Population: 1,421,310 (29th in Japan)

Number of households: 500,994

Area (km²): 3,691.09 (39th in Japan)

Gross prefectural product (in billions of yen): 3,775 (35th in Japan)

Nara-koen Park

Todai-ji Temple

Wakakusa hill ware and Yakushi-ji Temple

(C)Nara Prefecture

Located in the middle of the Kii Peninsula, which is roughly at the center of the Japanese archipelago, this inland prefecture is ringed by four other prefectures. About 80% of Nara's area is forested and mountainous, and the population is concentrated in and around the Nara Basin in the north of the prefecture. An inland climate characterizes the Nara Basin in the northwest, inland and mountainous climates meet in the Yamato plateau in the northeast, and a mountainous climate dominates the south.

From the 6th to 8th centuries, as Buddhism was introduced from the Asian continent, Nara prospered as the center of government and culture in Japan. In this era, culture, arts, construction techniques and other skills were conveyed through the Silk Road from lands to the west. Numerous ancient sites remain in Nara, including the Ishibutai and the Takamatsuzuka and Fujinoki tombs.

Textiles and numerous other local industries are found in every part of the prefecture. Forestry, centered on the Yoshino cedar, has also prospered for centuries, and Nara boasts several of Japan's most beautiful artificial forests. Prosperous industries include Yamato Takada textiles and Yamato Koriyama metals and machinery. The value of powdered aluminum and its alloys produced in Nara is also one of the highest nationally. Takayama Science Town is one of the prefecture's 8 industrial parks.

Nara has numerous magnificent and grand wooden buildings, including the temples of Todaiji, which is famous for its Great Buddha Hall, Toshodai-ji and Yakushi-ji. Todai-ji's Shosoin has an extensive collection of cultural properties that represent Asian Culture of the 7th and 8th centuries. In addition, only Nara Prefecture has three World Heritage sites-the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, the Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area, and the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara. Many tourists come to see these valuable cultural treasures.