OKAYAMA PREFECTURE

is located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island, Japan. The capital is the city of Okayama.

Contents

History

Geography

Cities

Towns and villages

Mergers

Transportation

Railways

Culture

Pottery

Sports

Tourism

Miscellaneous topics

Anime and manga

Notables

External links

History

During the Meiji Restoration; Bitchu Province, Bizen Province and Mimasaka Province were combined to form Okayama Prefecture.

Geography

Okayama Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture and Hiroshima Prefecture. It faces Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku across the Seto Inland Sea and includes 90 islands in the sea.
Okayama Prefecture is home to the historic town of Kurashiki. Most of the population is concentrated around Kurashiki and Okayama, and the northern mountains are declining in population.

Cities

Fifteen cities are located in Okayama Prefecture:

★ Akaiwa ★ Asakuchi ★ Bizen ★ Ibara ★ Kasaoka ★ Kurashiki ★ Maniwa ★ Mimasaka

★ Niimi ★ Okayama (capital) ★ Setouchi ★ Sōja ★ Takahashi ★ Tamano ★ Tsuyama

Towns and villages

Towns and villages in each district:

★ Aida District:Nishiawakura ★ Asakuchi District:Satoshō ★ Kaga District:Kibichūō

★ Katsuta District:Nagi:Shōō ★ Kume District:Kumenan:Misaki ★ Maniwa District:Shinjō

★ Oda District:Yakage ★ Tomata District:Kagamino ★ Tsukubo District:Hayashima ★ Wake District:Wake

Mergers

★ On October 1, 2004, the city of Takahashi and the towns of Ukan, Nariwa, Kawakami, and Bitchū merged to form the new city of Takahashi. As a result of this merger, Kawakami District was dissolved.

★ On October 1, 2004, the towns of Kamogawa and Kayō merged to form the town of Kibichūō. The new town belongs to Kaga District, founded upon this merger.

★ On November 1, 2004, the towns of Ushimado, Oku, and Osafune from Oku District merged to form the city of Setouchi. As a result of this merger, Oku District was dissolved.

★ On February 28, 2005, the towns of Kamo, Shōboku, and Kume and the village of Aba from Tomata District merged into the city of Tsuyama.

★ On March 1, 2005, the towns of Yoshii from Shitsuki District and Bisei from Oda District merged into the city of Ibara. As a result of this merger, Shitsuki District was dissolved.

★ On March 1, 2005, the towns of Okutsu and Kagamino and the villages of Kamisaibara and Tomi from Tomata District merged to form the new town of Kagamino.

★ On March 7, 2005, the towns of San'yō, Akasaka, Yoshii and Kumayama (all from Akaiwa District) merged to form the new city of Akaiwa.

★ On March 22, 2005, the towns of Mitsu and Nadasaki merged into the city of Okayama. As a result of this merger, Kojima District was dissolved.

★ On March 22, 2005, the city of Sōja merged with the villages of Yamate, and Kiyone from Tsukubo District to form the new city of Sōja.

★ On March 22, 2005, the city of Bizen and the towns of Hinase, and Yoshinaga merged to form the new city of Bizen.

★ On March 22, 2005, the towns of Chūō, Asahi, and Yanahara merged to form the new town of Misaki.

★ On March 31, 2005, the city of Niimi and the towns of Ōsa, Shingō, Tetta, and Tessei merged to form the new city of Niimi. As a result of this merger, Atetsu District was dissolved.

★ On March 31, 2005, the town of Hokubō from Jōbō District and the towns of Katsuyama, Ochiai, Yubara, and Kuse and the villages of Mikamo, Kawakami, Yatsuka, and Chūka (all from Maniwa District) merged to form the new city of Maniwa. As a result of this merger, Jōbō District was dissolved.

★ On March 31, 2005, the town of Katsuta from Katsuta District and the towns of Ōhara, Mimasaka, Sakutō, and Aida and the village of Higashiawakura (all from Aida District) merged to form the new city of Mimasaka.

★ On August 1, 2005, the town of Funao from Asakuchi District and the town of Mabi from Kibi District merged into the city of Kurashiki. Kibi District was dissolved as a result of this merger.

★ On March 1, 2006, the towns of Wake and Saeki from Wake District merged to form the new town of Wake.

★ On March 21, 2006, the towns of Konkō, Kamogata and Yorishima from Asakuchi District merged to form the new city of Asakuchi.

★ On January 22, 2007, Seto of Akaiwa District and Takebe of Mitsu District merged into the city of Okayama. Akaiwa District and Mitsu District were dissolved as a result of this merger.

Transportation

Railways

★ List of railway stations in Okayama Prefecture

Culture

Pottery

Bizen-yaki (Bizen pottery).

Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Okayama.
;Association Football (soccer)

★ Mitsubishi Motors Mizushima F.C. (Kurashiki)
;Volleyball

★ Okayama Seagulls (Okayama city)

Tourism

Some tourist attractions are:

★ located in Okayama City.

★ located in Okayama City.

★ , located in Bizen City.

★ , located in Kurashiki City.

★ , located in Kurashiki City.

★ , located in Ibara Town (following dissolution of Bisei Town).

Miscellaneous topics

Anime and manga

The anime and manga series ''Tenchi Muyo!'' take place in this part of Japan, and many characters are named after geographical features and landmarks of the area.
In the anime and manga series "Nerima Daikon Brothers," the character Mako speaks with an Okayama accent.

Notables

★ Yuko Arimori, marathon runner.

★ Naoto Fujiki, actor.

★ Tesshō Genda, voice actor.

★ Ryutaro Hashimoto, Kiichiro Hiranuma and Inukai Tsuyoshi, former Prime Ministers of Japan.

★ Sen'ichi Hoshino, baseball manager.

★ Koshi Inaba, singer.

★ Keizo Nakanishi, singer.

★ Joe Odagiri, actor.

★ Sesshu Toyo, suiboku master.

★ Joichiro Tatsuyoshi, boxer.

★ Nobuo Yana, actor.

★ Haruka Fukushima, mangaka.

★ Masashi Kishimoto, mangaka.

★ Seishi Kishimoto, mangaka.

★ Daisuke Takahashi, Olympic figure skater.

★ Dorlis, jazz musician.

★ Michio Maeda, Koi breeder.

External links

★ Official Okayama Prefecture homepage

★ Personnal blog to discover Okayama Prefecture (in french)