Saitama Prefecture - Saitama

Japanese: 埼玉[県] - さいたま

A prefecture in the central west of the Kanto region. The prefectural capital is Saitama City. It has an area of 3,797.75 ^km2 and a population of 7,194,556 (2010). In the southern part of the prefecture, large housing complexes run by the public corporation, as well as land development by prefectures, municipalities, and private companies, have progressed rapidly since the late 1950s, and the number of commuters to Tokyo has increased dramatically. The prefecture has 40 cities, and three cities under 10 ^km2 , including Warabi City, the smallest in the country. [History] In ancient times, it was part of Musashi Province together with Tokyo. In ancient times, it became a center of new culture and new technology due to the mass migration of immigrants, and in the Heian period it became the base of the Musashi Seven Clans and the Kanto Eight Heike clans. In the Edo period, four domains, Oshi, Iwatsuki, Okabe, and Kawagoe, and many tenryo were established, and new rice fields were developed as food supply sources for Edo, and the Nobidome Irrigation Canal and Minumadai Irrigation Canal were actively developed. In 1871, the feudal domains were abolished and prefectures were established, with Iruma, Oshi, Iwatsuki, Kawagoe, and Kumagaya prefectures established, which were merged into the present Saitama prefecture in 1876. [Nature] The prefecture is divided into three regions: the western mountainous area, the central hills and plateaus, and the lowlands from the north to the east. The Chichibu Mountains in the west include Kobushigatake and Kumotoriyama, and to the east lies the Chichibu Basin. The central hills and plateaus form part of the Kanto Plain, but the hills are scattered in Hiki, Osato, and Kodama counties. The plateaus consist of the Omiya Plateau in the center of the prefecture and the Musashino Plateau, which straddles Tokyo, and are covered in Kanto loam. The lowlands in the north and east along the Tone River, Arakawa River, and Edo River form the center of the Kanto Plain. It belongs to the Pacific coast climate, and winter is often sunny and has strong seasonal winds. In early spring, strong winds blow, and late frosts are common. In summer, the climate is inland, and the heat is severe. [Industry] The population composition by industry is 2.2% for the first generation, 26.8% for the second generation, and 68.4% for the third generation (2005). The cultivated land rate is high at 22.5% (2003), and as an agricultural area near Tokyo, vegetable cultivation such as cucumbers and spinach using greenhouses is particularly popular. Specialty products include seedlings in Angyo, Kawaguchi City, tea in the Sayama region, and pears in Kuki City and Kodama County. Industry has a manufacturing shipment value of 13.691 trillion yen (2003), ranking second in the Kanto region. It is divided into a modern industrial area in the southern part of the prefecture that belongs to the Keihin Industrial Zone, and a Western Kanto-type industrial area based on the textile and weaving industry. The former are mainly industries such as transport machinery, machinery, electrical equipment, and food, located along the Takasaki Line in Kawaguchi, Saitama, Ageo, etc. The latter, textile and fabric industries, developed in cities such as Chichibu, Kumagaya, Hanno, Honjo, Hanyu, Kazo, and Gyoda, but have declined, while industries such as electrical equipment, general equipment, and precision equipment are on the rise. Traditional industries include casting and fishing rods in Kawaguchi, tabi socks in Gyoda, dolls in Iwatsuki, Japanese paper in Ogawamachi, and roofing tiles in Fukaya, but these are decreasing due to the development of industrial parks. Nagatoro and the Sayama Hills are popular tourist destinations near Tokyo, and Okuchichibu, with Mt. Mitake and Nakatsu Gorge, is a major part of the Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park. [Transportation] The railway network has developed radially throughout the prefecture, with Tokyo at its center, and includes the Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen, Tohoku Main Line, Takasaki Line, Keihin-Tohoku Line, Saikyo Line, Hachiko Line, Tobu Railway Isesaki, Nikko, and Tojo Lines, Seibu Railway Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, and Chichibu Lines, and Saitama Rapid Railway Line, which are connected horizontally by the Kawagoe Line, Musashino Line, Tobu Noda Line, and Chichibu Railway. In the 1970s, the Tohoku and Kanetsu Expressways were built, in the 1980s the Joban Expressway, and in the 1990s the Tokyo Outer Ring Road and Metropolitan Intercity Expressways were built, connecting these horizontally. The road network to Tokyo has also developed further.
→ Related topics Kanto region

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

関東地方の西部中央の県。県庁所在地はさいたま市。3797.75km²。719万4556人（2010）。　県南部では1950年代後半から各地に公団の大型団地や県市町村，民間業者による宅地造成が急速に進んで，東京都への通勤者が激増している。市の数が40，全国最小の蕨市をはじめ10km²以下の市の数が３あるという特性をもっている。〔沿革〕　古くは東京都とともに武蔵国をなした。古代には渡来人の集団移住によって新文化，新技術の中心となり，平安時代には武蔵七党，関東八平氏の根拠地となった。江戸時代は忍(おし)，岩槻，岡部，川越の４藩と多くの天領がおかれ，江戸の食糧供給地として新田の開発や野火止用水，見沼代用水などの整備が盛んに行われた。1871年の廃藩置県によって入間(いるま)県，忍県，岩槻県，川越県，熊谷県などがおかれ，1876年に現在の埼玉県に統合された。〔自然〕　西部山地，中央部の丘陵地・台地，北部から東部にかけての低地帯の三つの地域に分けられる。西部の秩父山地には，甲武信ヶ岳(こぶしがたけ)，雲取山などがそびえ，その東部には秩父盆地がある。中央部の丘陵地・台地は関東平野の一部をなすが，丘陵地は比企(ひき)・大里・児玉郡に散在する。台地は県の中央にある大宮台地と，東京都にまたがる武蔵野台地からなり，関東ロームにおおわれる。利根川，荒川，江戸川に沿う北部・東部の低地帯は関東平野の中心をなす。太平洋岸式気候に属し，冬は快晴が多く，季節風が強い。春先に強風が吹き，晩霜も多い。夏は内陸性の気候で暑さがきびしい。〔産業〕　産業別人口構成は第１次2.2％，第２次26.8％，第３次68.4％（2005）。耕地率は22.5％（2003）と高く，東京都の近郊農業地として施設園芸によるキュウリ，ホウレンソウなどの野菜栽培が特に盛ん。特産物には川口市安行(あんぎょう)の苗木，狭山地方の茶，久喜市・児玉郡のナシがある。工業は製造品出荷額で13兆691億円（2003）を上げ，関東地方で２位の位置にある。京浜工業地帯に属する県南の近代工業地区と，繊維・織物工業を基盤とする西関東型の工業地区に分けられる。前者は川口，さいたま，上尾(あげお)など高崎線沿いに立地する輸送用機械，機械，電気機器，食品などの工業が主である。後者の繊維・織物工業は秩父，熊谷，飯能，本庄，羽生，加須(かぞ)，行田などの市で発達していたが，衰退しており，電気機器，一般機器，精密機器などの工業が増加している。伝統的工業として，川口市の鋳物と釣竿(つりざお)，行田市の足袋(たび)，岩槻市の人形，小川町の和紙，深谷市の瓦などが有名ではあるが，工業団地の造成などにより，減少している。長瀞(ながとろ)，狭山丘陵などは東京近郊の観光地としてにぎわい，三峰山，中津峡などがある奥秩父は秩父多摩甲斐国立公園の主要部をなす。〔交通〕　鉄道は東京を中心として県全体に放射状に発達し，東北・上越新幹線，東北本線，高崎線，京浜東北線，埼京線，八高線，東武鉄道伊勢崎・日光・東上各線，西武鉄道池袋・新宿・秩父各線，埼玉高速鉄道線などが通じ，これらを横に連絡するものに川越線，武蔵野線，東武野田線，秩父鉄道がある。また1970年代に東北・関越の各自動車道，1980年代に常磐自動車道，1990年代にはそれらを横につなぐ東京外環・首都圏中央連絡の各自動車道も通じて東京への道路網が，一段と発達してきている。
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