Editing Kanagawa Prefecture (section)

==History==
{{See also|Historic Sites of Kanagawa Prefecture}}

The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the [[Jōmon period]] (around 400 BCE). About 3,000 years ago, [[Mount Hakone]] produced a volcanic explosion which resulted in [[Lake Ashi]] on the western area of the prefecture.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

It is believed{{By whom|date=April 2011}} that the [[Imperial House of Japan|imperial dynasty]] ruled this area from the 5th century onwards. In the [[ancient era]], its plains were very sparsely inhabited.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

In medieval Japan, Kanagawa was part of the provinces of [[Sagami Province|Sagami]] and [[Musashi Province|Musashi]].<ref>Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" in {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC|p. 466|page=466}}.</ref> [[Kamakura]] in central Sagami was the capital of Japan during the [[Kamakura period]] (1185–1333).

During the [[Edo period]], the western part of Sagami Province was governed by the ''[[daimyō]]'' of [[Odawara Castle]], while the eastern part was directly governed by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] in [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]] (modern-day Tokyo).{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

[[Commodore (USN)|Commodore]] [[Matthew C. Perry|Matthew Perry]] landed in Kanagawa in 1853 and 1854 and signed the [[Convention of Kanagawa]] to force open Japanese ports to the United States. [[Yokohama]], the largest deep-water port in [[Tokyo Bay]], was opened to foreign traders in 1859 after several more years of foreign pressure, and eventually developed into the largest trading port in Japan. Nearby [[Yokosuka]], closer to the mouth of Tokyo Bay, developed as a naval port and now serves as headquarters for the [[U.S. 7th Fleet]] and the fleet operations of the [[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]]. After the [[Meiji period]], many foreigners lived in Yokohama City, and visited [[Hakone]]. The [[Government of Meiji Japan|Meiji government]] developed the first railways in Japan, from [[Shinbashi]] (in Tokyo) to Yokohama in 1872.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

The epicenter of the [[1923 Great Kantō earthquake]] was deep beneath [[Izu Ōshima]] Island in Sagami Bay. It devastated Tokyo, the port city of [[Yokohama]], surrounding prefectures of [[Chiba Prefecture|Chiba]], [[Kanagawa]], and [[Shizuoka Prefecture|Shizuoka]], and caused widespread damage throughout the [[Kantō region]].<ref>Hammer, Joshua. (2006). {{Google books|6O8VyhDbUPgC|''Yokohama Burning: the Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II'', p. 278|page=278}}.</ref> The sea receded as much as 400 metres from the shore at [[Manazuru, Kanagawa|Manazuru Point]], and then rushed back towards the shore in a great wall of water which swamped Mitsuishi-shima.<ref>Hammer, {{Google books|6O8VyhDbUPgC|pp. 114–115|page=114}}.</ref> At [[Kamakura]], the total death toll from earthquake, tsunami, and fire exceeded 2,000 victims.<ref>Hammer, {{Google books|6O8VyhDbUPgC|pp. 115–116|page=115}}.</ref> At [[Odawara]], ninety percent of the buildings collapsed immediately, and subsequent fires burned the rubble along with anything else left standing.<ref>Hammer, {{Google books|6O8VyhDbUPgC|p. 113|page=113}}.</ref>

Yokohama, [[Kawasaki, Kanagawa|Kawasaki]], and other major cities were heavily damaged by the U.S. bombing in 1945. Total casualties amounted to more than several thousand. After the war, General [[Douglas MacArthur]], the [[Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers]] for the [[Occupation of Japan]], landed in Kanagawa, before moving to other areas. U.S. military bases still remain in Kanagawa, including [[Camp Zama]] ([[United States Army|Army]]), [[United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka|Yokosuka Naval Base]], [[Naval Air Facility Atsugi]] ([[United States Navy|Navy]]).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cnrj.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/NAF-Atsugi/ | title=Naval Air Facility Atsugi }}</ref>