Nara Prefecture - Nara

Japanese: 奈良[県] - なら

An inland prefecture located in the center of the Kinki region. It has an area of 3,690.94 ^km2 and a population of 1,407,280 (2010). The prefectural capital is Nara City. [History] Formerly Yamato Province, advanced cultures have flourished since prehistoric times, centered around the Nara Basin, and ancient imperial capitals such as Asuka-kyo, Fujiwara-kyo, and Heijo-kyo were established here. During the Nanboku-cho period, the Yoshino Imperial Court was located here for a time. During the Edo period, small feudal domains, tenryo (Japanese feudal lords), and temple and shrine territories were intertwined. In 1870, the northern part became Nara Prefecture, and the southern part became Gojo Prefecture. Both were attached to Sakai Prefecture in 1876 and to Osaka Prefecture in 1881, but were separated again in 1887. [Nature] The prefecture is divided into northern and southern parts by the Median Tectonic Line, which roughly corresponds to the course of the Yoshino River. The western half of the northern part is the Nara Basin surrounded by the Kongo Mountains and the Ikoma Mountains, the eastern half is the Yamato Plateau and the Uda Mountains, and the southern part is the Kii Mountains. The northern part belongs to the Yamato River and Kizu River system, and most of the prefecture's major cities are concentrated on the periphery of the Nara Basin. The southern part belongs to the Yoshino River, Totsu River, and Kitayama River system. The climate has large temperature differences, with little rain in the north and heavy rain in the south, the Nara Basin is warm but inland, and the Kii Mountains are cool. [Industry] The population composition by industry is 3.2% in the first period, 25.3% in the second period, and 69.5% in the third period (2005). Due to the predominantly mountainous area, most of the fields are in the Nara Basin, making it an intensive rice-growing area and a suburban vegetable area, and it produces a lot of Yamato watermelons, strawberries, persimmons, pears, grapes, etc., and much of this is shipped to the Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe areas. Cattle are raised in the mountainous areas of Uda and Yamabe districts, dairy farming is practiced in the western part of the basin, and goldfish farming is famous in Yamatokoriyama. Forests cover 77% of the total area, and the Yoshino River basin is particularly beautiful with Yoshino cedar and cypress forests. Shimoichi, Oyodo, Yoshino, Gojo, and Sakurai have developed as lumber distribution centers, and lumber is also active. Industry is centered on knitted fabric and textiles such as socks, with electrical machinery and food industries also located here. In 1991, the Nara Institute of Technology opened in Kansai Culture and Academic Research City. In addition to traditional wood products and door-to-door medicine sales, the area is known for its specialty industries such as brushes, ink, ittobori carvings, Narazuke (Nara City), somen (Sakurai City), and koya tofu (Kongo Mountains and Yamato Plateau). There are many ancient tombs, tombs, temples, shrines, historical sites, and famous places in and around the ancient capital of Nara, and many tourists from overseas and school trips visit the area. It has many national treasures and important cultural properties designated by the state, ranking third only to Kyoto and Tokyo. Excavations of the Takamatsuzuka Tomb, Fujinoki Tomb, and Kitora Tomb have also attracted attention. In 1993, the Buddhist Buildings in the Horyu-ji Area and in 1998, the Cultural Monuments of Ancient Nara were registered on the World Heritage List (Todai-ji Temple, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Nara Park, Wakakusayama, Horyu-ji Temple, Yakushi-ji Temple, Toshodai-ji Temple, Kashihara Shrine, Heijo Palace Ruins, Asuka, Taima-dera Temple, and Muro-dera Temple), and in 2004, the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range were registered on the World Heritage List (Mount Yoshino, Yoshino Mikumari Shrine, Kinpusen-ji Shrine, Kinpusen-ji Temple, Yoshimizu Shrine, Omine-san Temple, Omine-Okugakemichi, Tamaki Shrine, and Kumano Pilgrimage Routes). Mount Yoshino and other mountains belong to the Yoshino-Kumano National Park, and the Kongo and Ikoma mountain ranges belong to the Kongo-Ikoma-Kisen Quasi-National Park. [Transportation] The Nara Basin is the center of the prefecture, and the Kansai Main Line, Nara Line, Sakurai Line, Kintetsu Nara Line, Osaka Line, Kashihara Line, etc. are in service in all directions, and the Nishi-Meihan Expressway, Hanna Road, and Meihan National Highway (National Route 25) also run through the prefecture, but transportation is inconvenient in the southern mountainous area. The northern part of the prefecture is in the commuting area to Osaka, and residential development is progressing.
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Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

近畿地方の中央に位置する内陸県。3690.94km²。140万728人（2010）。県庁所在地は奈良市。〔沿革〕　かつての大和国で，奈良盆地を中心に先史時代以来，先進文化が栄え，飛鳥(あすか)京，藤原京，平城京などの古代帝都が営まれた。南北朝期には一時吉野朝廷が所在。江戸時代は小藩，天領，寺社領が入り組んだ。1870年北部は奈良県，南部は五条県となり，ともに1876年堺県，1881年大阪府に属したが1887年再分離。〔自然〕　吉野川の流路にほぼ一致する中央構造線を堺に北部と南部に分かれる。北部の西半は金剛山地，生駒山地などに囲まれた奈良盆地，東半は大和高原や宇陀山地，南部は紀伊山地である。北部は大和川，木津川の水系に属し，県の主要都市はほとんど奈良盆地周縁部に集中している。南部は吉野川，十津川，北山川の水系に属する。気候は寒暖の差が大きく，北部は少雨，南部は多雨，奈良盆地は温暖であるが内陸的，紀伊山地は冷涼である。〔産業〕　産業別人口構成は第１次3.2％，第２次25.3％，第３次69.5％（2005）。山地が卓越するため，田畑の大半は奈良盆地にあって集約的な米作地帯，近郊野菜地帯をなし，大和スイカ，イチゴ，カキ，ナシ，ブドウなどを多産，その多くは京阪神へ出荷する。宇陀・山辺両郡の山間部では牛の飼育，盆地西部では酪農が行われ，大和郡山の金魚養殖は有名。森林は全面積の77％に及び，特に吉野川流域は吉野杉で代表されるスギ，ヒノキの美林地帯で，下市，大淀，吉野，五條，桜井は木材集散地として発展，製材も活発。工業はメリヤス製造，靴下などの繊維を中心とし，電気機械，食料品などの工業も立地する。1991年奈良先端技術大学院大学が，関西文化学術研究都市に開校した。在来の木製品，配置売薬などのほか筆，墨，一刀彫，奈良漬（奈良市），そうめん（桜井市），高野豆腐（金剛山地と大和高原）など特産品工業が知られる。古都奈良を中心に多くの古墳，陵，寺社，史跡，名所があり，海外からの観光客，修学旅行客が多い。国宝，国指定の重要文化財が多く，京都，東京につぐ。高松塚古墳，藤ノ木古墳，キトラ古墳の発掘調査も注目されている。1993年法隆寺地域の仏教建築群，1998年古都奈良の文化財が世界遺産条約の文化遺産リストに登録された（東大寺，春日大社，奈良公園，若草山，法隆寺，薬師寺，唐招提寺，橿原(かしはら)神宮，平城宮跡，飛鳥，当麻(たいま)寺，室生(むろう)寺），2004年紀伊山地の霊場と参詣道が世界遺産条約の文化遺産リストに登録された（吉野山，吉野水分神社，金峯神社，金峯山寺，吉水神社，大峰山寺，大峯奥駈道，玉置神社，熊野参詣道）。吉野山などは吉野熊野国立公園，金剛・生駒両山地は金剛生駒紀泉国定公園に属する。〔交通〕　奈良盆地を中心に，関西本線，奈良線，桜井線，近鉄奈良線，大阪線，橿原線などが四通八達，西名阪自動車道，阪奈道路，名阪国道（国道25号線）も通じるが，南部の山地は交通不便である。県北部は大阪への通勤通学圏にはいり，宅地化が進む。
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