Editing Chiba Prefecture (section)

==Etymology==
The name of Chiba Prefecture in Japanese is formed from two [[kanji]] characters. The first, {{linktext|千}}, means "thousand" and the second, {{linktext|葉}} means "leaf". The name first appears as an ancient ''[[kuni no miyatsuko]]'', or regional command office, as the {{nihongo|''Chiba Kuni no Miyatsuko''|千葉国造}}.<ref>{{cite dictionary|url=http://www.nihonjiten.com/data/263228.html|title=千葉国造（下総）|website=Nihonjiten.com}}</ref> The name was adopted by a branch of the [[Taira clan]], which moved to the area in present-day [[Chiba (city)|Chiba City]] in the late [[Heian period]]. The branch of the Taira adopted the name and became the [[Chiba clan]], and held strong influence over the area of the prefecture until the [[Azuchi–Momoyama period]]. The name "Chiba" was chosen for the prefecture at the time its creation in [[1873]] by the {{Nihongo|[[Assembly of Prefectural Governors]]|地方官会議|Chihō Kankai Kaigi}}, an early [[Meiji era|Meiji-period]] body of prefectural governors that met to decide the structure of local and regional administration in Japan.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Nihon Rekishi Chimei Taikei (日本歴史地名大系) |title=千葉県の成立と行政的変遷 |url=http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ |access-date=2012-04-01 |year=2012 |publisher=Shogakukan |location=Tokyo |language=ja |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825113418/http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ |archive-date=2007-08-25 }}</ref>

The compound word {{Nihongo|''Keiyō''|京葉}}, which refers to the Tokyo-Chiba region, is formed from the second character in [[Tokyo]] ({{linktext|京}}), and the second character in Chiba ({{linktext|葉}}), which can also be pronounced "kei" and "yō" respectively.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Dijitaru daijisen |title=Keiyō |url=http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ |access-date=2012-03-26 |year=2012 |publisher=Shogakukan |location=Tokyo |language=ja |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825113418/http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ |archive-date=2007-08-25 }}</ref> This compound is used in terms such as the [[Keiyō Line]], [[Keiyō Road]], [[Keiyō Rinkai Railway Rinkai Main Line]], and the [[Keiyō Industrial Zone]].