The , Northeast region, Ōu-chihō, or Tōhoku Nihon consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It consists of six prefectures (): Akita Prefecture, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi, and Yamagata.[Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Tōhoku" in ]
Tōhoku retains a reputation as a remote, scenic region with a harsh climate. In the 20th century, tourism became a major industry in the Tōhoku region.
History
Ancient and classical period
In mythological times, this area, along with Kantō region, was called Azuma (吾妻, あづま) and was the region of
Honshu occupied by the indigenous peoples known as the
Emishi, and, later, the
Ainu people. The area was historically the
Dewa Province and the
Mutsu Province regions,
[Hanihara, Kazuro. "Emishi, Ezo and Ainu: An Anthropological Perspective," Japan Review, 1990, 1:37 (PDF p. 3).] a term first recorded in the 常陸国風土記 (654). There is some variation in modern usage of the term "Michinoku".
[McCullough, Helen Craig. (1988). ; excerpt, "Furthermore, in the old days, the two famous eastern provinces, Dewa and Michinoku, were a single province made up of sixty-six districts, of which twelve were split off to create Dewa."] The combination of the
kanji used to write Dewa and Mutsu/Michi was read as 奥羽, and sometimes is used in place of the name Tōhoku in texts.
Yamato people (ethnic Japanese) settlement in the Tōhoku occurred between the seventh and ninth centuries, well after the historic Heian period and Yamato culture had become firmly established in central and southwestern Japan. As the last stronghold of the Emishi, the indigenous peoples of Honshu, and the site of Sengoku period, the region has at various times throughout history maintained a degree of autonomy from Kyoto.
The Ōshū Fujiwara-shi were a kuge (Japanese clans of the Heian) that ruled the Tōhoku in the 12th century as their own realm. They were independent from the Imperial Court in Kyoto by the strength of their samurai. This ended when Minamoto no Yoritomo, head of the Minamoto clan and founder of the Kamakura shogunate, defeated them in 1189 a few years after the Genpei War.
Feudal period
Christianity in Tōhoku
Date Masamune (1567–1636), feudal lord of
Date clan, expanded trade in the Tōhoku region.
Although initially faced with attacks by hostile clans, he managed to overcome them after a few defeats and eventually ruled
Sendai Domain of the later Tokugawa shogunate. He built many palaces and worked on many projects to beautify the region.
He is also known to have encouraged foreigners to come to his land.
Even though he funded and promoted an envoy to establish relations with the Pope in Rome, he was likely motivated at least in part by a desire for foreign technology, similar to that of other lords, such as Oda Nobunaga.
Once Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616) outlawed Christianity, Masamune reversed his position, and though disliking it, let Ieyasu persecute Christians in his domain.
Early modern period
The
haiku poet Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) wrote
Oku no Hosomichi (
The Narrow Road to the Deep North) during his travels through Tōhoku.
Contemporary period
In the 1960s,
ironworks,
steelmaking,
cement, chemical industry, pulp, and
Oil refinery industries began developing. The region is traditionally known as a less developed area of Japan.
[Dentsu. (1970). Industrial Japan, Issues 18–26, p. 58 ; retrieved 2013-4-17.]
The catastrophic 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, inflicted massive damage along the east coast of this region, causing and was the costliest natural disaster ever which left 500,000 people homeless along with radioactive emissions from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
Geography
Tōhoku, like most of Japan, is hilly or mountainous, with the Ōu Mountains running north–south. The inland location of many of the region's lowlands has led to a concentration of much of the population there. Coupled with coastlines that do not favor seaport development, this settlement pattern resulted in a much greater than usual dependence on land and rail transportation. Low points in the central mountain range make communications between lowlands on either side of the range moderately easy.
Tōhoku was traditionally considered the granary of Japan because it supplied Sendai and the Tokyo-Yokohama market with rice and other farming commodities. Tōhoku provided 20 percent of the nation's rice crop.
Mt._Iwate_and_Morioka.jpg|Mount Iwate dominates the city of Morioka
Otani, Mishima, Onuma District, Fukushima Prefecture 969-7517, Japan - panoramio.jpg|Rice paddies in Aizu in early summer
DaiichiTadamigawaBridge.jpg|Tadami River and Tadami Line in autumn
蔵王の樹氷 (Snow Monsters (Soft rime) at Zao) 08 Feb, 2011 - panoramio.jpg|Snow monsters on Mount Zaō
Tohoku Region Japan 2003.png|Satellite image of Tōhoku region
Subdivision
The most often used subdivision of the region is dividing it to Kita-Tōhoku consisting of Aomori, Akita, and Iwate Prefectures and Minami-Tōhoku consisting of Yamagata, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures.
Climate
The climate is colder than in other parts of Honshū due to the stronger effect of the
Siberian High, and permits only one crop a year on
Paddy field. The
Pacific Ocean of Tōhoku, however, is generally much less snowy than the region's popular image and has among the smallest seasonal temperature variation in Japan. The city of Iwaki, for instance, has daily mean temperatures ranging from in January to in August.
Cities and populated areas
Core cities
-
Sendai (population: 1,098,000)
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Iwaki (population: 322,000)
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Kōriyama (population: 322,000)
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Akita (population: 300,000)
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Morioka (population: 284,000)
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Aomori (population: 265,000)
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Yamagata (population: 242,000)
-
Hachinohe (population: 216,000)
File:Night view from Mukaiyama.JPG|Sendai
File:View of Iwaki station in Iwaki city - panoramio 78.jpg|Iwaki
File:郡山市中心市街地.JPG|Kōriyama
Aizuwakamatsu_14-Nov-2020.jpg|Aizuwakamatsu
Other cities
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Aizuwakamatsu
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Daisen
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Date
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Fukushima
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Goshogawara
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Hachimantai
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Hanamaki
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Hachinohe
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Higashimatsushima
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Higashine
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Hirakawa
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Hirosaki
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Ichinoseki
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Ishinomaki
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Iwanuma
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Kakuda
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Kamaishi
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Kaminoyama
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Katagami
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Kazuno
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Kesennuma
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Kitaakita
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Kitakami
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Kitakata
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Kuji
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Kurihara
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Kuroishi
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Minamisōma
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Misawa
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Miyako
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Motomiya
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Murayama
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Mutsu
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Nagai
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Nan'yō
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Natori
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Nihonmatsu
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Nikaho
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Ninohe
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Noshiro
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Obanazawa
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Oga
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Ōdate
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Ōfunato
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Ōsaki
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Ōshū
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Rikuzentakata
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Sagae
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Sakata
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Semboku
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Shinjō
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Shiogama
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Shirakawa
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Shiroishi
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Sōma
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Sukagawa
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Tagajō
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Takizawa
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Tamura
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Tendō
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Tome
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Tomiya
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Tōno
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Towada
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Tsugaru
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Tsuruoka
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Yamagata
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Yokote
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Yonezawa
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Yurihonjō
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Yuzawa
Demographics
The population decline of Tōhoku, which began before the year 2000, has accelerated, now including previously dynamic Miyagi. Despite this,
Sendai City has grown, in part due to relocations of people affected by the 2011 disaster. The population decline of Aomori, Iwate and Akita Prefectures, Honshu's three northernmost, began in the early 1980s after an initial loss of population in the late 1950s. Fukushima Prefecture, prior to 1980, had traditionally been the most populated, but today Miyagi is the most populated and urban by far.
Points of interest
Natural features
Parks
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Bandai-Asahi National Park
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Miss Veedol
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Sanriku Fukkō National Park
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Towada-Hachimantai National Park
Historical features
Onsen
Festivals
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Akita Kantō
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Aomori Nebuta Matsuri
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Goshogawara Tachineputa Festival
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Hachinohe Sansha Taisai
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Yamagata Hanagasa Festival
Oirase-keiryu.jpg|Oirase River in Aomori Prefecture
Fukushima-Sakura in Tsuruga Castle, Aizuwakamatsu City-m.jpg|Aizuwakamatsu Castle in spring
Five tier pagoda at Mt. Haguro 2006-10-29.jpg|Mount Haguro
Yamagata-Ginzan Onsen-m.jpg|Ginzan Onsen
Kan_h03.jpg|Akita Kantō Festival
See also
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2006 Kuril Islands earthquake
-
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
-
List of regions of Japan
-
Geography of Japan
-
Tōhoku dialect
Notes
-
Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. . .
-
Japan.
External links
