is a

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''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 inter ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

located on the island of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

. Saga Prefecture has a population of roughly 780,000 and has a geographic area of . Saga Prefecture borders

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

to the northeast and

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan, mainly located on the island of Kyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,4 ...

to the southwest.

Saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

is the capital and largest city of Saga Prefecture, with other major cities including Karatsu, Tosu, and Imari. Saga Prefecture is located in the northwest of Kyūshū covering an

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

-like area extending between the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

and the

Ariake Sea The is a body of salt water surrounded by Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, and Kumamoto Prefectures, all of which lie on the island of Kyūshū in Japan. It is the largest bay in Kyūshū. Its deepest point is only about 50 meters (165 ft) deep, and ext ...

. Saga Prefecture's western region is known for the production of

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

and

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

, particularly in the towns of Karatsu, Imari, and Arita.

History

In ancient times, the area composed by

and Saga Prefecture was called

Hizen Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of the Saga Prefecture, Saga and Nagasaki Prefecture, Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen Province, Ch ...

. The current name dates from 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. Rice farming culture has prospered here since ancient times, and vestiges can be seen at the ruins of Nabatake in Karatsu and the Yoshinogari site in

Yoshinogari Yoshinogari may refer to: * Yoshinogari, Saga, a town in Japan * Yoshinogari site, a prehistoric site located in Yoshinogari, Saga, Japan {{geodis ...

Feudal period

Romon gate and Honden of Yutoku Inari Shrine

From the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

to the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

, it is thought that over 100 feudal clans existed. Also exerting great influence during this time was a samurai clan operating along the

Genkai Sea The is a body of water that comprises the southwestern tip of the Sea of Japan and borders the northern coasts of Fukuoka and Saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. T ...

called the Matsuratō. Upon entering the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

, the

Ryūzōji clan was a Japanese kin group which traces its origin to Hizen Province on the island of Kyushu. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Hōki"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 802. History The clan was founded by Fujiwara no Suekiyo in 1186. The clan was a ...

expanded their control to include all of Hizen and

Chikugo Province was a province of Japan in the area of northern Kyūshū, corresponding to part of southwestern Fukuoka Prefecture. Chikugo bordered on Higo and Chikugo to the southeast, and Chikuzen to the north and east, Bungo to the east and Hizen to t ...

s, and part of Higo and

Chikuzen Province was a province of Japan in the area of northern Kyūshū, corresponding to part of north and western Fukuoka Prefecture. Chikuzen bordered on Hizen to the east, and Buzen east, and Bungo to the southeast. Its abbreviated form name was (a ...

s. After the death of ''

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 no ...

Ryūzōji Takanobu was a Japanese ''daimyō'' in Hizen Province during the Sengoku period. Takanobu was the head of the Ryūzōji clan. Biography Takanobu was the grandson of Ryūzōji Iekane (1454-1546). His father was Ryûzôji Chikaie and his mother was Ke ...

Nabeshima Naoshige was a warlord of the Sengoku and early Edo periods and progenitor of the Nabeshima lords of the Saga Domain. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Nabeshima Naoshige"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 680. Naoshige was the second son of . His mothe ...

took control of the political situation, and by 1607 all of the Ryūzōji clan's domain was under the control of the Nabeshima clan. In the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

this area was called the

Saga Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period Tokugawa Shogunate. It encompassed most of what are now Saga and Nagasaki Prefectures and was ruled from Saga Castle in what is now the urban center of the city of Saga. It was ruled through its histo ...

(佐賀藩 ''Saga-han''), and it included three sub-domains: the Hasunoike, Ogi and Kashima Domains. Also within the current borders of Saga Prefecture during this time were the

Karatsu Domain , located in Hizen Province, was a Japanese Han (Japan), domain of the Edo period. It was centered on Karatsu Castle, in what is now the urban center of the city of Karatsu, Saga, Karatsu, Saga Prefecture. It was ruled by a number of Fudai daim ...

(唐津藩 ''Karatsu-han'') and two territories of the Tsushima-Fuchū Domain (対馬府中藩 ''Tsushimafuchū-han''). Saga Domain and its sub-domains continued to be ruled by the Nabeshima clan, its various illegitimate family lineages and members of the former Ryūzōji clan, and politically the area was relatively stable. The cost of defending

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

was increasing and, difficult from the start, the financial situation was worsened by the great

Kyōhō , also pronounced Kyōho, was a after '' Shōtoku'' and before ''Genbun.'' This period spanned the years from July 1716 through April 1736. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1716 : The era name of ''Kyōhō'' (meaning "Undergo ...

famine and the

Siebold Typhoon The Siebold typhoon () was a typhoon that struck Japan (northern Kyushu Island in particular) on September 17, 1828. There were 19,113 confirmed deaths, according to the official report. Overview According to the official report, the typhoon's e ...

of 1828. Due to the large area of reclaimed land from the

, arable land was increased significantly and by the 1840s the annual

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before co ...

of Saga Domain increased to about 670,000, twice that of 200 years before. Around the middle of the 19th century, Naomasa Nabeshima strove to set right the domain's financial affairs, reduce the number of government officials, and encourage local industry such as Arita porcelain,

green tea Green tea is a type of tea made from the leaves and buds of the '' Camellia sinensis'' that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process that creates oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China in the late 1st millenn ...

, and coal. Also, thanks to the proximity of the international port of Nagasaki, new technologies were introduced from overseas, such as the

reverberatory furnace A reverberatory furnace is a metallurgy, metallurgical or process Metallurgical furnace, furnace that isolates the material being processed from contact with the fuel, but not from contact with combustion gases. The term ''reverberation'' is use ...

and models of

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s. After the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

, many people from Saga Domain assisted in the

. In the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...

the modernization of coal mines in Kishima and Higashimatsuura districts, among others, progressed bolstered by the construction of railroads.

Timeline

* 6th century BC (end of the

Jōmon period In Japanese history, the is the time between , during which Japan was inhabited by the Jōmon people, a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united by a common culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism an ...

): Estimated date of the Nabatake ruins in Karatsu * 1st century BC (middle of the

Yayoi period The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

): Villages flourished at what is now the Yoshinogari site * 665: After losing the

Battle of Baekgang The Battle of Baekgang () or Battle of Baekgang-gu, also known as the Battle of Hakusukinoe () in Japan, and as the Battle of Baijiangkou ( zh, c=白江口之战, p=Bāijiāngkǒu Zhīzhàn, t=白江口之戰) in China, was a battle between Baek ...

, Kii Castle (in present-day Kiyama) amassed its defenses to protect Dazaifu. * 733: Hizen

Fudoki are ancient reports on provincial culture, geography, and oral tradition presented to the reigning monarchs of Japan, also known as local gazetteers. They contain agricultural, geographical, and historical records as well as mythology and ...

created. * 1274:

Battle of Bun'ei The , or Bun'ei Campaign, also known as the First Battle of Hakata Bay, was the first attempt by the Mongols, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China to Mongol invasions of Japan, invade Japan. After conquering the Japanese settlements on Tsushima Isl ...

, the first invasion in the

Mongol invasions of Japan Major military efforts were taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty in 1274 and 1281 to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of the Korean kingdom of Goryeo to Vassal state, vassaldom. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attemp ...

* 1281:

Battle of Kōan The , also known as the Second Battle of Hakata Bay, was the second attempt by the Mongols, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China to Mongol invasions of Japan, invade Japan after their failed attempt seven years earlier at the Battle of Bun'ei. In t ...

, the second invasion in the Mongol invasions of Japan * 1591: Construction of

Nagoya Castle is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, Japan. Nagoya Castle was constructed by the Owari Domain in 1612 during the Edo period on the site of an earlier castle of the Oda clan in the Sengoku period. Nagoya Castle was the heart of one of the ...

. After the

Japanese invasions of Korea Japanese invasions of Korea may refer to: *Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) *Donghak Peasant Revolution ** Japanese occupation of Gyeongbokgung *Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fou ...

the castle fell in 1598. * 1602: Construction of

Karatsu Castle is a Japanese castle located in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, Japan. It is a ''hirayamajiro'', a castle built on a plain rather than a hill or mountain. At the end of the Edo period, Karatsu castle was home to the Ogasawara clan, ''daimyō'' of K ...

and

Saga Castle is a Japanese castle located in Saga City, Saga Prefecture, Japan. It is a ''hiraijirō'', a castle built on a plains rather than a hill or mountain, and is surrounded by a wall rather than being built above a stone base. Saga castle was home t ...

. * 1607: Control of

moved from the

to the Nabeshima clan. * 1771: Nijinomatsubara Uprising * 1781: Establishment of Kōdōkan, the Saga

Han school The ''han'' school was a type of educational institution in the Edo period of Japan. They taught samurai etiquette, the classical Confucian books, calligraphy, rhetoric, fighting with swords and other weapons; some also added subjects such as m ...

. * 1828: Heavy damage from the

Siebold typhoon The Siebold typhoon () was a typhoon that struck Japan (northern Kyushu Island in particular) on September 17, 1828. There were 19,113 confirmed deaths, according to the official report. Overview According to the official report, the typhoon's e ...

, deaths estimated at over 10,000. * 1871, July 14:

Abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...

. All of the han became

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''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 inter ...

. * 1871, November 14: The prefectures of Saga, Hasuike, Ogi, Kashima, Karatsu and part of Tsushima merged to form one prefecture, Imari Prefecture. * 1872, May 29: Imari Prefecture renamed Saga Prefecture. * 1874, February:

Saga Rebellion The was an 1874 uprising in Kyūshū against the new Meiji government of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Saga no ran" in . It was led by Etō Shinpei and Shima Yoshitake in their native domain of Hizen province, Hizen. Background Fo ...

. * 1876, April 18: Incorporated into Mizuma Prefecture. * 1876, May and June: Parts of Mizuma Prefecture transferred to

. * 1876, August 21: Mizuma Prefecture abolished. Remaining parts incorporated into Nagasaki Prefecture. * 1883: Saga Prefecture re-established as an independent prefecture, separated from Nagasaki Prefecture. * 1889, April 1: The city of

is founded. * 1891: The Kyushu Railroad Nagasaki Line opens, beginning with a section from Tosu to Saga. * 1895: Opening of railroad from Saga to Takeo. * 1897: Opening of railroad from Takeo to Haiki. * 1903: Opening of railroad from Saga to Nishi-Karatsu. * 1932, January 1: The city of Karatsu is founded. * 1935: The

Japanese National Railways The , abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

Saga Line opens. * 1954: During the Great Showa Merger the cities of Tosu, Imari, Takeo, Kashima and Taku are formed. At this point there are 7 cities, 8 districts, 18 towns and 35 villages in Saga Prefecture. * 1972: With the closing of the Nishiki coal mine, all coal mines in Saga are closed. * 1975: The Genkai Nuclear Power Plant begins operation. * 1987: The Japanese National Railways Saga Line closes. * 1992: The Yoshinogari History Park opens to the public. * 1998: The Saga Airport opens in Kawasoe, in what is now the city of Saga. * 2005: As a part of the Great Heisei Merger various municipalities are reorganized. ** January 1: Karatsu and Shiroishi. ** March 1: Ogi and Miyaki. ** October 1:

. * 2006: The Great Heisei Merger continues. ** January 1: Karatsu and Ureshino. ** March 1: Takeo,

Yoshinogari Yoshinogari may refer to: * Yoshinogari, Saga, a town in Japan * Yoshinogari site, a prehistoric site located in Yoshinogari, Saga, Japan {{geodis ...

, and Arita. ** March 20: Kanzaki. * 2007, October 1: The towns of Higashiyoka, Kawasoe and

Kubota is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Osaka. It was established in 1890. The corporation produces many products including tractors and other agricultural machinery, Heavy equipment, construction equipment, engines, vending machines, P ...

merge with the city of Saga. * 2011, March 12: The

Kyushu Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed railway network. It is an extension of the San'yō Shinkansen from Honshu connecting the city of Fukuoka (Hakata Station) in the north of Japan's Kyushu Island to the city of Kagoshima (Kagoshima-Chuo Sta ...

opens.

Geography

's prefecture, Saga, is located on the northwest corner of the island, bordered by the

and the

Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel (; ''Dongsuro'') is a channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The strait is the channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima Isl ...

to the north and the

to the south. Saga's proximity to mainland Asia has made it an important gateway for the transmission of culture and trade throughout Japanese history. Largely rural outside of the two largest cities of

and Karatsu, agricultural and forested lands comprise over 68% of the total prefectural land area. There are six prefectural parks and one quasi-national park in Saga. * Northernmost point: Enuonohana, Kakarajima, Karatsu – * Easternmost point: Iida-machi, Tosu – * Southernmost point: Ōurakō, Tara – * Westernmost point: Ōse, Madarashima, Karatsu –

Geographical features

Plains

*Saga Plains

Mountains

* Sefuri Mountains, Tara Mountains * Mount Kyōga (1,076 m, the highest point in Saga), Mount Sefuri (1,056 m), Tenzan (1,046 m), Taradake (996 m), Mount Ihara (962 m), Kinzan (957 m), Raizan (955 m), Mount Hagane (900 m)

Rivers and lakes

Chikugo River The flows through Kumamoto, Ōita, Fukuoka and Saga prefectures in Japan. With a total length of , it is the longest river on Kyūshū. It flows from Mount Aso and empties into the Ariake Sea. It is also nicknamed "Tsukushi Jirō". The upp ...

(15.5 km in Saga), Kase River (57.5 km), Matsuura River (45.3 km), Rokkaku River (43.6 km) * Hokuzan Dam, Kase River Dam

Seas

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

, Isahaya Bay *

, Karatsu Bay, Imari Bay,

Peninsulas

* Higashimatsuura Peninsula, part of Kitamatsuura Peninsula

Islands

* Genkai Sea: Takashima, Kashiwajima, Ogawajima, Kakarajima, Matsushima, Madarajima, Kabeshima, Mukushima, Iroha Islands * Ariake Sea: Okinoshima

Forests

* Niji-no-Matsubara

Caves

* Nanatsugama Caves

Land use

Total area: 2439.31 km² * Forest, rough lands: 49.2% – 1/3 of the national average. ** Forested area: 1096.9 km² – From 2000, 42nd in the country. *

Arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...

: 39.1% – 2 times the national average. *

Residential A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...

: 6.8% – 1.4 times the national average. * Other: 4.9% – Roughly the same as the national average. As of March 31, 2008, 11% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the

Genkai Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park on the Genkai coast of Fukuoka Prefecture, Saga Prefecture, and Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It was founded on June 1, 1956 and has an area of . See also * List of national parks of Japan and of Japan are places ...

and Hachimandake, Kawakami-Kinryū, Kurokamiyama, Sefuri-Kitayama, Taradake, and Tenzan Prefectural Natural Parks.

Climate

Saga Prefecture has a mild climate with an average temperature of about .

Municipalities

As of October 1, 2007, there are 10

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, six

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 ...

, and 10

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Saga Prefecture, a total of 20 municipalities. As a part of the Great Heisei Merger, the number of municipalities has decreased since January 1, 2005. On March 20, 2006, the village of Sefuri merged with the city of Kanzaki, leaving Saga with no more villages.

Cities

Ten cities are located in Saga Prefecture:

Towns

These are the towns 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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Mergers

Metropolitan areas

*Karatsu-Higashimatsuura **Karatsu, Genkai *Kitō **Takeo, Kashima, Ureshino, Shiroishi, Ōmachi, Kōhoku, Tara *Saga **Saga, Taku, Ogi, Kanzaki *Tosu **Tosu, Kamimine, Kiyama, Yoshinogari, Miyaki

Economy

Agriculture,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

, and coastal

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

form a large portion of the prefectural economy. Regional agricultural specialties include Saga beef, onions, and strawberries. The prefecture is the largest producer of mochigome (sticky rice) and

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

mandarin orange A mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), often simply called mandarin, is a small, rounded citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. The mandarin is small and oblate, unlike the ...

s in Japan. According to 2002 figures, regional trade exports are focused primarily towards North America (29.3%), Western Europe (26.1%), and the Newly Industrializing Economies of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, Taiwan, Hong Kong and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

(19.9%). Imports come principally from North America (40.6%), the

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...

nations (23.3%), and the People's Republic of China (12.2%).

Demographics

Saga prefecture population pyramid in 2020

In 2002, the census recorded a population of 873,885 in Saga. Of these, 15.9% were aged 0–14, 62.7% were aged 15–64, and 21.4% were over 65 years old. There were 3,596 foreigners (0.4%) and 307 exchange students (0.03%) living in the prefecture.

Education

Universities

* Kyushu Ryukoku Junior College * Nishikyushu University * Nishikyushu University Junior College (former Saga Junior College) * Saga Prefectural Agricultural College *

Saga University ; abbreviated as or , is a national university in Saga, Saga Prefecture, Japan. The university has five faculties with around 7,000 students. Its two campuses are in and . History The history of Saga University is complicated. The oldest Saga t ...

* Saga Women's Junior College

Transportation

Air

* Saga Airport

Rail

Major stations in the prefecture include

Saga Station is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Saga, Saga Prefecture, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). Lines The station is served by the Nagasaki Main Line, located 25.0 km from the starting poin ...

, Tosu Station, Karatsu Station and Imari Station. The new

Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail line on the northwest part of Kyushu Island that is operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). The line is informally known as the Nagasaki Shinkansen. The section of the line between and ...

line stops at the Takeo-Onsen Station. *

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

** Chikuhi Line **

Kagoshima Main Line The is a major railway line operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) between Mojiko Station, Mojikō in Kitakyushu, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, Kagoshima City, at the southern end of Kyushu. Until March 13, 2004, it ...

Karatsu Line The is a regional railway line in Saga Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects in Saga, Saga, Saga City to in Karatsu, Saga, Karatsu City, both in Saga Prefecture, Japan. The line was originally ...

Nagasaki Main Line The , or simply known as the Nagasaki Line, is a railway line owned by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) connecting Tosu Station in Saga Prefecture to Nagasaki Station in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. There is a separate branch of this line ...

Sasebo Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Kōhoku Station in Kōhoku, Saga Prefecture to Sasebo Station in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. It is part of the route connecting Sasebo wi ...

Matsuura Railway is a third-sector railway company in Nagasaki Prefecture, Nagasaki and Saga Prefecture in Japan. Lines The railway company operates the 93.8 km Nishi-Kyushu Line from in Saga Prefecture to in Nagasaki Prefecture, with 57 stations. Princ ...

Nishi-Kyūshū Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway operator Matsuura Railway, which connects Arita in Saga Prefecture with Sasebo in Nagasaki Prefecture. This is the westernmost railway line in Japan, with Tabira-Hiradoguchi Stati ...

* Amagi Railway ** Amagi Line

Road

National highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...

** Route 34, Route 35 ** Route 202, Route 203, Route 204, Route 207, Route 263, Route 264, Route 323, Route 385, Route 444, Route 498 *

Tollway A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and mainten ...

s ** Nagasaki Expressway, Kyushu Expressway,

Nishi-Kyūshū Expressway The is one of the expressways of Japan which goes from Fukuoka to Takeo, running through the prefecture of Saga and the northern half of the Nagasaki Prefecture. The total length is 150 km. Part of the road is specified as Route 497. This ro ...

** Nijō-Hamatama Road, Kyūragi-Taku Road, Mitsuse Tunnel

Culture

Arita, Imari and Karatsu are famous for the porcelain that is created there. The top porcelain houses in the country are located in these areas, including Imaemon Porcelain, Genemon Porcelain and Fukagawa Porcelain.

Language

Saga-ben ( Saga dialect) is Saga's own variation of Japanese.

Festivals

Balloon Fiesta

The Saga International Balloon Fiesta is held at the beginning of November every year just outside Saga City along the Kase River. This is a popular event and attracts competitors from all over the world.

Karatsu Kunchi

The

Karatsu Kunchi Karatsu Kunchi (唐津くんち; the suffix "kunchi" simply meaning festival) is a matsuri, Japanese matsuri that takes place annually in November in the city of Karatsu, Saga, Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, on Japan's island of Kyūshū. About ...

is held at the beginning of November in Karatsu City. This is Saga's largest festival and attracts around 500,000 visitors every year.

Kashima Gatalympics

The Kashima Gatalympics are held every May–June in the city of Kashima. This event involves playing a variety of sports in the mudflats of the Ariake Sea. The Gatalympics are not held if the weather is raining.

Imari Ton-Ten-Ton Festival

The Imari Ton-Ten-Ton Festival is held for 3 days every year near the end of October. Located in Imari City, the festival is one of the three great fighting festivals in Japan. In the festival a crashing battle takes place between the two huge portable shrines, the Ara-mikoshi and the Danjiri. The name "Ton-Ten-Ton" represents the sound of drums used in the festival.

Sports

Sports teams

Teams listed below are based in Saga Prefecture. Football (soccer) *

Sagan Tosu is a Japanese professional Association football, football club based in Tosu, Saga, Tosu, Saga Prefecture. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of Japanese football, since 2025 following relegation from the J1 League in 2024 J1 Leag ...

( Tosu) Volleyball * Hisamitsu Springs ( Tosu) Basketball * Saga Ballooners (

) Baseball * Saga Indonesia Dreams ( Takeo)

Tourism

Karatsu, with its fine

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

, is a tourist destination in Saga. The remains of a

Yayoi The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

village in

Yoshinogari Yoshinogari may refer to: * Yoshinogari, Saga, a town in Japan * Yoshinogari site, a prehistoric site located in Yoshinogari, Saga, Japan {{geodis ...

also attract large numbers of sightseers. Another place to visit is Yūtoku Inari Shrine, one of Japan's three biggest Inari shrines. The Saga prefecture helped sponsor the 2018

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

Zombie Land Saga is an anime television series produced by MAPPA, Avex Pictures and Cygames. The series aired in Japan between October and December 2018. A second season titled ''Zombie Land Saga Revenge'' aired between April and June 2021. An anime ...

'', which has attracted tourists to various locations showcased in the series, including the museum that doubles in the series as the girls' house and Drive-In Tori Chicken.

Notable people

* Comedian and

J-pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...

singer Hanawa became famous for comically singing about Saga Prefecture and its oddities. * Former TV personality Masashi Tashiro was born in Saga Prefecture. * World War II fighter ace

Saburō Sakai was a Japanese naval aviator and flying ace (''"Gekitsui-O"'', ) of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Sakai had 28 aerial victories, including shared ones, according to official Japanese records, though he and his ghostwriter Marti ...

was born in Saga Prefecture. * Actress and J-pop singer

Yasuko Matsuyuki is a Japanese actress and singer signed to Stardust Promotion. History Yasuko Matsuyuki was born in 1972 in Tosu, Saga. She has two younger brothers. One is , who is also an actor, and the other is Yo Matsuyuki who is a rock singer. In 1989, ...

and her younger brother, J-pop/rock singer Yuna Katsuki (of Lazy Knack and Red), are from Saga city.

The Seven Wise Men of Saga

"The Seven Wise Men of Saga" is the name given to these seven men from Saga, each of whom have made a significant contribution to the modernisation of Japan. Their contributions began in the last days of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, and continued into the

. Even today, this era shines impressively in Saga's history. * Lord Naomasa Nabeshima, feudal lord of the Nabeshima clan, helped to bring about the development of Saga through introducing European technology and culture. * Etō Shinpei, also once a Minister of Legal Affairs, became a Diet member and created the foundation for Japan's judicial system. *

Ōkuma Shigenobu Marquess was a Japanese politician who served as the prime minister of Japan in 1898, and from 1914 to 1916. Born in the Saga Domain, Ōkuma was appointed minister of finance soon after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, aided by his friendship w ...

served two terms as

Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

. He also established

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

. *

Ōki Takatō Count , was a Japanese statesman during the early Meiji period. He was Governor of Tokyo in 1868 and a member of the Japanese Privy Council in 1889.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Ōki Takatō" in . Biography Ōki was born into a ''sam ...

was Minister of Civil Affairs, Education and Legal Affairs, held the position of a Diet member and made considerable contributions to the establishment of the modern education system in Japan. *

Soejima Taneomi Count was a diplomat and statesman during early Meiji period Japan. Life and career Soejima was born into a ''samurai'' family in Saga, in Hizen Province (present-day Saga Prefecture). His father was a teacher in the domain's school and a scho ...

served the roles of

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

member, Foreign Minister, Minister of Domestic Affairs and was well known for his Chinese Poetry and talented writing skills. *

Sano Tsunetami Count was a Japanese statesman and founder of the Japanese Red Cross Society. His son, Admiral Sano Tsuneha, was a leading figure in the establishment of the Scout Association of Japan. Biography Sano was born in Hayatsue, Saga Domain (pr ...

founded the

Japanese Red Cross The is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross. The Imperial Family of Japan has traditionally supported the society, with the Empress as Honorary President and other imperial family members as vice presidents. Its headquarters ...

. *

Shima Yoshitake was a samurai from Saga domain. He later became a chamberlain and later a governor for Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces an ...

contributed to the exploration of

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

Notes

References

* *

External links

Saga City website
google translate available
Saga Prefecture website
Translation available
SagaJET website

*

Hagakure ''Hagakure'' (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: ; meaning ''Hidden by the Leaves'' or ''Hidden Leaves''), or , is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, drawn from a collection of commentaries by the clerk Yamamoto Tsunetomo, former retainer to ...

1716 by Yamamoto Tsunetomo about

Bushidō is a Samurai moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. Its origins date back to the Kamakura period, but it was formalized in the Edo period (1603–1868). There are multiple types of bushido which evolved significant ...

(Samurai Moral Code) at Wikipedia {{coord, 33, 17, N, 130, 10, E, scale:500000, display=title Kyushu region Prefectures of Japan