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Hyogo Prefecture

Hyōgo Prefecture
兵庫県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
 • Japanese 兵庫県
 • Rōmaji Hyōgo-ken
Flag of Hyōgo Prefecture
Flag
Official logo of Hyōgo Prefecture
Symbol of Hyōgo Prefecture
Location of Hyōgo Prefecture
Country Japan
Region Kansai
Island Honshu
Capital Kobe
Government
 • Governor Toshizō Ido
Area
 • Total 8,396.13 km2 (3,241.76 sq mi)
Area rank 12th
Population (November 1, 2011)
 • Total 5,582,978
 • Rank 7th
 • Density 660/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code JP-28
Districts 8
Municipalities 41
Flower Nojigiku (Chrysanthemum japonense)
Tree Camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora)
Bird Oriental white stork (Ciconia boyciana)
Website web.pref.hyogo.lg.jp/fl/english/

Hyōgo Prefecture (兵庫県 Hyōgo-ken?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshu island. The capital is Kobe.

Present-day Hyōgo Prefecture includes the former provinces of Harima, Tajima, Awaji, and parts of Tanba and Settsu.

In 1180, near the end of the Heian period, Emperor Antoku, Taira no Kiyomori, and the Imperial court moved briefly to Fukuhara, in what is now the city of Kobe. There the capital remained for five months.

Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in the city of Himeji.

Southern Hyōgo Prefecture was severely devastated by the 6.9 Mw Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995, which destroyed major parts of Kobe and Awaji, as well as Takarazuka and neighboring Osaka Prefecture, killing nearly 6,500 people.

Hyōgo has coastlines on two seas: to the north, the Sea of Japan, to the south, the Seto Inland Sea. On Awaji Island, Hyōgo borders the Pacific Ocean coastline in the Kii Channel. The northern portion is sparsely populated, except for the city of Toyooka, and the central highlands are only populated by tiny villages. Most of Hyōgo's population lives on the southern coast, which is part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area. Awaji is an island that separates the Inland Sea and Osaka Bay, lying between Honshu and Shikoku.


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