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Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Urayasu
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Chiba
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Funabashi
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Funabashi
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Chiba > Chuo
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Urayasu
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Chiba
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Narashino
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Matsudo
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Funabashi
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Chiba
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Chiba
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Chiba > Chuo
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Chiba > Chuo
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Narita
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Kashiwa
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Chiba > Wakaba
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Chiba > Hanamigawa
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Funabashi
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kanto Region > Chiba Prefecture > Matsudo
Introduction
Chiba Prefecture (千葉県, Chiba-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.
History
Early history
Chiba Prefecture was settled in prehistoric times, as evidenced by the Jōmon period remains in every part of the region. The prefecture holds the largest kaizuka shell mounds in Japan, evidence of a large population in the prefecture that relied on the rich marine products of the Pacific Ocean and Tokyo Bay. Kofun burial mounds are found across the prefecture, with the largest group being in Futtsu along Tokyo Bay.
Asuka and Nara periods
In the Asuka period (538 – 710), under the Taika Reform of 654, the administrative structure of present-day Chiba Prefecture changed significantly. The historical province of Fusa Province, which may have covered much of Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures, was divided into two provinces: Shimōsa Province (also called Shimofusa) in the north and Kazusa Province in the southern area. Awa Province at the south of Chiba Prefecture, was separated from Kazusa Prefecture in 718. These administrative units existed until they were abolished and merged into Chiba Prefecture after the Meiji restoration. The central government established a kokubunji provincial temple in each province.
Heian period
The imperial court gradually extended its authority over the three provinces in the Nara (710 – 794) and Heian (794 – 1185) periods. Shōen feudal estates were established across the three provinces, and the region became an important source of tax revenue, agricultural and other products to the capital in Kyoto. As the Heian period progressed, however, the kokushi provincial governors came to exert military power independent of the central government in Kyoto. The Chiba clan broke entirely with the imperial court and was instrumental in the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate.
Modern Period
Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture. The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake caused widespread destruction in Chiba Prefecture, notably in the southernmost part of the Bōsō Peninsula, where 1,300 residents were killed. Areas of the prefecture adjacent to Tokyo saw much damage, and mob violence against Koreans and other ethnic minorities occurred in the chaos after the earthquake in Funabashi, Ichikawa, and other areas. Koreans in several neighborhoods of Yachiyo were killed, and a tower was erected in 1972 near Yachiyodai Station to memorialize those killed in the incident. The militarization of Chiba Prefecture dates to the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). Coastal fortifications were built along Tokyo Bay as far south as Tatayama to protect the capitol of the Japanese Empire from attack. In the 1930s the north and central areas of the prefecture became a center of large-scale military production, and military bases and fortifications were constructed in most coastal areas of the prefecture. After the United States took control of Saipan the northern part of the prefecture, most notably the city of Chiba and Chōshi, were firebombed. Much of the industrialized north of the prefecture was destroyed. Operation Coronet, one of two parts of Operation Downfall, was the planned land invasion of Tokyo in March 1946 by the United States. Coronet planned Kujūkuri Beach as one of two initial landing bases, the other being Hiratsuka via Sagami Bay. The U.S. First Army would enter at Kujūkuri, sweep across the Bōsō Peninsula, and meet the U.S. Eighth Army at Tokyo. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the surrender of Japan in 1945 the plan was never carried out.
Post-War Period
During the Occupation of Japan (1945–1952) Chiba Prefecture was controlled by American forces from the second floor of the prefectural capitol building in the city of Chiba. Numerous other cities in the prefecture, including Chōshi to the north and Tateyama to the south, were used as bases of the occupation. The rich agriculture areas across the prefecture protected the region somewhat from the level of food shortage and starvation immediately following the war. The immediate post-war period was characterized by carefully planned industrial expansion in the north of the prefecture and the significant increase of agricultural production after land reforms across the prefecture. The Keiyō Industrial Zone brought together smaller industrial areas along the entirety of the western coast of Chiba Prefecture, and the industrial zone became, and remains an important center of heavy industrial production and large-scale port facilities in Japan. Cities to the northeast of the prefecture in close proximity to Tokyo were connected by rail to the capitol, and became and remain bedroom communities to Tokyo. Narita International Airport was began operation in 1978 in Narita after much protest to replace the overcrowded Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport). The majority of international air traffic enters Japan via Chiba Prefecture. Agriculture, specifically of rice, and also vegetables to serve the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area expanded greatly and became a source of income to the northeast and central areas of the prefecture. Agriculture expansion of the central and southern regions of the prefecture was in contrast to the depopulation of these areas as a significant part of the population moved to the northeast of the prefecture as a result of the urbanization of Japan, a process that continues into the 21st century.
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami affected areas as far south as Chiba Prefecture. While the loss of life and damage to housing and industry was far less than in the Tōhoku region, 20 people were killed in Chiba Prefecture, mostly from the tsunami that hit Asahi to the northeast of the prefecture and caused 13 deaths. An oil refinery fire, widely seen in the news media following the Tōhoku earthquake, was at the Cosmo Oil Chiba Refinery in Ichihara. Large liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanks burned from March 11–21, 2011. Soil liquefaction in areas of reclaimed land across the northern and western areas of Chiba Prefecture caused damage, primarily to housing. Chiba City, Funabashi, Narashino, and especially Urayasu were greatly affected. Radiation fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster continues to affect densely populated cities to the northwest of the prefecture. As a result of permanent damage to housing stock due to soil liquefaction and evidence of radioactive materials, the population of Chiba Prefecture fell for the first time since 1920.
Culture
Museums
Chiba Prefecture is home to one national-level museum and several prefectural and local museums. The National Museum of Japanese History is located in Sakura and focuses on the history, archaeology, and folk culture of Japan. The Chiba prefectural museums consist of a main museum, the Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba in the central Chuō-ku ward of Chiba City, and six branch museums throughout the prefecture. The Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art is in Chiba City. The Chiba Prefectural Boso-no-mura in Sakae focuses on the local culture of the late Edo period, and the Chiba Prefectural Otone Museum in Katori focuses on the culture of the Tone River basin. The reconstructed Japanese castles of Sekiyado and Ōtaki host regional historical museums. The Chiba Museum of Science and Industry is located in Ichihara on the site of a former factory, and the Coastal Branch of Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba in Katsuura focuses on the marine environment of the Pacific Ocean coast. Numerous other municipalities in the prefecture also host museums.
Libraries and archives
The Chiba Prefectural Library consists of three libraries. The Chiba Prefectural Central Library is located in the central Chuō-ku ward of Chiba City directly southwest of Chiba Castle and in close proximity to the City of Chiba offices. The Central Library houses a general collection as well as the central research collection for the prefecture. The Chiba Prefectural West Library is located in Matsudo next to the Matsudo Museum, and houses a research collection focused on natural history and the fine arts. The Chiba Prefectural East Library is located in Asahi, and houses a research collection focused on the literature and history of the prefecture. The Chiba Prefectural Archives are located across the Miyako River from the City of Chiba offices. The archive maintains a collection of rare books and materials from across the prefecture, as well as materials related to the administration of Chiba Prefecture. Each municipality in the prefecture maintains a local libraries, and many shrines and temples maintain archival collections related to their institutions.
Geography
Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north at the Tone River, Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture to the west at the Edo River, the Pacific Ocean to the east and Tokyo Bay around its southern boundary. Most of Chiba lies on the hilly Boso Peninsula, a rice farming region: the east coast, known as the Kujūkuri Plain, is an especially productive area. The most populous zone, in the northwest of the prefecture, is part of the Kantō region that extends into the urban agglomeration of Tokyo and Saitama. The Kuroshio Current flows near Chiba, which keeps it relatively warm in winter and cooler in summer than neighbouring Tokyo.
National and prefectural parks
With the exception of the large-scale Keiyō Industrial Zone in the northeast, the entirety of the coast of Chiba Prefecture is protected as two quasi-national parks and one prefectural natural park under the national park system of Japan. As of 1 April 2012, 6% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks.
- Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park encompasses a large area of the Tone River basin and the area around Mount Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture. The park was established in 1953 to protect not only the environment of the area, but also its unique cultural heritage. The mouth of the Tone River and to Cape Inubō and Byōbugaura in northeastern Chiba Prefecture make up the southern part of the park.
- Minami Bōsō Quasi-National Park was established in 1953 to protect much of the southern coastal areas of Chiba Prefecture from Cape Futtsu on Tokyo Bay to Cape Inubō in northeastern Chiba Prefecture. The park spans across nine administrative districts in the prefecture. Minami Bōsō Quasi-National Park was established to protect not only the environment of coastal areas, but also the unique cultural assets of associated with these areas, notably the temples associated with Nichiren.
Chiba Prefecture has designated and maintains eight prefectural natural parks to protect both natural and cultural areas, namely the Inba Tega, Kasamori Tsurumai, Kujūkuri, Mineokasankei, Ōtone, Takagoyama, Tomisan, and Yōrō Keikoku Okukiyosumi Prefectural Natural Parks. Cities, towns, and villages in the prefecture also have designated and protected parklands. These parks are maintained for environmental protection as well as providing local recreational facilities.
Climate
Chiba Prefecture has a Humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) with hot, humid summers and mild, cool winters. The tsuyu rainy season occurs for approximately 50 days from June to July.
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