is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 53,804 in 28,553 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 62 persons per km². The total area of the city is , making it the largest municipality in Aomori Prefecture in terms of area.

Geography

Mutsu occupies most of

Shimokita Peninsula The is the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū, stretching out towards Hokkaido. Overview It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, Tsugaru Strait to the north and Mutsu Bay to the west and south. Shaped like an ...

and is bordered by

Mutsu Bay is a bay located within Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of northern Japan. It has an east-west distance of approximately and a north-south distance of approximately at its eastern end, with a total area of approximately . Na ...

to the south and

Tsugaru Strait The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles ...

to the north, and is the northernmost city on the island of

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

. The volcanic Osorezan Mountain Range extends across the western and central portion of the city, and includes a number of

caldera lake A volcanic crater lake is a lake in a crater that was formed by explosive activity or a collapse during a volcanic eruption. Formation Lakes in calderas fill large craters formed by the collapse of a volcano during an eruption. Lakes in maars ...

s. Mount Hiuchidake, 781 meters above sea level, is on the north side, and Mount Osore is on the south side. At the center of Mount Osore is a caldera with a diameter of about 3 kilometers, inside which is a caldera lake called Lake Usori. Mount Kamabu (elevation 879 m) is located southeast of the caldera's outer rim, and is the highest point of Mount Osore. The Tanabe River, which originates from the Shimokita Hills, flows through Tanabu, the center of Mutsu City, and the Tanabe Plain spreads out in the basin. The population is concentrated in the Tanabe, Ōhira, and Ōminato neighborhoods. Ōminato is located at the foot of Mount Kamabu, facing Ōminato Bay, where the waves are calm. There is a sand spit called Ashizaki in Ōminato Bay, and the inside of the sand spit is called Ashizaki Bay, which is a natural harbor. The Shimokita hills stretch in the southeastern part of the city. Parts of the city is within the limits of the

Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park is a quasi-national park in the Shimokita Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of far northern Honshū in Japan. It is rated a protected landscape (category V) according to the IUCN. The park, consists of several discontinuous l ...

, including Mount Osore,

Yagen Valley is a onsen, hot spring located in the former town of Ohata, Aomori, Ohata, which is now part of the city of Mutsu, Aomori, Mutsu in northern Japan. Description The onsen consists of multiple Ryokan (inn), ryokan surrounded by old growth forests ...

, and

Taijima is an uninhabited set of rocky islands off the coast of the Shimokita Peninsula in Mutsu Bay. The island is a part of the city of Mutsu in Aomori Prefecture. The island has of coastline and an area of . It is a part of the prefecture-managed, S ...

Neighboring municipalities

Aomori Prefecture *

Higashidōri is a List of villages in Japan, village located in Aomori Prefecture, Aomori, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 5,913 in 2829 households, and a population density of 20 persons per km2. Its total area is . Geography Higashid� ...

Kazamaura is a village located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 1,673 in 864 households, and a population density of 24 persons per km2. The total area of the village is . Geography The northernmost municipality on ...

Ōma is a town located in Aomori, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 4,868 in 2,500 households, and a population density of . The total area of the town is . Geography Ōma occupies the northwestern coastline of Shimokita Peninsula, f ...

* Sai *

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

Climate

Mutsu has a rare

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb'') or

warm-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb'') by 0 °C isoterm, the south of the city being the northern boundary of the hot-summer type (''Dfa'') in

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

, disregarding rural areas in the west. The city is characterized by warm summers and cool to cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Mutsu is 9.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1339 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 20.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around -4.6 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Mutsu population statistics
/ref> the population of Mutsu has declined over the past 40 years.

History

Mutsu was founded on September 1, 1959 through the merger of the former towns of Ōminato and Tanabu. Tanabu had been the location of a ''

daikansho A was the office of a ''daikan'' (magistrate) during the Edo period (18th & 19th century) of Japanese history. External links Edo period Legal history of Japan {{japan-gov-stub ...

'' under the

Morioka Domain 300px, Ruins of Morioka Castle was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. It was ruled throughout its history by the Nanbu clan. It was called during the early part of its history. It was located in northern Mutsu Province, Honshū ...

in the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, and was a resettlement and colonization zone for dispossessed ex-

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

of the defeated

Aizu Domain was a Han (Japan), domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Aizuwakamatsu Castle, Tsuruga Castle in M ...

after the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

. The village of Ōminato was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on 1 April 1889, and was raised to town status on November 10, 1928. Ōminato was a port town, and home to the

Ōminato Guard District The was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in northern Honshu before and during World War II. Located in Mutsu Bay at the present-day city of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, the Ōminato Guard District was responsible for control o ...

, a major base for the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The town and its military base were bombed repeatedly from the middle of July to middle of August 1945 during

. The base facilities were used by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

, and (on a reduced scale) by the

Japan Maritime Self Defence Force The , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy ( ...

to date. Ōminato merged with the adjacent town of Tanabe to form the city Ōminato-Tanabu (coupling of the names of two antecedent towns) on September 1, 1959; its name was changed to Mutsu in 1960. At the time, it was the only city with a ''hiragana'' name (むつ), which was adopted to avoid confusion with the original ''

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

'' word Mutsu (陸奥) which indicates the old province that covered most of the modern

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

. On March 14, 2005, the towns of Kawauchi and Ōhata, and the village of Wakinosawa (all from Shimokita District) were merged into Mutsu.

Government

Mutsu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city legislature of 26 members. Mutsu, together with Shimokita District, contributes three members to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Aomori 1st district Aomori 1st district (青森県第1区, ''Aomori-ken dai-ikku'' or simply 青森1区, ''Aomori-ikku'') is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan. It is located in Northern Aomori and covers the ...

of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

The economy of Mutsu is heavily dependent on agriculture, forestry and fishing, especially

scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve molluscs in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related famili ...

aquaculture in Mutsu Bay. The city is also the location for various facilities of the

Japan Atomic Energy Agency The Japan Atomic Energy Agency is a Japanese atomic energy company. While it inherited the activities of both Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute, JNC and Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, JAERI, it also inherited the nickname of J ...

, and was the home port for the nuclear powered research vessel ''Mutsu'', until its decommissioning in 1997.

Education

Mutsu has 12 public elementary schools and nine middle schools operated by the city government, and four public high schools operated by the Aomori Prefectural Board of Education. The Aomori Akenohoshi Junior College has a campus in Mutsu. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.

High schools

*Kawauchi Branch of Aomori Prefectural Ominato High School *Mutsu Technical High School *Ōminato High School *Tanabu High School

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East) –

Ōminato Line The is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Noheji Station and Ōminato Station on the Shimokita Peninsula in eastern Aomori Prefecture. Station list :●: All rapid service trains stop, ○: Some r ...

* – – – –

Highway

Shimokita Expressway * *

Sister cities

Port Angeles, Washington Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, Clallam County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 19,960 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most populous city in t ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

is a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

of Mutsu. The two cities have an

exchange student A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or higher education study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, bu ...

program set up.

Local attractions

Kawauchi Dam Kawauchi Dam is a gravity dam located in Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northe ...

, northernmost dam on Honshu *

Lake Usori is a volcanic crater lake in northern Honshū island, Japan. It is also referred to as . Located in the Shimokita Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture, it is within the borders of the city of Mutsu and Shimokita Hanto Quasi-National Park. Lake Usori ...

Mount Osore is the name of a Buddhist temple and folk religion pilgrimage destination in the center of remote Shimokita Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The temple is located in the caldera of an active volc ...

Noted people from Mutsu

* Yuya Asahina, manga artist *

Ryu Fujisaki is a Japanese manga artist from Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture. He won prizes in the 39th and the 40th Tezuka Awards. He made his professional manga debut with ''WORLDS'' in 1990. All of his works are published by Shueisha under their Shōnen Jump ...

, manga artist * Fumie Hosokawa, actress and gravure model *

Yuzo Kawashima was a Japanese film director and screenwriter known for his lively comedies. Career Kawashima was born in Mutsu, Shimokita District, Aomori Prefecture. After graduating from Meiji University's Department of Literature, he entered the Shōch ...

, movie director *

Kenichi Matsuyama is a Japanese actor. He is known for his affinity for strange character roles, and he is best known internationally for playing L in the 2006 films ''Death Note'', '' Death Note 2: The Last Name'' and '' L: Change the World'' in 2008. He was ca ...

, actor

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Aomori Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan