Yamagata Prefecture

Yamagata Prefecture (山形県 Yamagata-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on Honshu island.^[1]

Its capital is Yamagata.^[2]

Yamagata Prefecture is the largest producer of cherries and pears in Japan.

Yamagata Prefecture has a number of annual festivals and events.
The largest is the hanagasa matsuri (花笠祭り) which takes place in Yamagata City on the first weekend in August, when thousands of people perform the hanagasa dance in the city centre and attracts up to 300,000 spectators.
The aboriginal Ezo (蝦夷^?) people once inhabited the area now known as Yamagata.

Yamagata and Akita Prefecture were known as Dewa Province until the Meiji Restoration.^[3]

During the Heian Period (794–1185), the Fujiwara (藤原^?) family ruled the area.

In 1689, the famous haiku poet, Matsuo Bashō visited Yamagata during his five-month trip to the northern regions of Japan.

Yamagata Prefecture is located in the southwest corner of Tōhoku, facing the Sea of Japan. It borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture on the south, Miyagi Prefecture on the east, and Akita Prefecture on the north.  boundaries are marked by mountains, with most of the population residing in a limited central plain.

The climate of Yamagata Prefecture is characterized by long hot humid summers and long snowy winters. Both spring and autumn are short, the former often cold, the latter often warm, but both quite dry and sunny.

The Meiji Restoration (明治維新 Meiji Ishin^?), also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji.