Nagasaki Prefecture

Nagasaki Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
– Japanese	長崎県
– Rōmaji	Nagasaki-ken
Symbol of Nagasaki Prefecture
Country	Japan
Region	Kyūshū
Island	Kyūshū
Capital	Nagasaki
Government
– Governor	Hodo Nakamura (since March 2010)
Area
– Total	4,104.48 km2 (1,584.7 sq mi)
Area rank	37th
Population (2009)
– Total	1,440,727
– Rank	26th
– Density	351/km2 (909.1/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	JP-42
Districts	4
Municipalities	21
Flower	Unzentsutsuji (Rhododendron serpyllifolium)
Tree	Sawara (Chamaecyparis pisifera)
Bird	Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)
Website	www.pref.nagasaki.jp/en/

Nagasaki Prefecture (長崎県, Nagasaki-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū.^[1] The capital is the city of Nagasaki.^[2]

History

Nagasaki Prefect Office, Meiji Period

Lighthouse at Osezaki in Gotō

Map of Nagasaki Prefecture

Grave of William Adams in Hirado

Castle in Shimabara

Sōfuku-ji Ōbaku Zen temple in Nagasaki

Nagasaki Prefecture was created by merging of the western half of the former province of Hizen with the island provinces of Tsushima and Iki.^[3] Facing China and Korea, the region around Hirado was a traditional center for both traders and pirates.

During the 16th century, Catholic missionaries and traders from Portugal arrived and became active in Hirado and Nagasaki, which became a major center for foreign trade. After being given free rein in Oda Nobunaga's period, the missionaries were forced out little by little, until finally, in the Tokugawa era, Christianity was banned under the Sakoku national isolation policy, during which time, Japanese foreign trade was restricted to Chinese and Dutch traders based at Dejima in Nagasaki; however, Kirishitan (Japanese Christian) worship continued underground. These Kakure Kirishitan (hidden Christians) were tried at every step, forced to step on fumi-e ("trample pictures", images of the Virgin Mary and saints) to prove that they were non-Christian. With the banishment of all Catholic missionaries, traders from Catholic countries were also forced out of the country. Along with them, their children, half Japanese and half European, were also forced to leave the country. The majority was sent to Jagatara (Jakarta) and are still remembered by the locals as the people who wrote the poignant letters which were smuggled across the sea to their homeland. Today, Nagasaki has a prominent Chinatown^[4] and Catholic churches.

During the Meiji Restoration, Nagasaki and Sasebo became major ports for foreign trade, and eventually major military bases and shipbuilding centers for the Imperial Japanese Navy up to World War II. On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, which completely destroyed all buildings in a one mile radius from the point of impact and extensively damaged other parts of the city. 70,000 people died and over 70,000 more were injured in the attack.

Geography

Nagasaki borders Saga Prefecture on the east, and is otherwise surrounded by water, including Ariake Bay, the Tsushima Straits, and the East China Sea. It also includes a large number of islands such as Tsushima and Iki. Most of the prefecture is near the coast and there are a number of ports such as Nagasaki and a United States Navy base at Sasebo.

Regions

Nagasaki Prefecture currently has 13 cities, 4 districts, and 8 towns. There are currently no municipalities with the designation of village within Nagasaki Prefecture.

Cities

Gotō Hirado Iki Isahaya Matsuura

Minamishimabara Nagasaki (capital) Ōmura Saikai Sasebo

Shimabara Tsushima Unzen

Districts

Higashisonogi District Hasami Higashisonogi Kawatana Kitamatsuura District Ojika Saza

Minamimatsuura District Shinkamigotō Nishisonogi District Nagayo Togitsu

Mergers and dissolutions

Main article: List of mergers in Nagasaki Prefecture

The following municipalities have been dissolved during the last seven years.

• Kitamatsuura District:
  • Emukae, Fukushima, Ikitsuki, Kosaza, Ōshima, Sechibaru, Shikamachi, Tabira, Takashima, Uku, Yoshii
• Minamimatsuura District:
  • Arikawa, Kamigotō, Kishiku, Miiraku, Narao, Naru, Shin'uonome, Tamanoura, Tomie, Wakamatsu
• Nishisonogi District:
  • Iōjima, Kinkai, Kōyagi, Nomozaki, Ōseto, Ōshima, Saikai, Sakito, Sanwa, Seihi, Sotome, Takashima, Tarami
• Kitatakaki District:
  • Iimori, Konagai, Moriyama, Takaki
• Minamitakaki District:
  • Aino, Ariake, Arie, Azuma, Chidiwa, Fukae, Futsu, Kazusa, Kitaarima, Kuchinotsu, Kunimi, Minamiarima, Minamikushiyama, Mizuho, Nishiarie, Obama
• Kamiagata District:
  • Kamiagata, Kamitsushima, Mine
• Shimoagata District:
  • Izuhara, Mitsushima, Toyotama
• Iki District:
  • Ashibe, Gonoura, Ishida, Katsumoto

Economy

Culture

Religion

Nagasaki is the most Christianized area in Japan with Roman Catholic missions having been established there as early as the 16th century. See Shusaku Endo's novel "Silence" which draws from the oral history of the local Christian ( Kirishitan ) communities, both Kakure Kirishitan and Hanare Kirishitan.

As of 2002, there are 68,617 Catholics in Nagasaki Prefecture, accounting for 4.52 percent of the total population of the prefecture.

Sports

The Nagasaki Saints of the Shikoku-Kyūshū Island League make Nagasaki Prefecture their home.

Tourism

Kujū-ku Islands in Sasebo

• Nagasaki (capital city)
  • Ōura Church (大浦天主堂)
  • Urakami Cathedral (浦上天主堂)
  • Confucius Shrine
  • Glover Garden (グラバー園)
  • Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown
  • Mount Inasa
  • Kōfuku-ji
  • Sōfuku-ji
  • Suwa Shrine
• Hirado
  • Hirado Castle
  • Sakikata Park
• Sasebo
  • Kujū-ku Islands
  • Huis Ten Bosch (theme park)
  • Tenkaihō
• Saikai
  • Nagasaki Bio Park
• Shimabara Peninsula
  • Mount Unzen
  • Shimabara Castle

Transportation

Railroad

• JR Kyushu
  • Nagasaki Line
  • Sasebo Line
  • Omura Line
• Shimabara Railway
• Matsuura Railway

Tram Car

• Nagasaki Electric Tramway

Road

Expressway and Toll road

• Nagasaki Expressway
• West Kyushu Expressway
• Nagasaki Dejima Road
• Kawahira Toll Road
• Kunimi Toll Road
• Kawahira Toll Road

National Highway

• Route 34
• Route 35
• Route 57
• Route 202
• Route 204
• Route 205
• Route 206
• Route 207
• Route 251
• Route 324
• Route 382
• Route 383
• Route 384
• Route 389
• Route 444
• Route 498
• Route 499

Port

• Nagasaki Port
• Sasebo Port
• Matsuura Port
• Hirado Port
• Shimabara Port
• Fukue Port
• Izuhara Port of Tsushima
• Gonoura Port of Iki Island

Airport

• Nagasaki Airport
• Fukue Airport
• Iki Airport
• Tsushima Airport

Notes

1. ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Nagasaki prefecture" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 683 at Google Books.
2. ^ Nussbaum, "Nagasaki" in p. 683 at Google Books.
3. ^ Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" in p. 780 at Google Books.
4. ^ ようこそ 長崎新地中華街へ

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 10-ISBN 0-674-01753-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128

External links

• Official Nagasaki Prefecture homepage
• Life in photos - Sasebo and areas nearby in English

Coordinates: 32°58′N 129°48′E / 32.967°N 129.8°E / 32.967; 129.8