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The 47 prefectures of Japan

Q: The 47 prefectures of Japan

Japan is divided into 47 prefectures: 1 “to” (Tokyo), 1 “do” (Hokkaido), 2 “fu” (Osaka and Kyoto) and 43 “ken”. The largest is Hokkaido and the smallest is Kagawa.

In short

Japan is divided into 47 prefectures: 1 “to” (Tokyo), 1 “do” (Hokkaido), 2 “fu” (Osaka and Kyoto) and 43 “ken”. The largest is Hokkaido and the smallest is Kagawa.

The 47 prefectures, by prefecture code. Area in km² (as of April 1, 2026) and rank by area, from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan.
Code	Name	In Japanese	Kind	Area (km²)	Rank
01	Hokkaido	北海道	do	83,422.22	1
02	Aomori	青森県	ken	9,645.11	8
03	Iwate	岩手県	ken	15,273.78	2
04	Miyagi	宮城県	ken	7,281.12	16
05	Akita	秋田県	ken	11,637.69	6
06	Yamagata	山形県	ken	9,323.00	9
07	Fukushima	福島県	ken	13,782.81	3
08	Ibaraki	茨城県	ken	6,098.32	24
09	Tochigi	栃木県	ken	6,408.09	20
10	Gunma	群馬県	ken	6,362.28	21
11	Saitama	埼玉県	ken	3,797.75	39
12	Chiba	千葉県	ken	5,156.48	28
13	Tokyo	東京都	to	2,199.94	45
14	Kanagawa	神奈川県	ken	2,416.55	43
15	Niigata	新潟県	ken	12,583.80	5
16	Toyama	富山県	ken	4,247.60	33
17	Ishikawa	石川県	ken	4,190.94	34
18	Fukui	福井県	ken	4,190.56	35
19	Yamanashi	山梨県	ken	4,465.27	32
20	Nagano	長野県	ken	13,561.57	4
21	Gifu	岐阜県	ken	10,621.29	7
22	Shizuoka	静岡県	ken	7,776.57	13
23	Aichi	愛知県	ken	5,173.26	27
24	Mie	三重県	ken	5,774.48	25
25	Shiga	滋賀県	ken	4,017.38	38
26	Kyoto	京都府	fu	4,612.09	31
27	Osaka	大阪府	fu	1,905.26	46
28	Hyogo	兵庫県	ken	8,400.82	12
29	Nara	奈良県	ken	3,690.94	40
30	Wakayama	和歌山県	ken	4,724.65	30
31	Tottori	鳥取県	ken	3,507.00	41
32	Shimane	島根県	ken	6,707.75	19
33	Okayama	岡山県	ken	7,114.44	17
34	Hiroshima	広島県	ken	8,478.17	11
35	Yamaguchi	山口県	ken	6,112.89	23
36	Tokushima	徳島県	ken	4,146.96	36
37	Kagawa	香川県	ken	1,876.83	47
38	Ehime	愛媛県	ken	5,675.82	26
39	Kochi	高知県	ken	7,102.28	18
40	Fukuoka	福岡県	ken	4,987.24	29
41	Saga	佐賀県	ken	2,440.64	42
42	Nagasaki	長崎県	ken	4,131.22	37
43	Kumamoto	熊本県	ken	7,409.13	15
44	Oita	大分県	ken	6,340.63	22
45	Miyazaki	宮崎県	ken	7,734.05	14
46	Kagoshima	鹿児島県	ken	9,186.05	10
47	Okinawa	沖縄県	ken	2,282.16	44

Four kinds of names

Every prefecture name ends in one of four words: to (Tokyo), do (Hokkaido), fu (Osaka and Kyoto) or ken (the other 43).

Tokyo became a prefecture in 1868, when Edo was renamed Tokyo. In 1943 it became the Metropolis of Tokyo.

The largest and the smallest

Hokkaido is the largest, at 83,422.22 km². The second is Iwate, at 15,273.78 km².

Kagawa is the smallest, at 1,876.83 km².

We worked out that Hokkaido alone is about 22% of Japan’s land.

Islands

When the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan counted Japan’s 14,125 islands, Nagasaki had the most (1,479), then Hokkaido (1,473) and Kagoshima (1,256).

Tokyo has 635 islands, including the Izu Islands and the Ogasawara Islands.

Think about it

Q1Hokkaido is about 44 times as large as Kagawa. Check this with the numbers in the table.
Q2Which prefectures touch the one you are most interested in?
Q3Why do you think only Tokyo is a “to”?

There is no single right answer. Talking it over with someone at home is a good way to learn.

Did you know? — Kagoshima has 1,256 islands, the third most of any prefecture.

Next steps

About this page
Areas and ranks: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, “Areas of Prefectures and Municipalities” (as of April 1, 2026, Japanese), ranking of prefectures by area (Japanese)
Islands: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, “We counted the islands of Japan” (Japanese, 2023), list by prefecture (Japanese)
Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Government, “Tokyo’s History, Geography, and Population”
Written by CCN CO., LTD.

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