 Nara Prefecture (奈良県, Nara-ken) - A
prefecture in the Kinki region on Honshū Island, Japan. The
capital is the city of Nara.
Nara Prefecture is part of the Kansai, or Kinki, region of
Japan, and is located in the middle of the Kii Peninsula on
the western half of Honshū. Nara Prefecture is landlocked.
It is bordered to the west by Wakayama Prefecture and Osaka
Prefecture; on the north by Kyoto Prefecture and on the east
by Mie Prefecture. Nara Prefecture is 78.5 km from East to
West and 103.6 km from North to South.
The prefecture is covered by mountains and forests for most
of its part, leaving only an inhabitable area of 851 km²,
smallest of the 47 prefectures of Japan. The ratio of
inhabitable area over total area is 23%, ranked 43rd
nationwide.
Geologically, Nara Prefecture is bisected by the Median
Tectonic Line (MTL) running through its territory East-West,
along Yoshino River. On the north side is located the
so-called Inner Zone, where North-South active faults are
shaping the landscape. There is Ikoma Mountains in the
north-west forming a border line between Osaka, then the
Nara Basin laid out next to it in the east, where the
highest population of Nara Prefecture concentrates. Further
to the east is the Kasagi Mountains separating the basin
from Yamato Highlands. In the south of the MTL, the Outer
Zone, is the Kii Mountains. This mountainous area occupies
about 60% of the prefecture's land. The Ōmine Mountain Range
is in the center of the Kii Mountains running North-South,
with steep valleys on its both sides. The 1915m high tallest
mountain of Nara and Kansai, the Hakken-zan is in this
range. In the west side separating Nara from Wakayama is the
Obako Mountain Range, with its 1300m class mountains. On the
east end bordering Mie is the Daikō Mountain Range,
including the 1695m high Mount Ōdaigahara. This wide
mountain area is also home to sites collectively inscribed
as the "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii
Mountain Range" by UNESCO.
The climate of Nara Prefecture is overall warm, while there
are important differences between the north-western basin
area and the rest of the prefecture, that is, in the
mountains.
In the basin area the climate has an inland characteristics,
as represented in the bigger temperature variance within the
same day, and the difference of summer and winter
temperatures. Winter temperatures average about 3 to 5°C,
and 25 - 28°C in the summer with highest reaching close to
35°C. There is not a single year over the last decade (since
1990, up to 2007) with more than 10 days of snowfall
recorded by Nara Local Meteorological Observatory.
The climate in the rest of the prefecture are mountainous,
and especially in the south, with below −5°C being the
extreme minimum in winter. Heavy rainfall is observed in
summer. The annual accumulated rainfall ranges as much as
3000 to 5000 mm, which is among the heaviest in Japan.
Spring and fall are both temperate and beautiful. The
mountainous region of Yoshino has been popular both
historically and presently for its beautiful cherry blossoms
in the spring. In the fall, the southern mountains are
equally beautiful with the changing of the oak trees.
 The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making
it independent of Osaka Prefecture.
Historically, Nara Prefecture was also known as Yamato-no-kuni
or Yamato Province.
Up to Nara Period
It is certain that a political force established at the foot
of Mount Miwa in the east of Nara Basin, seeking unification
of most parts in Japan from the third century until the
fourth century, though the process was not well documented.
At the dawn of history, Yamato was clearly the political
center of Japan.
Ancient capitals of Japan were built on the land of Nara,
namely Asuka-kyō, Fujiwara-kyō (694–710) and Heijō-kyō (most
of 710–784). The capital cities of Fujiwara and Heijō are
believed to have been modeled after Chinese capitals at the
time, incorporating grid layout patterns. The royal court
also established relations with Sui and then Tang Dynasty
China and sent students to the Middle Kingdom to learn high
civilization. By 7th century, Nara accepted the many
immigrants including Korean refugees who had escaped from
war disturbances of the southern part of the Korean
peninsula. The first high civilization with royal patronage
of Buddhism flourished in today's Nara city (710–784 AD).
Nara in the Heian period
In 784, Emperor Kammu decided to relocate the capital to
Nagaoka-kyō in Yamashiro Province, followed by another move
in 794 to Heian-kyō, marking the start of the Heian period.
The temples in Nara remained powerful beyond the move of
political capital, thus giving Nara a synonym of Nanto
(meaning "South Capital") as opposed to Heian-kyō, situated
in the north. Close at the end of Heian period, Taira no
Shigehira, a son of Taira no Kiyomori, was ordered by his
father to depress the power of mainly Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji,
who were backing up an opposition group headed by Prince
Mochihito. The movement has led into a collision between the
Taira and the Nara temples in 1180, when eventually
Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji were set on fire, resulting in the
vast loss of its architectures.
Middle age Nara
At the rise of the Minamoto to its ruling seat and the
opening of Kamakura Shogunate, Nara enjoyed the support of
Minamoto no Yoritomo toward restoration. Kōfuku-ji, being
the "home temple" to the Fujiwara since its foundation, not
only regained the power it had before but became a de facto
regional chief of Yamato Province. With the recovery of
Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji, there was a town growing near the
two temples.
The Nanboku-chō period, starting in 1336, brought more
instability to Nara. As Emperor Go-Daigo chose Yoshino as
his base, a power struggle arose in Kōfuku-ji with a group
supporting the South and another siding the North court.
Likewise, local clans were split into two. Kōfuku-ji
recovers its control over the province for a short time at
the surrender of the South Court in 1392, while the internal
power game of the temple itself opened a way for the local
samurai clans to spring up and fight with each other,
gradually acquire their own territories, thus diminishing
the influence of Kōfuku-ji overall.
The Sengoku, Edo periods and beyond
Later the whole province of Yamato got drawn into the
confusion of the Sengoku period. Tōdai-ji was once again set
on fire in 1567, when Matsunaga Hisahide, who was later
appointed by Oda Nobunaga to the lord of Yamato Province,
fought for supremacy against his former master Miyoshi
family. Followed by short appointments of Tsutsui Junkei and
Toyotomi Hidenaga by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to the lord, the
Tokugawa Shogunate ultimately ruled the city of Nara
directly, and most parts of Yamato province with a few
feudal lords allocated at Kōriyama, Takatori and other
places. With industry and commerce developing in the 18th
century, the economy of the province was incorporated into
prosperous Osaka, the commercial capital of Japan at the
time.
The economic dependency to Osaka characterizes even today's
Nara Prefecture, for many inhabitants commute to Osaka to
work or study there.
The 2004 total gross prefecture product (GPP) for Nara was
¥3.8 trillion, an 0.1% growth over previous year. The per
capita income was ¥2.6 million, which is a 1.3% decrease
from previous year. The 2004 total gross prefecture product
(GPP) for Nara was ¥3.8 trillion, an 0.1% growth over
previous year. Manufacturing has the biggest share in the
GPP of Nara with 20.2% of share, followed by services
(19.1%) and real estates (16.3%). The share of agriculture
including forestry and fishery was a mere 1.0%, only above
mining, which is quasi-inexistent in Nara.
Tourism is treated by the prefectural government as one of
the most important features of Nara, because of its natural
beauty and historical significance.
Nara is famed for its Kaki persimmon. Strawberry and tea are
some other popular products of the prefecture, while rice
and vegetables, including spinach, tomato, eggplants and
others are the dominant in terms of amount of production.
Nara is a center for the production of instruments used in
conducting traditional Japanese artforms. Brush and ink (sumi)
are the best known products from Nara for calligraphy.
Wooden or bamboo instruments, especially from Takayama area
(in Ikoma city) are famous products for tea ceremony.
Goldfish from Yamatokoriyama in Nara is a traditional
aquacultural product since 18th century.
Due to its rich history, Nara is also the location of many
archeological digs, with many famous ones being located in
the village of Asuka.
Many Jinja (Shinto shrines) and Buddhist temples, and kofun
exist in Nara Prefecture, and many tourists are visiting
there. Moreover, many world heritage sites, such as the
temple Tōdai-ji and Kasuga Shrine, exist in the capital city
of Nara.
World Heritage sites
Buddhist monuments in the Horyu-ji area
Hōryū-ji 法隆寺
Hokki-ji (Hōki-ji) 法起寺
Ancient Nara monuments
Tōdai-ji 東大寺
Kōfuku-ji 興福寺
Kasuga Shrine 春日大社
Gangō-ji 元興寺
Yakushi-ji 薬師寺
Tōshōdai-ji 唐招提寺
Heijo Palace remains 平城宮跡
Shōsō-in 正倉院
Sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii mountain range
Area
Mt. Yoshino
Kinpusen-ji
Yoshino-Mikumari Shrine
Kinpu Shrine
Yoshimizu Shrine
Mount Omine Ominesan-ji
Buddhist temples
Asuka-dera 飛鳥寺
Hase-dera 長谷寺
Hōrin-ji 法輪寺
Ōminesan Ryusen-ji 大峯山龍泉寺
Saidai-ji 西大寺
Southern Hokke-ji 南法華寺
Chūgū-ji 中宮寺
Shinto shrines
Isonokami Shrine 石上神宮
Kashihara Shrine 橿原神宮
Danzan Shrine 談山神社
Omiwa Shrine 大神神社
Oyamato Shrine 大和神社
Kofun and heritage
Ishibutai Kofun 石舞台古墳
Kitora Kofun キトラ古墳
Takamatsuzuka Kofun 高松塚古墳
Hashinaka Kofun 箸墓古墳
Umami Kofun Group 馬見古墳群
Sakafuneishi Heritage 酒船石遺跡
Hot springs
Dorogawa 洞川温泉
Shionoha 入之波温泉
Kamiyu 上湯温泉
Totsukawa 十津川温泉
Mountains
Amanokagu Mountain* 天香具山
Miminashi Mountain* 耳成山
Unebi Mountain* 畝傍山
Wakakusa Mountain 若草山
* "Three Mountains of Yamato"
Other attractions
Nara Park 奈良公園
Yoshino Kumano National Park 吉野熊野国立公園
Kongō Ikoma Kisen National Park 金剛生駒紀泉国定公園
Skyland Ikoma (amusement park)
Twelve cities are located in Nara Prefecture:
Gojō
Gose
Ikoma
Kashiba
Kashihara
Katsuragi
Nara (capital)
Sakurai
Tenri
Uda
Yamatokoriyama
Yamatotakada
Information source: “Nara Prefecture.” wikipedia.org. Article
date: 29 Feb. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 4 Mar. 2008 <Nara Prefecture>. |
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