is a

landlocked A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked de facto states. Kazakhstan is the world's largest ...

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

of Japan located in the

Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Sl ...

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island s ...

. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km² (1,466

sq mi The square mile (abbreviated as sq mi and sometimes as mi2)Rowlett, Russ (September 1, 2004) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved February 22, 2012. is an imperial and US unit of measure for area. One square mile is an are ...

). Saitama Prefecture borders

Tochigi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 km2 (2,474 sq mi). Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to th ...

and

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuku ...

to the north,

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

to the west,

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the ...

to the southwest,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

to the south,

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to t ...

to the southeast, and

Ibaraki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, Tochigi Prefecture ...

to the northeast. Saitama is the capital and largest city of Saitama Prefecture, with other major cities including Kawaguchi, Kawagoe, and Tokorozawa. Saitama Prefecture is part of the

Greater Tokyo Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...

, the most populous

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

in the world, and many of its cities are described as bedroom communities and

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

of Tokyo with many residents commuting into the city each day.

History

According to ''Sendai Kuji Hongi'' (''

Kujiki , or , is a historical Japanese text. It was generally believed to have been one of the earliest Japanese histories until the middle of the Edo period, when scholars such as Tokugawa Mitsukuni and Tada Yoshitoshi successfully contended that it wa ...

''), Chichibu was one of 137 provinces during the reign of

Emperor Sujin , also known as in the ''Kojiki'', and or in the '' Nihon Shoki'' was the tenth Emperor of Japan. While Sujin is the first emperor whose existence historians widely accept, he is still referred to as a "legendary emperor" due to a lack of info ...

Chichibu Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the western part of Saitama Prefecture. History According to text in the ''Sendai Kuji Hongi'' ('' Kujiki''), there was an area called Chichibu Province during the reign of Emperor Sujin. ...

was in western Saitama. The area that would become Saitama Prefecture in the 19th century is part of

Musashi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, ...

in the

Ritsuryō , , is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (律令制). ''Kyaku'' (格) are amendments of Ritsuryō, ''Shiki' ...

(or ryō-system; ritsu stands for the penal code, ryō for the administrative code) Imperial administration of antiquity (see

Provinces of Japan were first-level administrative divisions of Japan from the 600s to 1868. Provinces were established in Japan in the late 7th century under the Ritsuryō law system that formed the first central government. Each province was divided into an ...

and the 5 (go) capital area provinces (ki)/7 (shichi) circuits (dō) system) which was nominally revived in the Meiji restoration but has lost much of its administrative function since the Middle Ages. Saitama District ''(Saitama-gun)'' was one of Musashi's 21 ritsuryō

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

. In the fifth year of the Keiun era (708), deposits of copper were reported to have been found in the Chichibu District of what is now Saitama Prefecture. The Saitama area was historically known as a fertile agricultural region which produced much of the food for the Kantō region. During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

, many '' fudai

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

s'' ruled small domains within the Saitama area. At the end of the early modern

, large parts of present-day Saitama were part of the shogunate domain ('' baku-ryō'') or the often subsumed holdings of smaller vassals ''(

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as ''gokenin.'' However ...

-ryō)'' around Edo, major areas were part of the fiefdoms ''( -han)'' Kawagoe (ruled by Matsui/

Matsudaira The was a Japanese samurai clan that descended from the Minamoto clan. It originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture). During the Sengoku period, the chieftain of the main line of ...

, ''fudai''),

Oshi ''Oshi'' (Kanji: 押) is a strategy board game published by WizKids and designed by Tyler Bielman. ''Oshi'' is played on a 9×9 board and each player controls a set of 8 pieces (colored oxblood or ivory). Story of the game According to the ins ...

(Okudaira-Matsudaira, ''fudai'') and Iwatsuki ( Ōoka, ''fudai''); few territories were held by domains seated in other provinces. Saitama Prefectural Office in the Taisho era

In the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, after being briefly united with other rural shogunate territories in Musashi under Musashi governors ''(Musashi chikenji)'', many former shogunate/hatamoto territories in Northwestern Musashi became Ōmiya Prefecture (大宮県, ''Ōmiya-ken''), soon renamed to Urawa (浦和県, ''-ken'') in 1868/69, with some territories held by other short-lived prefectures (/later mainly Gunma and /later mainly Shizuoka, Kanagawa and Tokyo). In the replacement of ''-han'' with ''-ken'', the associated territorial consolidation (removal of feudal era ex-/enclaves) and first wave of prefectural mergers in 1871/72, Oshi and Iwatsuki prefectures were merged into Urawa; after consolidation, it consisted of the entire Saitama District and Northern parts of Adachi and

Katsushika is a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan. The ward calls itself Katsushika City in English. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 444,356, and a population density of 12,770 people per km². The total area is 34.80 ...

(But at that time, "major and minor districts", 大区, ''daiku'' and 小区, ''shōku'', served as administrative subdivisions) and was renamed to Saitama. The government of the prefecture was to be set up in Iwatsuki Town, Saitama District in November 1871 by the Dajōkan ordinance to set up the prefecture, but ultimately remained in Urawa's previous prefectural government seat in Urawa Town in Adachi District. Kawagoe Prefecture was consolidated with other territories into (入間県, ''Iruma-ken''; government seat unchanged from Kawagoe domain/prefecture: Kawagoe Town, Iruma District) which consisted of 13 districts of Musashi in the Western part of present-day Saitama. In 1873, Iruma was merged with

Gunma is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima P ...

(capital: Takasaki Town, Gunma District) to become

Kumagaya is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 195,277 in 87,827 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kumagaya is one of the largest c ...

(capital: Kumagaya Town, Ōsato District). But Kumagaya was split up again in 1876: The area of Kōzuke province came back as a second Gunma prefecture, and the territories in Musashi province/former Iruma prefecture were merged into Saitama. Except for the transfer of a few municipalities to

in the 1890s/1900s (see below) and several smaller, 20th century changes through cross-prefectural municipal mergers or transfers of neighbourhoods, Saitama had reached its present extent. SaitamaPref-counties

In the modern reactivation of districts as administrative unit in 1878/79, Saitama was subdivided into originally 18 districts based on the ancient divisions of Musashi, but with only nine (joint) district government offices, and the number of districts was formally merged down to nine in 1896/97: North Adachi, Iruma, Hiki, Chichibu, Kodama, Ōsato, North Saitama, South Saitama, and North Katsushika. Niikura (also known as Niiza, Shiki or Shiragi), one of the original 1878/79 modern districts, was first merged into North Adachi in 1896, but a substantial part of its former territory was subsequently transferred to the North Tama and North Toshima districts of Tokyo. In the creation of modern cities, towns and villages in 1889, these districts were subdivided into originally 40

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and 368

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

. The first

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in Saitama was only established in 1922 when Kawagoe Town from Iruma District became Kawagoe City. The prefectural capital, Urawa in North Adachi, remained a town until 1934. After the Great Shōwa mergers of the 1950s, the number of municipalities in Saitama had shrunk to 95, including 23 cities by then. The Great Heisei mergers of the 2000s pushed the number below 70. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, as Tokyo expanded rapidly and modern transportation allowed longer commutes, the lack of available land in Tokyo led to the rapid development of Saitama Prefecture, where the population has nearly tripled since 1960. Most of the cities in the prefecture are closely connected to downtown Tokyo by metropolitan rail, and operate largely as residential and commercial suburbs of Tokyo. In 2001, Urawa City was merged with Ōmiya City and Yono City to create

Saitama City is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. Being in the Greater Tokyo Area and lyin ...

(''Saitama-shi''; but unlike the district or the prefecture written with

Kana The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most pr ...

) as the new enlarged capital. It became the prefecture's first (and so far only) designated major city in 2003.

Geography

Saitama Prefecture is bordered by

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

, Ibaraki, Tochigi,

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

, and Yamanashi Prefectures. It is located central-west of the Kanto region, measuring 103 km from east to west and 52 km from north to south. At 3,797.75 km², it ranks as the ninth-smallest prefecture. The eastern border with

is defined by the

Edo River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It splits from the Tone River at the northernmost tip of Noda City in the Sekiyado district, crosses through Nagareyama and Matsudo, and empties into Tokyo Bay at Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. The Edo ...

. The northern and north-western border lines with

are marked by the

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the Kantō ...

and the

Kanagawa River is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

and the

drainage divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

s of the

Arakawa River or Ara River may refer to: * Arakawa River (Kanto) or Ara River may refer to: * Arakawa River (Kanto), which flows from Saitama Prefecture and through Tokyo to Tokyo Bay * Arakawa River (Uetsu), which flows from Yamagata Prefecture and throu ...

and Kanagawa River. The southwestern border is defined by the drainage divides of the Arakawa River,

Tama River The is a major river in Yamanashi, Kanagawa and Tokyo Prefectures on Honshū, Japan. It is officially classified as a Class 1 river by the Japanese government. Its total length is , and the total of the river's basin area spans . The river ...

, and Fuefuki River. The eastern section of the southern border line, however, does not overlap with any geological feature. The topography of Saitama Prefecture is largely divided by the Hachiōji Tectonic Line, which runs through Kodama,

Ogawa Ogawa (written: lit. "small river" or in hiragana) is the 30th most common Japanese surname. Less common variants are (also "small river") or ("tail river"). Notable people with the surname include: *, American poet *, Japanese footballer * ...

, and

Hannō is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 79,123 in 35,440 households and a population density of 410 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hannō is located on the southern ...

, into the western mountain area and the eastern lowland area. The altitude, highest on the western side, gradually lowers eastward from mountain ranges to hills to plateaus to lowlands. The eastern lowlands and plateaus occupy 67.3% of the area. The eastern side, part of the

Kantō Plain The is the largest plain in Japan, and is located in the Kantō region of central Honshū. The total area of 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, ...

, can be further divided into nine separate expanses of hills and ten plateaus. The former occupy small areas neighboring the Kantō Mount Range, including the Hiki Hills and Sayama Hills. The latter are mainly surrounded by alluvial flood plains. In the southeastern portion of the prefecture, the Ōmiya Plateau stands in a southeastward direction, sandwiched by the Furutone River to the east and the Arakawa River to the west. The western side of the prefecture belongs to the Kantō Mountain Range with Chichibu Basin located in its center. The area to the west of the basin features high peaks such as

Mount Sanpō is a mountain on the border between Chichibu, Saitama, Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Saitama and Kawakami, Nagano, Kawakami, Nagano Prefecture, Nagano in the Okuchichibu Mountains of Japan. At a height of , it is the highest point in Saitama.Ge ...

(2,483 m; 三宝山, ''Sanpō-yama'' according to the GSI, but often read ''Sanpō-zan'') on the Western border with Nagano, Saitama's highest mountain, and

Mount Kōbushi Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, loca ...

(2,475 m), in which the Arakawa River has its source. Most of the land is contained in

Chichibu Tama Kai National Park is a national park in Japan at the intersection of Saitama, Yamanashi, Nagano and Tokyo Prefectures. With eight peaks over 2000 m scattered over 1250 km², there are numerous hiking trails and ancient shrines. The best known landmarks ...

. The area to east of the basin consists of relatively low mountains.

Cities

Forty cities are located in Saitama Prefecture: *

Ageo 260px, Ageo Maruyama Park is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 229,517 in 103,709 households and a population density of 5000 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ag ...

* Asaka * Chichibu * Fujimi * Fujimino * Fukaya *

Gyōda is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,236 in 40,482 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Gyōda is located in north-centr ...

* Hanyū *

Hasuda is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 61,540 in 27,461 households and a population density of 2300 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Located in east-central Saitama Pr ...

* Hidaka *

Higashimatsuyama is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 90,456 in 41,124 households and a population density of 1400 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Higashimatsuyama is located in ...

* Honjō * Iruma * Kasukabe * Kawagoe * Kawaguchi * Kazo * Kitamoto *

Kōnosu is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,995 in 50,801 households and a population density of 1700 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Located in east-central Saitama ...

Koshigaya is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 345,353 in 158,022 households and a population density of 5700 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It is famous for producing daruma dolls ...

* Kuki *

* Misato * Niiza * Okegawa * Saitama (capital) * Sakado * Satte *

Sayama is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 149,826 in 69,859 households and a population density of 3100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Sayama is located in south-centr ...

* Shiki * Shiraoka *

Sōka is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 249,645 in 118,129 households and a population density of 9100 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Situated in the southeast corner of Sa ...

* Toda * Tokorozawa * Tsurugashima * Wakō * Warabi * Yashio * Yoshikawa

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

: * Chichibu District ** Higashichichibu **

Minano is a town located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 9,497 in 3994 households and a population density of 150 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Located in western Saitama Prefectur ...

** Nagatoro ** Ogano ** Yokoze * Hiki District ** Hatoyama ** Kawajima ** Namegawa **

** Ranzan ** Tokigawa **

Yoshimi Yoshimi is a unisex Japanese given name and can also be used as a surname. Possible writings *佳美, meaning "excellent, beautiful" *良美, meaning "good, beautiful" *好美, meaning "like, beautiful" *芳美, meaning "fragrant, beautiful" P ...

* Iruma District ** Miyoshi ** Moroyama ** Ogose * Kitaadachi District ** Ina * Kitakatsushika District ** Matsubushi ** Sugito * Kodama District ** Kamikawa ** Kamisato ** Misato * Minamisaitama District **

Miyashiro is a town located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 33,823 in 15,234 households and a population density of 2100 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Miyashiro is located in centra ...

* Ōsato District ** Yorii

Mergers

Transportation

Radial transportation to and from Tokyo dominates transportation in the prefecture. Circular routes were constructed as bypasses to avoid congestion in central Tokyo.

Roads

The Jōban, Kan-etsu,

Shuto Shuto or variants may refer to: *A knifehand strike, known in Japanese as ''shutō-uchi'' *Shutō (seafood), Japanese tuna liver seafood pickle *Shuto Expressway (首都高速道路, Shuto Kōsoku-dōro) network of toll expressways *Šuto Orizari M ...

, Tōhoku, and Tokyo-Gaikan

expressways Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional slide ...

form parts of the nationwide expressway network. National highway Routes 4, 16, and 17 are important routes in Kantō region.

Railways

Ōmiya Station in Saitama City forms

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

's northern hub station in the Greater Tokyo Area, offering transfers to and from

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...

high-speed lines. The Musashino serves as a freight bypass line as well as a passenger line.

Chichibu Railway The is a small-sector private railway company operating a railway line in northern Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In addition to its railway operations, the company deals in the real estate and tourism industries. It managed the Mitsumine Ropeway (� ...

the northwestern,

Seibu Railway is a conglomerate based in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, with principal business areas in railways, tourism, and real estate. Seibu Railway's operations are concentrated in northwest Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture; the name "Seibu" is an abbreviati ...

the southwestern,

Tobu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longes ...

the midwestern and the eastern, the

New Shuttle The is a manually driven rubber-tyred people mover system in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, operated by . The 12.7-kilometre that runs north from Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama, alongside the Tohoku Shinkansen and Joetsu Shinkansen elevated ...

and

Saitama Railway The is a mostly underground rapid transit line in Japan operated by the third sector operating company Saitama Railway Corporation. Funded by Saitama Prefecture, local municipal governments, and Tokyo Metro, it forms a continuation of the Tok ...

the southeastern parts of the prefecture respectively. The

Tsukuba Express The , or TX, is a Japanese railway line operated by the third-sector company Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company, which links Akihabara Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and Tsukuba Station in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. The route was inaugurated on 24 Augu ...

line crosses the southeastern corner of the prefecture. *

Tōhoku Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture in a route length of , making it Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main is ...

Jōetsu Shinkansen The is a high-speed shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo and Niigata, Japan, via the Tōhoku Shinkansen, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Despite its name, the line does not pass through the city of Joetsu or the hist ...

Utsunomiya Line The Utsunomiya Line ( ja, 宇都宮線, ) is the name given to a 163.5 kilometer section of the Tōhoku Main Line between Tokyo Station in Tokyo and Kuroiso Station in Nasushiobara, Tochigi, Japan. It is part of the East Japan Railway Compan ...

(

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukush ...

) **

Takasaki Line The Takasaki Line ( ja, 高崎線, ) is a Japanese railway line which connects Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture and Takasaki Station in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. It is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) ...

** Shōnan-Shinjuku Line ** Keihin-Tōhoku Line **

Saikyō Line The Saikyō Line ( ja, 埼京線, ) is a Japanese railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and Ōmiya Station in Saitama Prefecture. The line's name is an abbreviation of ...

Musashino Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Tsurumi Station in Yokohama with Nishi-Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture, forming a 100.6 km unclosed loop around central Tokyo. Passenger operations ...

Kawagoe Line The Kawagoe Line ( ja, 川越線, ) is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), which connects the cities of Saitama, Kawagoe, and Hidaka in Saitama Prefecture. The main transfer stations on the line are , ...

Hachikō Line The Hachikō Line is a 92.0 km (57.2 mi) regional railway line owned and operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is located within Tokyo, Saitama, and Gunma Prefectures in Japan. It connects Hachiōji Station in Hachiō ...

* Tobu **

Isesaki Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway company Tobu Railway, extending from Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen Station in Saitama to Isesaki Station in Gunma Prefecture. The Isesaki Line can refer to the entire section between Asakus ...

** Tojo Line ** Nikko Line ** Noda Line ** Skytree Line * Seibu ** Ikebukuro Line ** Shinjuku Line ** Chichibu Line ** Sayama Line *

Tokyo Metro The is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.84 million passengers, the Tokyo Metro is the larger of the two subway operators in the city; the other being the Toei ...

Fukutoshin Line The , formally the , is a subway line operated by Tokyo Metro in west-central Tokyo and Wako, Saitama, Japan. The newest line in the Tokyo subway network, it opened in stages between 1994 and 2008. On average, the Fukutoshin line carries 362,654 ...

** Yurakucho Line *Tsukuba Express *

Saitama Rapid Railway Line The is a mostly underground rapid transit line in Japan operated by the third sector operating company Saitama Railway Corporation. Funded by Saitama Prefecture, local municipal governments, and Tokyo Metro, it forms a continuation of the Tok ...

** Chichibu Mainline **Mikajiri Line

People movers

Saitama New Urban Transit The is a manually driven rubber-tyred people mover system in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, operated by . The 12.7-kilometre that runs north from Ōmiya Station (Saitama), Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama, alongside the Tohoku Shinkansen and Joets ...

(New Shuttle) *

Seibu Yamaguchi Line The of Seibu Railway is a manually-driven rubber-tyred people mover that runs between in Higashimurayama, Tokyo and in Tokorozawa, Saitama in Japan. The line has an official nickname Leo Liner, after 'Leo', the hero of ''Kimba the White Lion ...

(Leo Liner)

Airports

Haneda Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

and

Narita International Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...

are the closest major civil airports. Commuter helicopter flights from Kawajima to Narita Airport are offered. Honda Airport for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

, and the JASDF's

Iruma Air Base is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space oper ...

and

Kumagaya Air Base is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 195,277 in 87,827 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kumagaya is one of the largest ...

Waterways

Rivers and canals, including those developed in the

(17th – 19th centuries) in the east of the prefecture, are largely disused following the introduction of motorised land transport. Traces of water transport are found on the

, which forms the border between Saitama and Gunma Prefecture, and on the

, which includes a tourist attraction in Nagatoro.

Culture

Mass media

See

Mass media in Saitama Prefecture This article lists and describes the features of mass media based in Saitama Prefecture of Japan. Most are based in the capital and most populous city Saitama City's Urawa ward. Unless mentioned otherwise the language is Japanese. Like other pa ...

Politics and government

Like all prefectural administrations, Saitama's is headed by a governor ''( en-hiji)'' who is directly elected to four-year terms since 1947. The current incumbent is

Motohiro Ōno is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Saitama Prefecture in Japan. He assumed office replacing Kiyoshi Ueda is a Japanese politician currently serving as a member of the House of Councillors for the Saitama at-large district ...

, a former DPFP member of the Diet who was elected in August 2019 with centre-left support (CDP, DPFP, SDP) and 47.9% of the vote against centre-right supported (LDP, Kōmeitō) former baseball player Kenta Aoshima (44.9%) and three other candidates. Also as in all prefectures, prefectural by-laws, the budget and the approval of important prefectural administrative appointments such as the vice-governors or members of the public safety commission, are the prerogative of the

assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

which is elected directly to four-year terms on an independent electoral cycle. That may or may not be synchronized with the gubernatorial term; currently, it is not, as it is still part of the unified local election cycle (Saitama gubernatorial elections already left the unified cycle in 1949). In the last round in April 2019, the LDP maintained its outright majority with 48 of the 93 seats in the assembly. As in most prefectures, the Saitama assembly was established legally in 1878 and first convened 1879. In the

National Diet The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors (, ...

, Saitama's directly elected delegation consists of 15 members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and currently seven (four per class, but only raised from three in 2019, so it will only grow to eight after the 2022 election) in the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, ...

. The latest prefecture-wide election was the House of Councillors by-election in October 2019 to fill the seat vacated by Motohiro Ōno; it was won by the previous governor

Kiyoshi Ueda is a Japanese politician currently serving as a member of the House of Councillors for the Saitama at-large district after winning a by-election in 2019. He has signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, signaling his opposition to any and all tax ...

who has a centre-left background (DPJ member of the House of Representatives for Saitama's 4th district before his term as governor), but without full-scale party backing and without any other major party-backed candidate in the race.

List of governors since 1947

Sister relationships

Saitama Prefecture has a number of sister city relationships with states and a province as listed below (in chronological order). *

Mexico State The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from th ...

, Mexico, affiliated on October 2, 1979 *

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

province, China, affiliated on October 27, 1982 *

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia, affiliated on October 27, 1984 *

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States, affiliated on October 22, 1990 *

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

, Germany, affiliated on August 26, 1998

Sports

The sports teams listed below are based in Saitama.

Football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Urawa Red Diamonds , colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...

( Saitama) *

Omiya Ardija is a professional association football club based in Ōmiya in Saitama, Japan. Its "hometown" as designated by the league is the whole of Saitama city, which is shared with neighbours Urawa Red Diamonds. Omiya competed in the J1 League follow ...

( Saitama)

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

( Tokorozawa)

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Koshigaya Alphas The Koshigaya Alphas is a professional basketball team that competes in the second division of the Japanese B.League. Coaches * Yoshinori Kaneta *Kenji Okamura * Kazuto Aono * Junpei Takahara * Sho Higashijima Roster Notab ...

(

) *

Saitama Broncos The is a men's professional basketball club based in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It calls the whole prefecture home and its main home arenas are Tokorozawa Municipal Gymnasium and Saitama Super Arena in Chūō-ku, Saitama City. It comp ...

( Tokorozawa)

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

* Takefuji Bamboo ( Kitakatsushika District)

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: Rugby league: 13 players per side * Masters Rugby League * Mod league * Rugby league nines * Rugby league sevens * Touch (sport) * Wheelchair rugby league Rugby union: 1 ...

Secom Rugguts Secom Rugguts is a Japanese rugby union team founded in 1985 by SECOM. Its name is a portmanteau of "Rugger" and "Guts". The club was in the Top League for the first season of the league but was demoted at the end of the season. As the top team of ...

(

)

Tourism

Most of the popular tourist sites in Saitama are located in the northwestern part of the prefecture, which is known as the Chichibu Region. This region mostly consists of a hilly and moderately mountainous area, and is situated in a rich natural environment. The region is very popular among residents of Saitama and neighboring prefectures for short trips, as it is easily accessible via the railroad network.

Visitor attractions

Chichibu 34 Kannon Sanctuary The is a group of Japanese Buddhist temples linked on a pilgrimage route. The Chichibu Pilgrimage Chichibu City in the province of Saitama is the centre of a virtually self-contained valley, a mountain-ringed basin about 80 km north-west ...

Chichibu Shrine The is a Japanese Shinto shrine at Chichibu in Saitama Prefecture.Kotodamaya.com"Chichibu Jinja" retrieved 2013-1-26. History According to text in the ''Sendai Kuji Hongi'' (''Kujiki''), Chichibuhiko-no-mikoto, the tenth-generation descendant ...

* Gyoda City Provincial Museum * Iwatsuki Doll Museum *

Railway Museum (Saitama) The is a railway museum in Saitama, Saitama, Japan, which opened on 14 October 2007. It was built and is operated by the East Japan Railway Culture Foundation, a non-profit affiliate of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It consists of a 1 ...

* Kitain Temple * Omiya Bonsai Village *

Saitama New Urban Center is a business district in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Japan. Among the buildings located in the district is the Saitama Super Arena. The area is served by Saitama-Shintoshin Station is a passenger railway station located in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Sai ...

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...

* Sakitama Hill

Mascot

is the prefectural mascot, a Eurasian collared dove, which is also the prefectural bird. Kobaton was made originally as the mascot of the fifty-ninth annual national athletic meeting held in the prefecture in 2004, and was inaugurated as mascot of the prefecture in 2005 with an inauguration ceremony and a letter of appointment from the governor. A wheelchair-using version of Kobaton also exists.

References

Citations

Sources

* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

.
OCLC 58053128

External links

Saitama Prefecture Official Website

{{Authority control Kantō region Prefectures of Japan