Editing Chiba Prefecture (section)

== History ==
[[File:HaniwaChicken.jpg|left|thumb|[[Haniwa]] funerary object of a chicken, [[Kofun period]]. From the collection of the [[Shibayama Haniwa Museum]]]]
{{historical populations|13=1890|14=1,191,353|15=1903|16=1,316,547|17=1913|18=1,401,587|19=1920|20=1,336,155|21=1925|22=1,399,257|23=1930|24=1,470,121|25=1935|26=1,546,394|27=1940|28=1,588,425|29=1945|30=1,966,862|31=1950|32=2,139,037|33=1955|34=2,205,060|35=1960|36=2,306,010|37=1965|38=2,701,770|39=1970|40=3,366,624|41=1975|42=4,149,147|43=1980|44=4,735,424|45=1985|46=5,148,163|47=1990|48=5,555,429|49=1995|50=5,797,782|51=2000|52=5,926,285|53=2005|54=6,056,462|55=2010|56=6,216,289|57=2015|58=6,222,666|percentages=pagr|footnote=Source:<ref>[http://www.stat.go.jp/english/index.html Statistics Bureau of Japan]</ref>|59=2020|60=6,284,480}}

===Early history===
Chiba Prefecture was settled in prehistoric times, as evidenced by the [[Jōmon period]] remains in every part of the region. The prefecture holds the largest ''kaizuka'' [[midden|sea shell mounds]] in Japan, evidence of a large population in the prefecture that relied on the rich marine products of the Pacific Ocean and Tokyo Bay. [[Kofun]] burial mounds are found across the prefecture, with the largest group being in Futtsu along Tokyo Bay.<ref>{{cite book | script-title=ja:千葉県史料: 原始古代編 |trans-title=Historical Materials on Chiba Prefecture: Prehistory and Ancient History | volume = Kazusa-no-Kuni | year = 1963 | publisher = Chiba Prefecture | location = Chiba, Chiba Prefecture | language = ja | oclc = 37884389 | lccn = 67000809}}</ref>

===Asuka and Nara periods===
In the [[Asuka period]] (538–710), under the [[Taika Reform]] of 645, the administrative structure of present-day Chiba Prefecture changed significantly. The historical province of [[Fusa Province]], which may have covered much of Chiba and [[Ibaraki Prefecture|Ibaraki]] prefectures, was divided into two provinces: [[Shimōsa Province]] (also called Shimofusa) in the north and [[Kazusa Province]] in the southern area. [[Awa Province (Chiba)|Awa Province]] at the south of Chiba Prefecture, was separated from Kazusa Prefecture in 718. These administrative units existed until they were abolished and merged into Chiba Prefecture after the [[Meiji Restoration]]. The central government established a ''kokubunji'' [[provincial temple]] in each province.<ref name="sanpo-h">{{cite book|last1=Chiba-ken Kōtō Gakkō Kyōiku Kenkyūkai. Rekishi Bukai. |title=Chiba-ken no rekishi sanpo (千葉県の歴史散步) |publisher=Yamakawa Shuppansha |year=1989 |location=Tokyo |pages=3–4 |language=ja |isbn=9784634291201}}</ref>

===Heian period===
The imperial court gradually extended its authority over the three provinces in the [[Nara period|Nara]] (710–794) and [[Heian period|Heian]] (794–1185) periods. [[Shōen]] feudal estates were established across the three provinces, and the region became an important source of tax revenue, sending agricultural and other products to the capital in Kyoto. As the Heian period progressed, however, the [[kokushi (officials)|kokushi]] provincial governors came to exert military power independent of the central government in Kyoto. The [[Chiba clan]] broke entirely with the imperial court and was instrumental in the establishment of the [[Kamakura shogunate]].<ref name="sanpo-h" /><ref>Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" in {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC|p. 780|page=780}}.</ref>

===Modern period===
[[File:Student militia at Kujukurihama.jpg|left|thumb|Student militia of the [[Fifty-Second Army (Japan)|Japanese 52nd Army]] training on [[Kujūkuri Beach]], early 1945]]
Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873, with the merger of [[Kisarazu Prefecture]] and [[Inba Prefecture]].

The [[militarization]] of Chiba Prefecture dates to the [[Russo-Japanese War]] (1904&ndash;1905). Coastal fortifications were built along [[Tokyo Bay]], as far south as Tateyama, to protect the capital of the [[Empire of Japan]] from attack.

In September 1923, the [[1923 Great Kantō earthquake|Great Kanto earthquake]] has cause of widespread destruction in Chiba Prefecture, most notably in the southernmost part of [[Bōsō Peninsula|Boso Peninsula]], where 1,300 residents were killed, out of 142,000 deaths. Areas of prefecture adjacent to Tokyo saw much damage, and mob violence against Koreans and other ethnic minorities occurred in the chaos after the earthquake in Funabashi, [[Ichikawa, Chiba|Ichikawa]], and other areas.<ref>{{cite book| last1 = Chiba-ken Kōtō Gakkō Kyōiku Kenkyūkai. Rekishi Bukai. | title = Chiba-ken no rekishi sanpo (千葉県の歴史散步) | publisher = Yamakawa Shuppansha | year = 1989 | location = Tokyo | page = 9 | language = ja | isbn = 9784634291201}}</ref>

Koreans, in several neighborhoods of Yachiyo, were killed, and a tower was erected in 1972 near [[Yachiyodai Station]] to memorialize those killed in the incident.<ref>{{cite book| last1 = Chiba-ken Kōtō Gakkō Kyōiku Kenkyūkai. Rekishi Bukai. | title = Chiba-ken no rekishi sanpo (千葉県の歴史散步) | publisher = Yamakawa Shuppansha | year = 1989 | location = Tokyo | page = 91 | language = ja | isbn = 9784634291201}}</ref> In the 1930s, the north and central areas of the prefecture became a center of large-scale military production, and military bases and fortifications were constructed in most of the coastal areas of the prefecture. After the United States took control of [[Saipan]], the northern part of the prefecture (most notably the cities of Chiba and Chōshi) was [[firebombed]]. Much of the industrialized north of the prefecture was destroyed. [[Operation Downfall#Coronet|Operation Coronet]], one of two parts of [[Operation Downfall]], was the planned land invasion of Tokyo in March 1946 by the United States. Coronet planned [[Kujūkuri Beach]] as one of two initial landing bases, the other being [[Hiratsuka, Kanagawa|Hiratsuka]] via [[Sagami Bay]]. The [[U.S. First Army]] would enter at Kujūkuri, sweep across the Boso Peninsula, and meet the [[U.S. Eighth Army]] at Tokyo. The plan was not carried out since [[surrender of Japan|Japan surrendered]] after the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Giangreco | first = D. M. | title = Hell to Pay: Operation DOWNFALL and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947 | year = 2011 | publisher = Naval Institute Press | location = New York | isbn = 9781612510262 | oclc = 741492494 | pages = 169–170}}</ref>

[[File:Nippon Steel Kimitsu Works.jpg|right|thumb|Nippon Steel Kimitsu Works, 2007, Kimitsu, Keiyō Industrial Zone]]

During the [[Occupation of Japan]] (1945&ndash;1952) Chiba Prefecture was controlled by American forces from the second floor of the prefectural capitol building in the city of Chiba. Numerous other cities in the prefecture, including Chōshi to the north and Tateyama to the south, were used as bases of the occupation; rich agricultural areas across the prefecture somewhat safeguarded the region's population from potential food shortages, and starvation, immediately following the war. The immediate post-war period was characterized by carefully planned industrial expansion in the north of the prefecture, and the significant increase of agriculture after [[land reform]]s across the prefecture. The [[Keiyō Industrial Zone]] brought together smaller, industrial areas along the entirety of the western coast of Chiba Prefecture, and the industrial zone became (and remains) an important center of heavy industrial production and large-scale port facilities in Japan. Cities to the northeast of the prefecture (in close proximity to Tokyo) were connected by rail to the capitol, and became and remain [[bedroom communities]] to Tokyo. [[Narita International Airport]] began operation in 1978 in [[Narita, Chiba|Narita]], after much protest to replace the overcrowded [[Haneda Airport|Tokyo International Airport]] (Haneda Airport). The majority of international air traffic enters Japan via Chiba Prefecture. The cultivation of [[rice]] and vegetables to feed the [[Greater Tokyo Area|Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area]] expanded greatly and became a source of income to the northeast and central areas of the prefecture. The expansion of agriculture in the central and southern regions of the prefecture was in contrast to the depopulation of these areas as a significant part of the population moved to the northeast of the prefecture as a result of the [[urbanization]] of Japan, a process that continues into the 21st century.

On March 11, 2011, the epicenter of [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami|9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami]] and subsequent [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]] that devastated much of the northeastern coast of Honshu, which caused some damage and affected areas in Chiba Prefecture. While the loss of life and damage to housing and industry was far less than in [[Tōhoku region]], 20 people were killed in Chiba Prefecture, including 13 people were recorded deaths in [[Asahi, Chiba|Asahi]]. Following the triple disaster, an [[oil refinery]] fire broke out at the [[Cosmo Oil]] Chiba Refinery, in [[Ichihara, Chiba|Ichihara]], and was widely covered in the news media. Also, a large [[liquefied petroleum gas]] (LPG) tanks burned at 10 days earlier.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cosmo-oil.co.jp/eng/information/110321/index.html|title=LPG Tanks Fire Extinguished at Chiba Refinery (5th Update)|publisher=Cosmo Energy Holdings|date=March 21, 2011}}</ref> [[Soil liquefaction]], in areas of [[reclaimed land]] across the northern and western areas of Chiba Prefecture, caused damage to housing.<ref name="japantimeslf">{{cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120330f1.html|title=Liquefaction driving away Chiba residents|last=Fukue|first=Natsuko|work=[[Japan Times]]|date=30 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401075038/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120330f1.html|archive-date=1 April 2012}}</ref> [[Chiba, Chiba|Chiba City]], [[Funabashi, Chiba|Funabashi]], [[Narashino, Chiba|Narashino]], and especially [[Urayasu, Chiba|Urayasu]] were greatly affected by triple disaster (such as soil liquefaction, and evidence of radioactive materials caused by the Fukushima radiation).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110409002397.htm|title=Liquefaction damage widespread|work=[[Yomiuri Shimbun]]|date=10 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110411081158/http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110409002397.htm|archive-date=11 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110408f3.html|title=Urayasu still dealing with liquefaction|last=Fukue|first=Natsuko|work=[[Japan Times]]|date=8 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410212330/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110408f3.html |url-status=dead|archive-date=10 April 2011}}</ref> As a result of triple disaster and with permanent damage to housing stock, the population of Chiba Prefecture fell for the first time since [[Spanish flu|Spanish flu pandemic]] in 1918 and [[1923 Great Kantō earthquake|Great Kanto earthquake]] in 1923.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120208003386.htm|title=Foreigner exodus spurs Chiba population decline|work=[[Yomiuri Shimbun]]|date=9 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212003247/http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120208003386.htm|archive-date=12 February 2012}}</ref>