Kanagawa Prefecture

Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県, Kanagawa-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu.^[2] Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at 3,800 inhabitants per square kilometre (9,800/sq mi). Its geographic area of 2,415 km² (932 sq mi) makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagawa Prefecture borders Tokyo to the north, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northwest and Shizuoka Prefecture to the west.

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Quick Facts 神奈川県, Japanese transcription(s) ...

Kanagawa Prefecture 神奈川県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
• Japanese	神奈川県
• Rōmaji	Kanagawa-ken
Minato Mirai 21 and Yokohama Port Odawara Castle View of Enoshima, from Shonan Beach The Great Buddha of Kamakura Shōnan Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival Panoramic view of Mount Fuji and Lake Ashi
Flag Symbol
Anthem: Hikari arata ni
Coordinates: 35°26′51.03″N 139°38′32.44″E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Island	Honshu
Capital	Yokohama
Subdivisions	Districts: 6, Municipalities: 33
Government
• Governor	Yūji Kuroiwa (since April 2011)
Area
• Total	2,415.83 km2 (932.76 sq mi)
• Rank	43rd
Highest elevation (Mount Hiru)	1,675 m (5,495 ft)
Population  (February 29, 2020)
• Total	9,201,825
• Rank	2nd
• Density	3,770/km2 (9,800/sq mi)
• Dialect	Kanagawa dialect
GDP [1]
• Total	JP¥ 35,288 billion US$ 321.2 billion (2021)
ISO 3166 code	JP-14
Website	www.pref.kanagawa.jp
Symbols of Japan
Bird	Common gull (Larus canus)
Flower	Golden-rayed lily (Lilium auratum)
Tree	Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

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Yokohama is the capital and largest city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second-largest city in Japan, with other major cities including Kawasaki, Sagamihara, and Fujisawa.^[3] Kanagawa Prefecture is located on Japan's eastern Pacific coast on Tokyo Bay and Sagami Bay, separated by the Miura Peninsula, across from Chiba Prefecture on the Bōsō Peninsula. Kanagawa Prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with Yokohama and many of its cities being major commercial hubs and southern suburbs of Tokyo. Kanagawa Prefecture was the political and economic center of Japan during the Kamakura period when Kamakura was the de facto capital and largest city of Japan as the seat of the Kamakura shogunate from 1185 to 1333. Kanagawa Prefecture is a popular tourist area in the Tokyo region, with Kamakura and Hakone being two popular side trip destinations.

The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period (around 400 BCE). About 3,000 years ago, Mount Hakone produced a volcanic explosion which resulted in Lake Ashi on the western area of the prefecture.^{[citation needed]}

It is believed^{[by whom?]} that the imperial dynasty ruled this area from the 5th century onwards. In the ancient era, its plains were very sparsely inhabited.^{[citation needed]}

In medieval Japan, Kanagawa was part of the provinces of Sagami and Musashi.^[4] 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 daimyō of Odawara Castle, while the eastern part was directly governed by the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo (modern-day Tokyo).^{[citation needed]}

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. After the Meiji period, many foreigners lived in Yokohama City, and visited Hakone. The Meiji government developed the first railways in Japan, from Shinbashi (in Tokyo) to Yokohama in 1872.^{[citation needed]}

The epicenter of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake was deep beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay. It devastated Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka, and caused widespread damage throughout the Kantō region.^[5] The sea receded as much as 400 metres from the shore at Manazuru Point, and then rushed back towards the shore in a great wall of water which swamped Mitsuishi-shima.^[6] At Kamakura, the total death toll from earthquake, tsunami, and fire exceeded 2,000 victims.^[7] At Odawara, ninety percent of the buildings collapsed immediately, and subsequent fires burned the rubble along with anything else left standing.^[8]

Yokohama, Kawasaki, and other major cities were heavily damaged by the U.S. bombing in 1945. Total casualties amounted to more than several thousand. After the war, General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers for the Occupation of Japan, landed in Kanagawa, before moving to other areas. U.S. military bases still remain in Kanagawa, including Camp Zama (Army), Yokosuka Naval Base, Naval Air Facility Atsugi (Navy).^[9]

In 1945, Kanagawa was the 15th most populous prefecture in Japan, with the population of about 1.9 million. In the years after the war, the prefecture underwent rapid urbanization as a part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The population as of September 1, 2014^[update] is estimated to be 9.1 million.^[11] Kanagawa became the second most populous prefecture in 2006.

Kanagawa is a relatively small prefecture located at the southeastern corner of the Kantō Plain^[12] wedged between Tokyo on the north, the foothills of Mount Fuji on the northwest, and the Sagami Bay^[12] 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.

The southeastern area nearby the Miura Peninsula is less urbanized, with the ancient city of Kamakura drawing tourists to temples and shrines. The western part, bordered by Yamanashi Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture on the west,^[13] is more mountainous and includes resort areas like Odawara and Hakone. The area, stretching 80 kilometres (50 mi) from west to east and 60 kilometres (37 mi) from north to south, contains 2,400 square kilometres (930 sq mi) of land, accounting for 0.64% of the total land area of Japan.^[13]

As of 1 April 2012^[update], 23% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park; Tanzawa-Ōyama Quasi-National Park; and Jinba Sagamiko, Manazuru Hantō, Okuyugawara, and Tanzawa-Ōyama Prefectural Natural Parks.^[14]

Cities

See also: List of cities in Kanagawa Prefecture by population

Nineteen cities are located in Kanagawa Prefecture.

• Atsugi
• Ayase
• Chigasaki
• Ebina
• Fujisawa
• Hadano
• Hiratsuka
• Isehara
• Kamakura
• Kawasaki
• Minamiashigara
• Miura
• Odawara
• Sagamihara
• Yamato
• Yokohama (capital)
• Yokosuka
• Zama
• Zushi

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

• Aikō District
  • Aikawa
  • Kiyokawa
• Ashigarakami District
  • Kaisei
  • Matsuda
  • Nakai
  • Ōi
  • Yamakita
• Ashigarashimo District
  • Hakone
  • Manazuru
  • Yugawara
• Kōza District
  • Samukawa
• Miura District
  • Hayama
• Naka District
  • Ninomiya
  • Ōiso

This section does not cite any sources. (June 2011)

• Chigasaki Hamaori Festival (July)
• Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival (July)
• Kamakura Festival (April)
• Odawara Hōjō Godai Festival (May)^[15][16]
• Tama River Firework event
• Yokohama Port Anniversary Festival (June)
• Yugawara Kifune Festival (July)

Kanagawa's transport network is heavily intertwined with that of Tokyo (see: Transportation in Greater Tokyo). Shin-Yokohama and Odawara stations on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen are located in the prefecture, providing 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.

• Yokohama Chinatown
• Yokohama Municipal Children's Botanical Garden
• Yokohama War Cemetery

• Ryoko Mima (born 1984), model and entertainer^[17]

Kanagawa Prefecture has sister relationships with these places: ^[18]

• Maryland, United States (1981)
• Liaoning Province, China (1983)
• Odesa Oblast, Ukraine (1986)
• Baden-Württemberg, Germany (1989)
• Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea (1990)
• Queensland, Australia (1990)
• Penang, Malaysia (1991)
• Västra Götaland County, Sweden (1998)
• Aguascalientes, México (2013)^[19]

• Stephen Sondheim's stage musical Pacific Overtures, about the "opening" of Japan to Western influence by Commodore Perry, contains the song "Welcome to Kanagawa".
• The main team in the Japanese manga and anime series Slam Dunk, Shohoku, is from Kanagawa.
• The Hinata Inn and surrounding town from the manga and anime series Love Hina are located in Kanagawa.
• The Japanese manga series Elfen Lied takes place in Kanagawa, mainly in Kamakura and Enoshima (Fujisawa).
• The Japanese anime series S-CRY-ED takes place in Kanagawa Prefecture, after a seismic event raises it from the ground.
• The Japanese manga and anime series Kenkō Zenrakei Suieibu Umishō takes place in the fictional Kanagawa city of Umineko.
• The Japanese anime series Gundam Wing's early episodes feature Kanagawa prominently, mainly Yokohama and Yokosuka.
• The Japanese anime and manga series Area no Kishi takes place in Kanagawa, mostly Kamakura.
• The Japanese anime and manga series Anonymous Noise takes place in Kanagawa, mostly Kamakura (Kamakura Yuigahama Beach).
• The Japanese anime and manga series Hamatora takes place in Kanagawa, mainly in Yokohama.
• The Japanese anime and manga series His and Her Circumstances takes place in Kanagawa Prefecture, mainly in Kawasaki city and Yokohama.
• The Japanese anime and manga series Neon Genesis Evangelion takes place in Tokyo-3, which is located in the village of Hakone, in the Ashigarashimo District
• A team from the Japanese anime and manga series Kuroko's Basketball, Kaijo, is from Kanagawa.
• The manga Shonan Junai Gumi, along with its prequel Bad Company, and the sequel Great Teacher Onizuka's spin off GTO: 14 Days in Shonan, are set in Shonan, in Kanagawa
• The Japanese anime and manga series Yowamushi Pedal, Hakone Academy is from Hakone, Kanagawa.
• The Japanese anime and manga series Initial D Fifth Stage is set in Kanagawa, and Final Stage is set in Hakone.
• The Japanese anime and manga series Bungo Stray Dogs is set in Yokohama.
• The Japanese anime and manga series Aoi Hana is set in Kamakura.
• The Japanese anime and manga series Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai takes place in various places in Kanagawa Prefecture, such as Fujisawa and Yokohama.
• The Japanese anime and manga series Astro Fighter Sunred is set in Kanagawa Prefecture, specifically Kawasaki City and the area around the Tama River.
• It's never been said, but the Japanese manga series Komi-San Wa Komyushou Desu is set in Kanagawa. One of the characters lives in a building complex in the city of Chigasaki that exists in real life.

• Politics of Kanagawa