Kanagawa
Kanagawa prefecture (神奈川県; Kanagawa-ken) is a geographic and political area located in the Kanto region on Honshu island, Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Yokosuka Port commanding the mouth of Tokyo Bay is headquatered by the U.S. 7th Fleet.
This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.
History
- The present sphire of the prefecture belonged to Sagami Province and some parts of Musashi Province in Ancient Japan.
- In the medieval age, samurai clans in Eastern Japan took military supremacy and established the shugunate government at Kamakura in central Sagami.
- In the early modern age, the western part of Sagami Province was governed by a feudal lord with a castle in Odawara, and the eastern part was directly governed by the Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo or today's Tokyo.
- Under foreign pressure, Japan opened Yokohama Port to foreign traders in 1859. Yokohama developped into a modern and prosperous port in the modern age.
- Yokosuka City commanding a strategic locattion at the mouth of Tokyo Bay developed as a naval port during the age of militarism. The port is still headquatered by the U.S. 7th Fleet and the Japanese Self-Defence Fleet.
- Urban areas including Yokohama and Kawasaki were heavily damaged by the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 and the heavy bombing in 1945.
Geography
Cities
Towns and Villages
Economy
Demographics
Culture
Tourism
Prefectural symbols
Miscellaneous topics
Kanagawa is well known for the popularity of soccer. It is also the prefecture in which the manga Love Hina takes place.
