Editing Saga Prefecture (section)

==History==
{{See also|Historic Sites of Saga Prefecture}}
[[File:YoshinogariIseki.jpg|thumb|A reconstruction of a [[Yayoi period]] building at the [[Yoshinogari site]]]]
[[File:唐津城 - panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[Karatsu Castle]]]]
In ancient times, the area composed by [[Nagasaki Prefecture]] and Saga Prefecture was called [[Hizen Province]].{{sfnp|Nussbaum|Roth|2005|loc="Provinces and prefectures", p. 780}} The current name dates from the [[Meiji Restoration]]. Rice farming culture has prospered here since ancient times, and vestiges can be seen at the ruins of Nabatake in [[Karatsu, Saga|Karatsu]] and the [[Yoshinogari site]] in [[Yoshinogari, Saga|Yoshinogari]].

===Feudal period===
[[File:Sagajyou shachinomon.jpg|thumb|[[Saga Castle]] (Shachi gate)]]
[[File:Romon gate and Honden of Yutoku Inari Shrine.jpg|thumb|[[Yūtoku Inari Shrine]]]]
[[File:La Montgorlfier Nocturne.JPG|thumb|[[Saga International Balloon Fiesta]]]]
[[File:Nijinomatsubara.jpg|thumb|[[Nijinomatsubara]]]]
From the [[Kamakura period]] to the [[Muromachi period]], it is thought that over 100 feudal clans existed. Also exerting great influence during this time was a samurai clan operating along the [[Genkai Sea]] called the Matsuratō. Upon entering the [[Sengoku period]], the [[Ryūzōji clan]] expanded their control to include all of Hizen and [[Chikugo Province]]s, and part of [[Higo Province|Higo]] and [[Chikuzen Province]]s. After the death of ''[[daimyō]]'' [[Ryūzōji Takanobu]], [[Nabeshima Naoshige]] took control of the political situation, and by 1607 all of the Ryūzōji clan's domain was under the control of the [[Nabeshima clan]].

In the [[Edo period]] this area was called the [[Saga Domain]] (佐賀藩 ''Saga-han''), and it included three sub-domains: the Hasunoike, Ogi and Kashima Domains. Also within the current borders of Saga Prefecture during this time were the [[Karatsu Domain]] (唐津藩 ''Karatsu-han'') and two territories of the [[Tsushima-Fuchū Domain]] (対馬府中藩 ''Tsushimafuchū-han''). Saga Domain and its sub-domains continued to be ruled by the Nabeshima clan, its various illegitimate family lineages and members of the former Ryūzōji clan, and politically the area was relatively stable. The cost of defending [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]] was increasing and, difficult from the start, the financial situation was worsened by the great [[Kyōhō]] famine and the [[Siebold typhoon|Siebold Typhoon]] of 1828. Due to the large area of reclaimed land from the [[Ariake Sea]], arable land was increased significantly and by the 1840s the annual [[koku]] of Saga Domain increased to about 670,000, twice that of 200 years before.

Around the middle of the 19th century, [[Naomasa Nabeshima]] strove to set right the domain's financial affairs, reduce the number of government officials, and encourage local industry such as [[Arita porcelain]], [[green tea]], and coal. Also, thanks to the proximity of the international port of Nagasaki, new technologies were introduced from overseas, such as the [[reverberatory furnace]] and models of [[steam locomotive]]s.

After the [[Boshin War]], many people from Saga Domain assisted in the [[Meiji Restoration]]. In the [[Meiji era]] the modernization of coal mines in [[Kishima District, Saga|Kishima]] and [[Higashimatsuura District, Saga|Higashimatsuura districts]], among others, progressed bolstered by the construction of railroads.

===Timeline===
[[Image:Eto Shimpei at Saga Rebellion.jpg|thumb|right|[[Eto Shimpei]] in Saga. Woodblock print from ''Tokyo Nichinichi Shimbun'', 1874.]]
* 6th century BC (end of the [[Jōmon period]]): Estimated date of the Nabatake ruins in [[Karatsu, Saga|Karatsu]]
* 1st century BC (middle of the [[Yayoi period]]): Villages flourished at what is now the [[Yoshinogari site]]
* 665: After losing the [[Battle of Baekgang]], Kii Castle (in present-day [[Kiyama, Saga|Kiyama]]) amassed its defenses to protect [[Dazaifu, Fukuoka|Dazaifu]].
* 733: [[Hizen Province|Hizen]] [[Fudoki]] created.
* 1274: [[Battle of Bun'ei]], the first invasion in the [[Mongol invasions of Japan]]
* 1281: [[Battle of Kōan]], the second invasion in the Mongol invasions of Japan
* 1591: Construction of [[Nagoya, Saga|Nagoya Castle]]. After the [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)|Japanese invasions of Korea]] the castle fell in 1598.
* 1602: Construction of [[Karatsu Castle]] and [[Saga Castle]].
* 1607: Control of [[Saga Domain]] moved from the [[Ryūzōji clan]] to the [[Nabeshima clan]].
* 1771: [[Nijinomatsubara]] Uprising
* 1781: Establishment of Kōdōkan, the Saga [[Han school]].
* 1828: Heavy damage from the [[Siebold typhoon]], deaths estimated at over 10,000.
* 1871, July 14: [[Abolition of the han system]]. All of the [[han (country subdivision)|han]] became [[Prefectures of Japan|prefectures]].
* 1871, November 14: The prefectures of Saga, Hasuike, Ogi, Kashima, Karatsu and part of Tsushima merged to form one prefecture, Imari Prefecture.
* 1872, May 29: Imari Prefecture renamed Saga Prefecture.
* 1874, February: [[Saga Rebellion]].{{sfnp|Nussbaum|Roth|2005|loc="Saga no ran", p. 804}}
* 1876, April 18: Incorporated into Mizuma Prefecture.
* 1876, May and June: Parts of Mizuma Prefecture transferred to [[Nagasaki Prefecture]].
* 1876, August 21: Mizuma Prefecture abolished. Remaining parts incorporated into Nagasaki Prefecture.
* 1883: Saga Prefecture re-established as an independent prefecture, separated from Nagasaki Prefecture.
* 1889, April 1: The city of [[Saga (city)|Saga]] is founded.
* 1891: The [[Kyushu Railroad]] Nagasaki Line opens, beginning with a section from [[Tosu, Saga|Tosu]] to Saga.
* 1895: Opening of railroad from Saga to [[Takeo, Saga|Takeo]].
* 1897: Opening of railroad from Takeo to Haiki.
* 1903: Opening of railroad from Saga to Nishi-Karatsu.
* 1932, January 1: The city of [[Karatsu, Saga|Karatsu]] is founded.
* 1935: The [[Japanese National Railways]] Saga Line opens.
* 1954: During the [[Municipal mergers and dissolutions in Japan|Great Showa Merger]] the cities of Tosu, [[Imari, Saga|Imari]], Takeo, [[Kashima, Saga|Kashima]] and [[Taku, Saga|Taku]] are formed. At this point there are 7 cities, 8 districts, 18 towns and 35 villages in Saga Prefecture.
* 1972: With the closing of the Nishiki coal mine, all coal mines in Saga are closed.
* 1975: The [[Genkai Nuclear Power Plant]] begins operation.
* 1987: The Japanese National Railways Saga Line closes.
* 1992: The [[Yoshinogari site|Yoshinogari History Park]] opens to the public.
* 1998: The [[Saga Airport]] opens in [[Kawasoe, Saga|Kawasoe]], in what is now the city of Saga.
* 2005: As a part of the [[Municipal mergers and dissolutions in Japan|Great Heisei Merger]] various municipalities are reorganized.
** January 1: [[Karatsu, Saga|Karatsu]] and [[Shiroishi, Saga|Shiroishi]].
** March 1: [[Ogi, Saga|Ogi]] and [[Miyaki, Saga|Miyaki]].
** October 1: [[Saga (city)|Saga]].
* 2006: The Great Heisei Merger continues.
** January 1: [[Karatsu, Saga|Karatsu]] and [[Ureshino, Saga|Ureshino]].
** March 1: [[Takeo, Saga|Takeo]], [[Yoshinogari, Saga|Yoshinogari]], and [[Arita, Saga|Arita]].
** March 20: [[Kanzaki, Saga|Kanzaki]].
* 2007, October 1: The towns of [[Higashiyoka, Saga|Higashiyoka]], [[Kawasoe, Saga|Kawasoe]] and [[Kubota, Saga|Kubota]] merge with the city of Saga.
* 2011, March 12: The [[Kyushu Shinkansen]] opens.