The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island s ...

, the largest

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a reputation as a remote, scenic region with a harsh

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

. In the 20th century,

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

became a major industry in the Tōhoku region.

History

Ancient & Classical period

In mythological times, the area was known as Azuma (吾妻, あづま) and corresponded to the area of

occupied by the native

Emishi The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean " shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contem ...

and Ainu. The area was historically the Dewa and the Michinoku regions, a term first recorded in (654). There is some variation in modern usage of the term "Michinoku". Tōhoku's initial historical settlement occurred between the seventh and ninth centuries, well after Japanese

civilization A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

had become firmly established in central and southwestern Japan. The last stronghold of the indigenous

on Honshu and the site of many battles, the region has maintained a degree of autonomy from Kyoto at various times throughout history. The ''Northern Fujiwara'' (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

that ruled the Tōhoku region during the 12th century as their own realm. They kept their independence vis-a-vis the Imperial Court in Kyoto by the strength of their warrior bands until they were overwhelmed by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1189.

Feudal period

Christianity in Tōhoku

Statue-of-Date-Masamune-in-Aobayama-Park-Sendai-2016

Date Masamune was a regional ruler of Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful ''daimyō'' in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made ...

(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 one of the largest fiefdoms of the later

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. 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. He showed sympathy for Christian missionaries and traders in Japan. In addition to allowing them to come and preach in his province, he also released the prisoner and missionary Padre Sotelo from the hands of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Date Masamune allowed Sotelo as well as other missionaries to practice their religion and win converts in Tōhoku. Further, once

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

(1543–1616) outlawed Christianity, Masamune reversed his position, and though disliking it, let Ieyasu persecute Christians in his domain. For 270 years, Tōhoku remained a place of tourism, trade and prosperity.

Matsushima is a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. There are some 260 tiny islands (''shima'') covered in pines (''matsu'') – hence the name – and it is considered to be one of the Three Views of Japan. Nearby cultural propertie ...

, for instance, a series of tiny islands, was praised for its beauty and serenity by the wandering

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a '' kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a '' kigo'', or ...

poet Matsuo Bashō.

Early modern period

The

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) wrote ''

Oku no Hosomichi ''Oku no Hosomichi'' (, originally ), translated as ''The Narrow Road to the Deep North'' and ''The Narrow Road to the Interior'', is a major work of ''haibun'' by the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō, considered one of the major texts of Japanese l ...

'' (''The Narrow Road to the Deep North'') during his travels through Tōhoku.

Contemporary period

In the 1960s, ironworks, steelmaking,

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement mixe ...

chemical industry The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials ( oil, natural gas, air, water, metals, and minerals) into more than 70,000 different products. ...

, pulp, and petroleum refining 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, caused 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 Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

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 is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . ...

Otani, Mishima, Onuma District, Fukushima Prefecture 969-7517, Japan - panoramio.jpg, Rice paddies in

Aizu is the westernmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two regions being Nakadōri in the central area of the prefecture and Hamadōri in the east. As of October 1, 2010, it had a population of 291,838. The princi ...

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 consisting of Aomori, Akita, and Iwate Prefectures and 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 fields. The Pacific coast of Tohoku, 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: 1,091,000) * Iwaki (population: 337,000) * Kōriyama (population: 322,000) * Akita (population: 305,000) *

(population: 291,000) * Aomori (population: 278,000) * Yamagata (population: 249,000) * Hachinohe (population: 226,000) 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

* Aizuwakamatsu * Daisen * Date * Fukushima * Goshogawara * Hachimantai *

Hanamaki is a city in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 94,691, and a population density of 100 persons per km², in 37,773 households. The total area of the city is . Hanamaki is famous as the birthplace of Kenji Miyazaw ...

* Hachinohe * Higashimatsushima * Higashine * Hirakawa *

Hirosaki is a city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. On 1 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 168,739 in 71,716 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a castle town fo ...

* Ichinoseki * Ishinomaki *

Iwanuma 270px, Iwanuma City Hall is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 43,946 in 18,062 households, and a population density of 730 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Iwanuma is at t ...

* Kakuda *

Kamaishi is a city located on the Sanriku rias coast in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 32,609, and a population density of 74 persons per km2, in 16,230 households. The total area of the city is Geography Kamaishi is ...

* Kaminoyama * Katagami *

Kazuno is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 30.715, and a population density of 43 persons per km² in 12.970 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Kazuno is located in a valley in the ...

Kesennuma is a city in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 59,803 and a population density of in 26,390 households. The total area of the city is . Large sections of the city were destroyed by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake a ...

* Kitaakita * Kitakami * Kitakata * Kuji * Kurihara * Kuroishi * Minamisōma * Misawa * Miyako * Motomiya * Murayama * Mutsu * Nagai * Nan'yō * Natori *

Nihonmatsu is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 54,013 in 20,179 households, and a population density of 160 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . The Adachi neighborhood of Nihonmatsu was the bi ...

* Nikaho * Ninohe * Noshiro * Obanazawa * Oga * Ōdate *

Ōfunato is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 35,452, and a population density of 110 persons per km2 in 14,895 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Ōfunato is located in southeaster ...

* Ōsaki * Ōshū *

Rikuzentakata is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. In the census of 2010, the city had a population of 23,302 (2005: 24,709), and a population density of 100 persons per km². The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami caused extensive damage to th ...

* Sagae * Sakata * Semboku * Shinjō * Shiogama * Shirakawa * Shiroishi * Sōma * Sukagawa * Tagajō * Takizawa * Tamura * Tendō * Tome * Tomiya * Tōno *

Towada is a city in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 60,697, and a population density of 84 persons per km2 in 27,677 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Towada is in the foothills of the Hakkōda M ...

* Tsugaru * Tsuruoka * Yamagata *

Yokote is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 89,574 in 34,240 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Yokote is located in southeast co ...

* Yonezawa *

Yurihonjō is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 76,077 in 30,639 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Geography Yurihonjō is located in southwest corner of Akita ...

* 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

* Mount Bandai * Hakkōda Mountains * Mount Hayachine * Mount Iwaki *

Lake Tazawa is a caldera lake in the city of Semboku, Akita Prefecture, northern Japan. It is the deepest lake in Japan at . The area is a popular vacation area and several hot spring resorts can be found in the hills above the lake. Akita Prefecture's ...

Lake Towada is the largest crater lake in Honshū island, Japan. Located on the border between Aomori and Akita prefectures, it lies 400 meters (1,800 ft) above sea level and is 327 m (1,073 ft) deep, drained by the Oirase river. With ...

* Kitakami River * Oirase River Valley *The islands of Matsushima Bay * Mount Osore * Sanriku Coast

Parks

Bandai-Asahi National Park is a national park in the Tōhoku region, Honshū, Japan. The park site straddles over Fukushima Prefecture, Yamagata Prefecture, and Niigata Prefecture. The park was designated as a national park on September 5, 1950. The park encompasses 186, ...

* Miss Veedol Beach *

Sanriku Fukkō National Park (''lit''. "Sanriku Reconstruction National Park") is a national park extending along the Sanriku Coast of Japan from Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture through Iwate Prefecture to Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture. The national park was created on ...

Towada-Hachimantai National Park is a national park comprising two separate areas of Aomori, Iwate, and Akita Prefectures, Japan. The Towada-Hakkōda area encompasses Lake Towada, Mount Hakkōda, and most of the Oirase River valley. The Hachimantai area includes Mount H ...

Historical features

Aizuwakamatsu Castle , also known as Tsuruga Castle (鶴ヶ城 ''Tsuru-ga-jō'') is a concrete replica of a traditional Japanese castle in northern Japan, at the center of the city of Aizuwakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture. Background Aizu Wakamatsu Castle is locate ...

Hirosaki Castle is a city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. On 1 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 168,739 in 71,716 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a castle town for ...

Chūson-ji is a Buddhist temple in the town of Hiraizumi in southern Iwate Prefecture, Japan. It is the head temple of the Tendai sect in Tōhoku region of northern Honshu. The temple claims it was founded in 850 by Ennin, the third chief abbot of the sect ...

* Mōtsū-ji * Mount Osore *

Three Mountains of Dewa The refer to the three sacred mountains of Mount Haguro, Mount Gassan and Mount Yudono, which are clustered together in the ancient province of Dewa (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture). Holy to the Japanese Shinto religion and especially the moun ...

* Yama-dera * Ōuchi-juku

Onsen

* Ginzan Onsen *

Nyūtō Onsen Nyūtō Onsen (乳頭温泉郷にゅうとうおんせんきょう ''Nyūtō-onsen-kyō'') is a rural hot spring resort in Towada-Hachimantai National Park, Semboku City, Akita Prefecture, Japan and consists of Japanese-style hot spring sp ...

* Sukayu Onsen * Zaō Onsen *

Iwaki Yumoto Onsen is an ''onsen'' resort in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. History Although known since the Nara period, the hot springs at Iwaki developed with borehole drilling in the Jōban Coal Fields in the Meiji period. To the west of the tradition ...

Festivals

Aomori Nebuta Matsuri The is a Japanese summer festival that takes place in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan in early August. The festival attracts the most tourists of any of the country's nebuta festivals, and is counted among the three largest festivals in the T� ...

* Hachinohe Sansha Taisai * Akita Kantō * Yamagata Hanagasa Festival * Goshogawara Tachineputa Festival Oirase-keiryu.jpg, Oirase River in

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the eas ...

Fukushima-Sakura in Tsuruga Castle, Aizuwakamatsu City-m.jpg,

in spring Five tier pagoda at Mt. Haguro 2006-10-29.jpg,

Mount Haguro is one of the Three Mountains of Dewa in the city of Tsuruoka, the ancient province of Dewa (a domain consisting of modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture), Japan. As the lowest of the three mountains, standing at , it is the only ...

Yamagata-Ginzan Onsen-m.jpg, Ginzan Onsen Kan_h03.jpg, Akita Kantō Festival

Notes

References

*Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

.
OCLC 58053128
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