka,Sapporo by
ANAGroup)
===Railways (
JR East)===
Tourism
Yamedera, Yamagata Prefecture.
The temple of
Yamadera, carved into the mountainside near
Yamagata City, is a major attraction.
The
Dewa Sanzan are three holy mountains that form a traditional pilgrimage for followers of the
Shugendo branch of Shinto. The famous Gojudo (five-story pagoda) is at the base of
Mt. Haguro, the lowest of the three mountains.
Mount Zao is a famous winter ski resort, also known for its ''snow monsters'' (frozen snow covered trees) in the winter, and the ''Okama crater lake'', also known as the ''Goshiki Numa'' (Five Color Swamp) because its colour changes according to the weather.
Media
Newspapers
★ Yamagata Shimbun
[5]
★ Yonezawa Shimbun
★ Shonai Nippo
★ Okitama Times
[6]
TV and radio
★
YBC TV and Radio (
NNN,
JRN, and
NRN)
★ YTS TV(
ANN)
★ TUY TV(
JNN)
★ SAY TV(
FNN)
★ Boy-FM(
Japan FM Network)
References
1. Yamagata: City unearths wealth of Buddhist Treasure
External links
★
Official Yamagata Prefecture homepage
★
Industry Location Guide of Yamagata Prefecture
★
Yamagagata Info(Data Base of Tourism Information)
★
Climate in Yamagata City
★
★
Yamagata Museum of Art
★
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
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