Okayama Prefecture

Okayama Prefecture (岡山県, Okayama-ken, Japanese pronunciation: [o.kaꜜ.ja.ma, o.ka.ja.maꜜ.keɴ]^[2]) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu.^[3] Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 km² (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture borders Tottori Prefecture to the north, Hyōgo Prefecture to the east, and Hiroshima Prefecture to the west.

Okayama Prefecture 岡山県
Prefecture
Japanese transcription(s)
• Japanese	岡山県
• Rōmaji	Okayama-ken
A street in Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture at night
Flag Symbol
Anthem: Okayama-ken no uta
Coordinates: 34°39′42″N 133°56′5″E
Country	Japan
Region	Chūgoku (Sanyō)
Island	Honshu
Capital	Okayama
Subdivisions	Districts: 10, Municipalities: 27
Government
• Governor	Ryūta Ibaragi
Area
• Total	7,114.50 km2 (2,746.92 sq mi)
• Rank	17th
Population  (1 February 2025)
• Total	1,826,059
• Rank	20st
• Density	260/km2 (660/sq mi)
GDP [1]
• Total	JP¥ 7,842 billion US$ 71.9 billion (2019)
ISO 3166 code	JP-33
Website	www.pref.okayama.jp
Symbols of Japan
Bird	Lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus)
Flower	Peach blossom (Prunus persica var. vulgaris)
Tree	Red pine (Pinus densiflora)

Okayama is the capital and largest city of Okayama Prefecture, with other major cities including Kurashiki, Tsuyama, and Sōja.^[4][5][6] Okayama Prefecture's south is located on the Seto Inland Sea coast across from Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, which are connected by the Great Seto Bridge, while the north is characterized by the Chūgoku Mountains.

History

See also: Historic Sites of Okayama Prefecture

Prior to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the area of present-day Okayama Prefecture was divided between Bitchū, Bizen and Mimasaka Provinces. Okayama Prefecture was formed and named in 1871 as part of the large-scale administrative reforms of the early Meiji period (1868–1912), and the borders of the prefecture were set in 1876.^[5][7]

Geography

Map of Okayama Prefecture
     Government Ordinance Designated City      City      Town      Village

Okayama Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture, Tottori Prefecture, and Hiroshima Prefecture.^[5] It faces Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku across the Seto Inland Sea and includes 90 islands in the sea.

Okayama Prefecture is home to the historic town of Kurashiki. Most of the population is concentrated around Kurashiki and Okayama. The small villages in the northern mountain region are aging and declining in population - more than half of the prefecture's municipalities are officially designated as depopulated.^[8]

As of 1 April 2014, 11% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Daisen-Oki and Setonaikai National Parks; the Hyōnosen-Ushiroyama-Nagisan Quasi-National Park; and seven Prefectural Natural Parks.^[9]

Cities

See also: List of cities in Okayama Prefecture by population

Okayama City

Tsuyama

Takahashi

Niimi

Fifteen cities are located in Okayama Prefecture:

Name		Area (km2)	Population	Map
Rōmaji	Kanji
Akaiwa	赤磐市	209.43	44,498
Asakuchi	浅口市	66.46	35,022
Bizen	備前市	258.23	35,610
Ibara	井原市	243.36	41,460
Kasaoka	笠岡市	136.03	50,160
Kurashiki	倉敷市	355.63	483,576
Maniwa	真庭市	828.43	44,265
Mimasaka	美作市	429.19	28,502
Niimi	新見市	793.27	30,583
Okayama (capital)	岡山市	789.92	720,841
Setouchi	瀬戸内市	125.51	37,934
Sōja	総社市	212	67,059
Takahashi	高梁市	547.01	31,556
Tamano	玉野市	103.61	60,101
Tsuyama	津山市	506.36	102,294

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Name		Area (km2)	Population	District	Type	Map
Rōmaji	Kanji
Hayashima	早島町	7.62	12,671	Tsukubo District	Town
Kagamino	鏡野町	419.69	14,651	Tomata District	Town
Kibichūō	吉備中央町	268.73	11,989	Kaga District	Town
Kumenan	久米南町	78.65	4,962	Kume District	Town
Misaki	美咲町	232.15	17,776	Kume District	Town
Nagi	奈義町	69.54	5,861	Katsuta District	Town
Nishiawakura	西粟倉村	57.93	1,437	Aida District	Village
Satoshō	里庄町	12.23	11,204	Asakuchi District	Town
Shinjō	新庄村	67.1	951	Maniwa District	Village
Shōō	勝央町	54.09	11,237	Katsuta District	Town
Wake	和気町	144.21	14,191	Wake District	Town
Yakage	矢掛町	90.62	14,041	Oda District	Town

Mergers

Main article: List of mergers in Okayama Prefecture

Demographics

Okayama prefecture population pyramid in 2020

Per Japanese census data,^[10] and,^[11] Okayama prefecture has had continual negative population growth since 2005

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1920	1,218,000	—
1930	1,284,000	+5.4%
1940	1,329,000	+3.5%
1950	1,661,000	+25.0%
1960	1,670,000	+0.5%
1970	1,707,000	+2.2%
1980	1,871,000	+9.6%
1990	1,926,000	+2.9%
2000	1,950,828	+1.3%
2010	1,945,276	−0.3%
2020	1,920,739	−1.3%

Education

Universities

• Okayama
  • Notre Dame Seishin University
  • Okayama Shoka University
  • Okayama University
  • Okayama University of Science
  • Sanyo Gakuen University
  • Shujitsu University
• Kurashiki
  • Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare
  • Kurashiki Sakuyo University
  • Okayama Gakuin University
• Soja
  • Okayama Prefectural University
• Tsuyama
  • Mimasaka University
• Niimi
  • Niimi Public University

High schools

• Okayama
  • Kurashiki High School
  • Okayama Asahi Senior High School
  • Okayama Takahashi High School
  • Okayama Ichinomiya Senior High School
  • Okayama Hosen Senior High School
  • Okayama Joto Senior High School
  • Okayama Sakuyo High School^[12]
  • Okayama Sozan Senior High School

Transportation

JR Okayama Station

Okayama Momotarō Airport

Rail

• JR West
  • Ako Line
  • Geibi Line
  • Inbi Line
  • Hakubi Line
  • Kibi Line
  • Kishin Line
  • Sanyo Shinkansen
  • Sanyo Line
  • Tsuyama Line
  • Uno Line

• JR West and JR Shikoku
  • Honshi-bisan Line
  • Seto-Ōhashi Line
• Chizu Express
• Ibara Railway
• Mizushima Rinkai Railway

Tramways

• Okayama Electric Tramway

Roads

Expressways

• Chugoku Expressway
• Okayama Expressway
• Sanyo Expressway
• Seto Central Expressway
• Tottori Expressway
• Yonago Expressway

National highways

• Route 2 (Osaka-Kobe-Himeji-Bizen-Okayama-Kurashiki-Asakuchi-Onomichi-Hiroshima-Shūnan-Shimonoseki-Kitakyushu)
• Route 30 (Okayama-Uno-Takamatsu
• Route 53 (Okayama-Tsuyama-Tottori)
• Route 179
• Route 180 (Okayama-Takahashi-Niimi)
• Route 181 (Tsuyama-Maniwa-Yonago-Yasugi-Matsue)
• Route 182
• Route 183
• Route 250 (Okayama-Setouchi-Ako-Aioi-Takasago-Akashi)
• Route 313 (Fukuyama-Takahashi-Maniwa-Kurayoshi)
• Route 373
• Route 374
• Route 429
• Route 430
• Route 482 (Kyotango-Toyooka-Wakasa-Kagamino-Maniwa-Kōfu of Tottori
• Route 484

Airport

• Okayama Airport

Culture

• Bizen-yaki (Bizen pottery)
• Bizen Osafune/Bitchu Aoe swords

Association with Momotarō legend

Okayama Prefecture is closely associated with the folklore hero, Momotarō. This tale is said to have roots in the legendary story of Kibitsuhiko-no-mikoto and Ura which explains that the Prince Ura of Kudara used to live in Kinojo (castle of the devil) and was a cause of trouble for the people living in the village. The emperor's government sent Kibitsuhiko-no-mikoto (Momotarō) to defeat Ura. The city of Okayama holds an annual Momotarō-matsuri, or Momotarō Festival.^[6][13]

Arts

• Inryoji Temple
• Hayashibara Museum of Art
• Okayama Orient Museum
• Okayama Prefectural Museum
• Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art
• Okayama Symphony Hall
• Yumeji Art Museum

Sports

City Light Stadium.

The sports teams listed below are based in Okayama.

Football

• Fagiano Okayama FC (Okayama city)
• Mitsubishi Motors Mizushima FC (Kurashiki)

Volleyball

• Okayama Seagulls (Okayama city)

Basketball

• Tryhoop Okayama (B3 League, Okayama city)^{[citation needed]}

Tourism

Okayama Korakuen Park and Okayama Castle

Hiruzen Plateau and Hiruzen Joyful Park in Maniwa

Hinase Island and Seto Inlandsea in Bizen

Bitchu Matsuyama Castle in Takahashi

Some tourist attractions are:

• Bikan Historical Area (倉敷美観地区, Kurashiki Bikan Chiku), Kurashiki
• Bisei Astronomical Observatory (美星天文台, Bisei Tenmondai), Ibara Town (following dissolution of Bisei Town)
• Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, Takahashi
• Brazilian Park Washuzan Highland, Kurashiki
• Kakuzan Park, Tsuyama
• Koraku-en Japanese garden in Okayama
• Ki Castle, Sōja
• Maki-do Cave, in Niimi
• Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki
• Okayama Castle, Okayama
• Shizutani School, Bizen

Notable people

• Yuko Arimori (born 1966), marathon runner^[14]
• Kenji Doihara (1883–1948), army officer
• Tesshō Genda (born 1948), voice actor
• Morihiro Hashimoto (1977–2017), darts player
• Naoki Hoshino (1892–1978), politician
• Koshi Inaba (born 1964), singer
• Masaki Kajishima (born 1962), creator of Tenchi Muyo!
• Shiro Kawase (1889–1946), admiral
• Sadahiko Miyake (1891–1956), general
• Chiura Obata (1885–1975), artist
• Mori Takashi, former member of Gentouki
• Yōji Takikawa (born 1949), pedagogist
• Mutsuo Toi (1917–1938), perpetrator of the Tsuyama massacre
• Inukai Tsuyoshi (1855–1932), former Prime Minister of Japan
• Jiro Watanabe (born 1955), boxer
• Takeo Yasuda (1889–1964), lieutenant general
• Eisuke Yoshiyuki (1906–1940), author
• Fujii Kaze (born 1997), singer
• Nishimura Riki, also known as Ni-ki of ENHYPEN (born 2005), K-pop idol,^[15] dancer, singer, rapper
• Issei Mamehara (born 2002), singer, dancer, member of JO1