Division of Japan – Provinces, Prefectures and Cities

Have you ever wondered how the division of states is done in Japan? What is the difference between state and province? What are the main cities in Japan? What is city hall? In this article, we will answer the main questions about the division of Japan in addition to sharing a large list of provinces and cities in Japan.

Japan has a total of 47 Provinces (state), divided into 8 regions. Each province is divided into Cities (市 shi) and Districts (郡 gun). Thus, districts are divided into villages (村 mura) or neighborhoods (町 machi). On the map of Japan below you will find the division of the 8 regions and the name of each province.

Division of Japan - provinces, prefectures, and cities
Division of Japan - Provinces, prefectures, and cities

State or Province?

Many confuse state with province. In some countries the word province is a territorial division of many states, both currently and historically.

Even though Japan is smaller than some states in some countries, the provinces are administered as states, they have their own government and culture.

There are 47 jurisdictions or sub-bodies, which are groups of cities, towns, and villages. Originally there were over 300 when this system was first established in 1871, but this number was reduced to 47 in 1888.

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Todōfuken

There are 4 administrative designations that together form the word todoufuken (都道府県) which means “Prefectures” which is also a generic name used to refer to a province or state. So the 47 prefectures in Japan are divided as follows:

  • 都 (to) - 1 metropolis (東京都 - Tokyoto);
  • 道 (do) - 1 administrative area (北海道 - Hokkaidō);
  • 府 (fu) - 2 urban city halls (大阪府 - Osakafu);
  • 県 (ken) - 43 municipalities - (愛知県 - Aichiken);

The curious thing is that the ancient capital of Japan, Kyoto is written Kyoto-fu (京都府), with Kyoto's 都 (to) meaning metropolis like 東京都 (Tokyoto), but ending with 府 (fu) for urban area. .

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The 47 Provinces and their capitals!

See below for the 47 prefectures or prefectures, and their respective capitals, written in Kanji and Hiragana.

KanjiProvinceHiraganaCapitalHiragana
愛知県AichiあいちNagoyaなごや
青森県AomoriあおもりAomoriあおもり
秋田県AkitaあきたAkitaあきた
石川県IshikawaいしかわKanazawaかなざわ
茨城県IbarakiいばらきMitoみと
栃木県TochigiとちぎUtsunomiyaうつのみや
岩手県IwateいわてMoriokaもりおか
愛媛県EhimeえひめMatsuyamaまつやま
大分県OitaおおいたOitaいた
大阪府OsakaおおさかOsakaおおさか
岡山県OkayamaおかやまOkayamaおかやま
沖縄県OkinawaおきなわNahaなは
香川県KagawaかがわTakamatsuたかまつ
鹿児島県KagoshimaかごしまKagoshimaかごしま
京都府KyōtoきょうとKyōtoきょうと
岐阜県GifuぎふGifuぎふ
熊本県KumamotoくまもとKumamotoくまもと
群馬県GunmaぐんまMaebashiまえばし
高知県KōchiこうちKōchiこうち
埼玉県SaitamaさいたまSaitamaさいたま
佐賀県SagaさがSagaさが
滋賀県ShigaしがOtsuおお
静岡県ShizuokaしずおかShizuokaしずおか
神奈川県KanagawaかながわYokohamaよこはま
島根県ShimaneしまねMatsueまつえ
千葉県ChibaちばChibaちば
東京都TōkyōとうきょうOficial: Shinjuku しんじゅく
徳島県TokushimaとくしまTokushimaとくしま
鳥取県TottoriとっとりTottoriとっとり
富山県ToyamaとやまToyamaとやま
長崎県NagasakiながさきNagasakiながさき
長野県NaganoながのNaganoながの
奈良県NaraならNaraなら
新潟県NiigataにいがたNiigataにいがた
兵庫県HyōgoひょうごKōbeこうべ
広島県HiroshimaひろしまHiroshimaひろしま
福井県FukuiふくいFukuiふくい
福岡県FukuokaふくおかFukuokaふくおか
福島県FukushimaふくしまFukushimaふくしま
北海道HokkaidōほっかいどうSapporoさっぽろ
三重県MieみえTsu
宮城県MiyagiみやぎSendaiせんだい
宮崎県MiyazakiみやざきMiyazakiみやざき
山形県YamagataやまがたYamagataやまがた
山口県YamaguchiやまぐちYamaguchiやまぐち
山梨県YamanashiやまなしKōfuこうふ
和歌山県WakayamaわかやまWakayamaわかやま

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Cities of Japan

The map at the beginning of Post shows the name and location of the 47 Provinces. Below, there is a huge list of the 790 Cities in Japan, with their names in Kanji, romaji, and the population of each city. Use the captions below to identify.

We also recommend reading: List of Cities in Japan - Complete

  • Sub-provinces (支庁 shichō)
  • Designated cities (政令指定都市 seirei-shitei-toshi)
  • Districts (郡 gun)
  • Core Cities (中核市 chūkaku-shi)
  • Special cities (特例市 tokurei-shi)
  • Cities (市 shi)
  • Special Divisions (Tokyo) (特別区 tokubetsu-ku)
  • Divisions (区ku)
  • Cities (Small) (町 chō, machi)
  • Villages (村 son, wall)

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