 Akita Prefecture (秋田県, Akita-ken) - A
prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern
Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.
Located in the north of Honshū Island, Akita Prefecture
faces the Sea of Japan in the west and is bordered by Aomori
in the north, Iwate in the east, Miyagi in the south east,
and Yamagata in the south.
Akita Prefecture is rectangular in shape, roughly 181 km
from north to south and 111 km from west to east. The Ōu
Mountains mark the eastern border of the prefecture, and the
higher Dewa Mountains run parallel through the center of the
prefecture. Like much of northern Japan, the prefecture has
cold winters, particularly away from the sea.
The Oga Peninsula is a prominent feature of the coastline.
 Separated from the principal Japanese centres of commerce,
politics, and population by several hundred kilometres and
the Ou and Dewa mountain ranges to the east, Akita remained
largely isolated from Japanese society until after the year
600CE. Populated principally by the Ainu people, Akita was a
region of hunter-gatherers and principally nomadic tribes.
The first historical record of Akita-ken dates to 658CE,
when the General Abe no Hirafu (阿部比羅夫) conquered the native
Ezo tribes at Akita city and Nushiro. Hirafu, then governor
of the Koshi region (the northwest part of Honshu island
bordering the Sea of Japan), established a fort on the
Mogami river, and thus began the Japanese settlement of the
region.
In 733, a new military settlement — later renamed Akita
Castle (秋田城) — was built in modern-day Akita city at
Takashimizu, and more permanent roads and structures were
developed. The region was used as a base of operations for
the Japanese empire as it drove the native Ezo people from
northern Honshu.
It shifted hands several times in the interim. During the
Tokugawa shogunate it was appropriated to the Satake family
in 1602, who ruled the region for 260 years, developing the
agriculture and mining industries that are still predominant
today. Throughout this period, it was classified as part of
Dewa Province and remained politically quite stable. In
1871, during the Meiji Restoration, Dewa province was
reshaped and the old daimyo regions (called "han") were
abolished and administratively reconstructed, resulting in
the modern-day borders of Akita.
The famous Heian period waka poet, Ono no Komachi, is said
to have been born here (but the true location of her birth
is uncertain).
Thirteen cities are located in Akita Prefecture:
Akita (capital)
Daisen
Katagami
Kazuno
Kitaakita
Nikaho
Noshiro
Oga
Odate
Semboku
Yokote
Yurihonjo
Yuzawa
Information source: “Akita Prefecture.” wikipedia.org. Article
date: 26 Feb. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 4 Mar. 2008 <Akita Prefecture>. |
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