Shizuoka Prefecture

Infobox Prefecture Japan
Name = Shizuoka
JapaneseName = 静岡県
Rōmaji = Shizuoka-ken
Symbol = PrefSymbol-Shizuoka.png Capital = Shizuoka
Region = Chūbu
Island = Honshū
TotalArea = 7,779.63
AreaRank = 13th
PCWater = 2.6
PopDate = October 1, 2005
Population = 3,792,457
PopRank = 10th
Density = 487
Districts = 9
Municipalities = 42
ISOCode = JP-22
Flower = Azalea ("Rhododenron")
Tree = Sweet Osmanthus ("Osmanthus fragrans" var. "aurantiacus")
Bird = Japanese Paradise Flycatcher ("Terpsiphone atrocaudata")

---

Website = [http://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/a_foreign/english/www.pref.shizuoka.jp/ a_foreign/english/]
Governor = Yoshinobu Ishikawanihongo|Shizuoka Prefecture|静岡県|"Shizuoka-ken" is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.

History

The prefecture was previously divided into Tōtōmi Province, Suruga Province and Izu Province. The most noted history of the prefecture is that it was once home to the first Tokugawa Shogun.

The region was held by Tokugawa Ieyasu until he conquered the lands of the Hōjō clan in the Kantō region and gave his lands to the stewardship of Oda Nobunaga. After becoming shogun Tokugawa took the land back for his family, particularly putting the area around modern-day Shizuoka city under direct shogunal supervision.

It once again became the residence of the Tokugawa family after 1868, with the creation of Shizuoka han.

Geography

Shizuoka Prefecture is an elongated region following the coast of the Pacific Ocean at the Suruga Bay. In the west, the prefecture extends deep into the Japan Alps, while farther east it becomes a narrower coast bounded on the north by Mount Fuji, until it comes to the Izu Peninsula, a popular resort area pointing south into the Pacific.

Tokai earthquakes

Every 100–150 years, an earthquake of disastrous proportions called the Tokai Earthquake occurs in the Shizuoka Prefecture. The previous earthquake was in 1854.

Cities

Twenty-three cities are located in Shizuoka Prefecture:

Towns

Towns in each district:‡ Scheduled to be dissolved following mergers.

Mergers

Future mergers

*On November 1, 2008, Yui will be merged into Shimizu Ward in Shizuoka and Fujikawa will be merged into Fuji. Therefore, Ihara District, which has Yui and Fujikawa, will dissolve. On the same day, Ōigawa, Shida District will merge into the city of Yaizu; this will leave Shida District with one municipality.http://www.kokudo.or.jp/new/cities/sub/chubu/22.htm]
*On January 1, 2009, Okabe, Shida District will merge into Fujieda. Shida District will be dissolved.
*Around March 31, 2010, the city of Shimoda and three municipalities in Kamo District (Kawazu, Matsuzaki, and Minamiizu) will merge. Around the same time period, Arai, Hamana District will merge into Kosai and Hamana District will cease to exist.

Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Shizuoka.

Football (soccer)

*Shimizu S-Pulse (Shimizu, Shizuoka City)
*Jubilo Iwata (Iwata)
*Honda F.C. (Hamamatsu)

Volleyball

*Toray Arrows (men's volleyball team) (Mishima city)

Rugby

*Yamaha Jubilo (Iwata)

External links

* [http://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/a_foreign/english/ Official Shizuoka Prefecture homepage]