Hyōgo Prefecture

Map of Hyogo Prefecture with former provincial boundaries and current prefectural offices.
1.□Kobe city (divided between Harima and Settsu)
2.■Settsu (Hanshin South office)
3.■Settsu (Hanshin North office)
4.■Harima East office
5.■Harima North office
6.■Harima Central office
7.■Harima West office
9.■Tanba office
8.■Tajima office
10.■Awaji office
Areas beyond Harima West belonged to Mimasaka (north) and Bizen (south)

Present-day Hyōgo Prefecture includes the former provinces of Harima, Tajima, Awaji, and parts of Tanba and Settsu.[3]

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.

Kobe

Takarazuka

Sumoto

Tatsuno

Shiso

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.

Summertime weather throughout Hyōgo is hot and humid. As for winter conditions in Hyōgo, the north of Hyōgo tends to receive abundant snow, whilst the south receives only the occasional flurry.

Hyōgo borders on Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture and Okayama Prefecture.

As of 31 March 2008, 20% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Sanin Kaigan and Setonaikai National Parks; Hyōnosen-Ushiroyama-Nagisan Quasi-National Park; and Asago Gunzan, Harima Chūbu Kyūryō, Inagawa Keikoku, Izushi-Itoi, Kasagatayama-Sengamine, Kiyomizu-Tōjōko-Tachikui, Onzui-Chikusa, Seiban Kyūryō, Seppiko-Mineyama, Tajima Sangaku, and Taki Renzan Prefectural Natural Parks.[5]

Current municipalities

^Aioi_相生市

^Akashi_明石市

^Akō_赤穂市

^Amagasaki_尼崎市

^Asago_朝来市

^Ashiya_芦屋市

^Awaji_淡路市

^Himeji_姫路市

^Itami_伊丹市

^Kakogawa_加古川市

^Kasai_加西市

^Katō_加東市

^Kawanishi_川西市

^{Kobe (capital)}_神戸市

^Miki_三木市

^Minamiawaji_{南あわじ市}

^Nishinomiya_西宮市

^Nishiwaki_西脇市

^Ono_小野市

^Sanda_三田市

^Shisō_宍粟市

^Sumoto_洲本市

^Takarazuka_宝塚市

^Takasago_高砂市

^{Tamba-Sasayama}_{丹波篠山市}

^Tanba_丹波市

^Tatsuno_たつの市

^Toyooka_豊岡市

^Yabu_養父市

^Fukusaki_福崎町

^Harima_播磨町

^Ichikawa_市川町

^Inagawa_猪名川町

^Inami_稲美町

^Kami_香美町

^Kamigōri_上郡町

^Kamikawa_神河町

^Sayō_佐用町

^Shin'onsen_新温泉町

^Taishi_太子町

^Taka_多可町

Municipalities in Hyōgo Prefecture      Government Ordinance Designated City      City      Town

As in all prefectures nationwide, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries play a big role in the economy of Hyogo Prefecture.[7] Hyōgo Prefecture also has an IT industry, many heavy industries, metal and medical, Kobe Port being one of the largest ports in Japan. Kobe Port also hosts one of the world's fastest supercomputers,[8] and Hyogo Prefecture passed laws to keep Kobe Port free of nuclear weapons (a nuclear-free zone) since the year 1975.

Hyōgo is a part of the Hanshin Industrial Region. There are two research institutes of Riken, natural sciences research institute in Japan, in Kobe and Harima. "SPring-8", a synchrotron radiation facility, is in Harima.

Kobe Port

Kyocera Dome Osaka.

The sports teams listed below are based in Hyōgo.

Football (soccer)

• Vissel Kobe (Kobe)
• INAC Kobe Leonessa (Women's) (Kobe)

Baseball

• Orix Buffaloes (Kobe)
• Hanshin Tigers (Nishinomiya)

Volleyball

• Hisamitsu Springs (Kobe)
• JT Marvelous (Nishinomiya)

Rugby

• Kobelco Steelers (Kobe)
• World Fighting Bull (Kobe)

Basketball

• Nishinomiya Storks (Nishinomiya)

A popular troupe of Takarazuka Revue plays in Takarazuka.

Arima Onsen in the south of the province in Kita-ku, Kobe is one of the Three Ancient Springs in Japan. The north of Hyogo Prefecture has sightseeing spots such as Kinosaki Onsen, Izushi, and Yumura Onsen. Takeda Castle in Asago is often referred to locally as the "Machu Picchu of Japan". The matsuba crab and Tajima beef are both national delicacies.[9]

• 
  Arima Onsen, Kobe
• 
  Million-dollar view, Kobe
• 
  Harborland – Meriken Park area in Kobe
• 
  Awaji Yumebutai in Awaji
• 
  Kuchiganaya in Asago
• 
  Kinosaki Onsen
• 
  Yumura Onsen
• 
  Tonomine highland in Kamikawa
• 
  Toyooka Stork Park
• 
  Takeda Castle

Dekansho Bon Dancing Festival

Castle Festival in Himeji

• Miyuki Street New Year's midnight traditional sale, Himeji
• Nishinomiya Shrine's Ebisu Festival in January
• Yanagihara Ebisu Festival in January, Kobe
• Tada Shrine's Genji Festival in April, Kawanishi
• Kobe Festival and Parade in May
• Aioi Peron Festival in May
• Himeji Yukata Festival in June
• Dekansho Bon Dancing Festival in August, Sasayama
• Nada Fighting Festival, Himeji
• Kobe Luminarie in December
• Ako Chushingura Parade

• Ume Aoki, manga artist
• Mana Ashida, child actress from Nishinomiya
• Koichi Domoto, singer of KinKi Kids
• Heath, musician, singer-songwriter and bassist of X Japan is from Amagasaki
• Hiro Fujiwara, manga artist
• Miracle Hikaru, comedian and impersonator is from Toyooka
• Kanō Jigorō, founder of the martial art Judo
• Jun, musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist of Phantasmagoria is from Kobe
• Shinji Kagawa, footballer from Kobe
• Tomoya Kanki, drummer of One Ok Rock
• Takumi Kawanishi (J-pop idol singer and dancer, member of JO1)
• Tomomi Ogawa, bassist of Scandal
• Itzuki Yamazaki, professional wrestler from Ieshima
• Kaoru, guitarist of Dir En Grey
• Ayaka Kimura, actress, former singer of Coconuts Musume is from Kobe
• Keiko Kitagawa, actress from Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon and Buzzer Beat was born in Kobe
• Miho Komatsu, singer and songwriter from Kobe
• Yūji Kuroiwa, politician from Kobe, current governor of Kanagawa Prefecture
• Kamui Kobayashi, former Sauber and Toyota Racing driver from Amagasaki
• Chisa Maekawa, singer of Girl Next Door
• Kiyomatsu Matsubara, ichthyologist, herpetologist and marine biologist
• Aya Matsuura, singer is from Himeji
• Ryuto Kazuhara, vocalist of Generations from Exile Tribe is from Amagasaki
• Mina Myoui – American-born Japanese singer of South Korean group Twice. Raised in Nishinomiya
• Hiro Matsushita – Businessman, former driver in Champ Car series. Chairman of Swift Engineering & Swift Xi
• Miyavi, musician, although born in Konohana-ku, Osaka grew up in Kawanishi
• Minako Nishiyama, contemporary artist
• Masamune Shirow, manga artist was born in Kobe
• So Taguchi, outfielder for the Chicago Cubs
• Masahiro Tanaka, pitcher for the New York Yankees
• Nagaru Tanigawa, creator of the Haruhi Suzumiya series was born in Kinki
• Tsuneko Taniuchi, contemporary performance artist
• Fumito Ueda, video game creator of Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian
• Juri Ueno, Japanese Academy Award-winning actress best known for her performances in Swing Girls and the live-action adaptation of Nodame Cantabile, is from Kakogawa
• Shota Yasuda, guitarist of Kanjani Eight is from Amagasaki
• Piko, musician, Vocaloid singer born in Kobe, Hyōgo

Hyogo entered a sister state relationship with Washington state in the United States on October 22, 1963, the first such arrangement between Japan and the United States.[10][11]

In 1981, a sister state agreement was drawn up between Hyogo and the state of Western Australia in Australia.[12] To commemorate the 10th anniversary of this agreement in 1992, the Hyogo Prefectural Government Cultural Centre was established in Perth.[13]

• Banshu Yamasaki Iris Garden
• Fastest Computer in the world

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5. OCLC 58053128.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hyōgo Prefecture.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Hyōgo.

• Official Hyōgo prefecture homepage
• Hyōgo prefecture tourist guide
• Hyōgo Business & Cultural Center
• Medical Services in Hyōgo prefecture