YAMAGATA – Mountain Shape 山形県
The prefecture was named after the castle town of Yamagata where the prefectural capital was located. The castle was built by the Yamagata Clan.
・”Yamagata” originally came from the ancient hamlet name of Yamagata-go using slightly different kanji (山方郷) which means “mountain side village.”
・”Yamagata” likely referred to the mountains south of present-day Yamagata city. They include Mt. Zao and Mt. Ryuzan.
・Yamagata-go is mentioned in the Wamyō Ruijushō (和名類聚抄) Japanese kanji dictionary from the 10th century.
Old province names: Uzen-no-Kuni (羽前国) + Ugo-no-Kuni (羽後国), both separated from Dewa-no-Kuni (出羽国).
*The AI-generated image is for illustrative purposes only and may not accurately depict any particular place in the prefecture.
*Major reference sources: Official prefectural website, Japanese Wikipedia, other websites.
Origin of other prefectural names (etymologies)
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