Yamagata山形県
Yamagata-ken, やまがたけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.
Yamagata is mountainous and known for cherries and hot springs. The Mogami River flows the length of the prefecture.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 山形県
- Reading
- Yamagata-ken / やまがたけん
- Region
- Tōhoku 東北
- Capital
- Yamagata 山形市
- Population
- 1,068,027 (2020 census)
- Area
- 9,323 km²
- Density
- 115 people per km²
- Municipalities
- 35: 13 cities, 19 towns, and 3 villages
- Designated cities
- None
- Districts (郡)
- 8
- Codes
- JIS 06, ISO 3166-2 JP-06
- Website
- www.pref.yamagata.jp
- Tree
- cherry サクランボ
- Flower
- safflower ベニバナ
- Bird
- mandarin duck オシドリ
The tree, flower, and bird are the prefectural symbols, chosen by ordinance. Every prefecture has all three.
The most populous municipalities
| Municipality | Population | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yamagata City山形市 | 247,590 | 381.3 | 23.2% |
| Tsuruoka City鶴岡市 | 122,347 | 1,311.53 | 11.5% |
| Sakata City酒田市 | 100,273 | 602.97 | 9.4% |
| Yonezawa City米沢市 | 81,252 | 548.51 | 7.6% |
| Tendo City天童市 | 62,140 | 113.01 | 5.8% |
| Higashine City東根市 | 47,682 | 206.94 | 4.5% |
| Sagae City寒河江市 | 40,189 | 139.03 | 3.8% |
| Shinjo City新庄市 | 34,432 | 222.85 | 3.2% |
| Nanyo City南陽市 | 30,420 | 160.52 | 2.8% |
| Kaminoyama City上山市 | 29,110 | 240.93 | 2.7% |
2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 25 are listed below.
How an address here begins
山形県山形市…
Yamagata-ken, Yamagata-shi, …
The prefecture name is written first, then the municipality name. The guide explains the rest of the address, and the map finds any address you paste into it.
Neighbouring prefectures
Every municipality in Yamagata市区町村
35 local governments, each with its own mayor and assembly. Each has a page with its population, area, neighbours, and boundary on the map.
Cities市
Districts, with their towns and villages郡 町 村
A district is a name that groups towns and villages in an address. It has no office and no election. Each town and village in it is a government.
Questions about Yamagata
- Is Yamagata a city or a prefecture?
- Yamagata (山形県) is a prefecture, one of Japan's 47. Yamagata City (山形市) is a municipality inside it and its capital. On its own, the name usually means the city. With 県 on the end it means the prefecture.
- What is the capital of Yamagata?
- Yamagata City (山形市). The prefectural office is there. It is also the largest municipality in the prefecture.
- What does 県 mean in 山形県?
- 県 (ken) means prefecture. It is the ordinary word for prefecture, used by 43 of the 47. The other four are Tokyo (都), Hokkaidō (道), Osaka, and Kyoto (府), which are the same kind of government with a different word at the end of the name.
- How many municipalities are in Yamagata?
- 35: 13 cities, 19 towns, and 3 villages. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. The towns and villages are grouped into eight districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.
- What is the population of Yamagata?
- 1,068,027 at the 2020 census, on 9,323 km², which is 115 people per km². Yamagata is the 36th most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 9th largest by area.
- Which prefectures border Yamagata?
- Four prefectures: Miyagi (宮城県), Akita (秋田県), Fukushima (福島県), and Niigata (新潟県). Borders across water are not counted.
- What region is Yamagata in?
- Tōhoku (東北). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Yamagata elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.
- How is Yamagata written in Japanese?
- 山形県, read Yamagata-ken and written やまがたけん in hiragana. The last character, 県, is the word for prefecture, and the name is often used without it in English.
- How does an address in Yamagata begin?
- With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 山形県山形市… (Yamagata-ken, Yamagata-shi, …). After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
- What is the largest city in Yamagata?
- Yamagata City (山形市), with 247,590 people at the 2020 census. It is also the capital. The three most populous municipalities are Yamagata City (山形市, 247,590), Tsuruoka City (鶴岡市, 122,347), and Sakata City (酒田市, 100,273).
- What are the symbols of Yamagata?
- The prefectural tree is the cherry (サクランボ), the flower the safflower (ベニバナ), and the bird the mandarin duck (オシドリ). Yamagata chose them by ordinance, as every prefecture has.
Boundaries: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Municipality counts are from the boundary data on the map. Website and symbols: the prefecture's Japanese Wikipedia article, read in September 2026.