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Japanese Culture |
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Kanagawa |
 Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県, Kanagawa-ken) -
A prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Honshū,
Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the
Greater Tokyo Area.
Kanagawa is a relatively small prefecture wedged between
Tokyo on the north, the foothills of Mount Fuji on the
northwest, and the Pacific Ocean and Tokyo Bay on the south
and east. The eastern side of the prefecture is relatively
flat and heavily urbanized, including the large port cities
of Yokohama and Kawasaki, but becomes more relaxed to the
southeast, near the Miura Peninsula, where the ancient city
of Kamakura draws tourists to its temples and shrines. The
western part is more mountainous and includes resort areas
like Odawara and Hakone.
The Tama River forms much of the boundary between Kanagawa
and Tokyo. The Sagami River flows through the middle of the
prefecture.
 In medieval Japan, Kanagawa was part of the provinces of
Sagami and Musashi.
Kamakura in central Sagami was the capital of Japan during
the Kamakura period (1185-1333).
During the Edo period, the western part of Sagami Province
was governed by the daimyo of Odawara Castle, while the
eastern part was directly governed by the Tokugawa Shogunate
in Edo (Tokyo).
Commodore Matthew Perry landed in Kanagawa in 1853 and 1854,
and signed the Convention of Kanagawa to force open Japanese
ports to the United States. Yokohama, the largest deep-water
port in Tokyo Bay, was opened to foreign traders in 1859
after several more years of foreign pressure, and eventually
developed into the largest trading port in Japan. Nearby
Yokosuka, closer to the mouth of Tokyo Bay, developed as a
naval port and now serves as headquarters for the U.S. 7th
Fleet and the fleet operations of the Japan Maritime
Self-Defense Force.
Yokohama, Kawasaki and other major cities were heavily
damaged by the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923 and U.S.
bombing in 1945.
Kanagawa's transport network is heavily intertwined with
that of Tokyo (see: Transportation in Greater Tokyo). Most
air travel to Kanagawa goes through Tokyo International
Airport or Narita International Airport. The Tōkaidō
Shinkansen provides high-speed rail service to Tokyo,
Nagoya, Osaka and other major cities.
The Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education manages and
oversees individual municipal school districts. The board of
education also directly operates most of the public high
schools in the prefecture.
One of the most famous Ukiyo-e paintings is The Great Wave
off Kanagawa by Hokusai.
Kamakura city, known for its historical buildings, is a
favored location used in many manga (comic) or anime
(animation).
The city of Kamakura is famous as the location of many
Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.
Yokohama Chinatown is the largest Chinatown in Japan (larger
than Chinatowns in both Kobe and Nagasaki) and it is one of
the largest in the world.
Information source: “Kanagawa Prefecture.” wikipedia.org. Article
date: 1 Mar. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 4 Mar. 2008 <Kanagawa Prefecture>. |
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