Miyazaki Prefecture (宮崎県, Miyazaki-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū.[2] Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 as of 1 June 2019 and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Kumamoto Prefecture to the northwest, and Kagoshima Prefecture to the southwest.
Miyazaki is the capital and largest city of Miyazaki Prefecture, with other major cities including Miyakonojō, Nobeoka, and Hyūga. Miyazaki Prefecture is located in southeastern Kyūshū on Japan's Pacific coast, with its coastline extending from Nobeoka near the entrance to the Bungo Channel to Shibushi Bay in Kushima.
In Japan, Miyazaki Prefecture was first created in 1873 when Mimitsu Prefecture was merged with parts of Miyakonojō Prefecture. The first Miyazaki existed only until 1876 when it was merged (back) into Kagoshima Prefecture. Under public pressure and demands in the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly, Miyazaki became finally independent from Kagoshima in 1883.[4]
Geography
Miyazaki Prefecture is on the eastern coast of the island of Kyushu, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the south and east, Ōita Prefecture to the north, and Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures to the west. It is one of only two locations on Earth where the fungus Chorioactis geaster is found.[5] Miyazaki is the home of the hyuganatsu fruit. It is also home to two virgin forests of the palm Livistona chinensis, one of which, on the islet of Aoshima, Miyazaki, is the northernmost reproducing population of its native range.[6]
^Prefectural government of Miyazaki (2013): 宮崎県 置県１３０年 (Miyazaki-ken chiken 130-nen, "Miyazaki Prefecture – 130 years [since/after] the establishment of the prefecture"), retrieved September 1, 2020.
^自然公園都道府県別面積総括 [General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture] (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
^宮崎の国定公園・県立自然公園 [Quasi-National and Prefectural Natural Parks of Miyazaki] (in Japanese). Miyazaki Prefecture. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
Japan
