List of Provinces of Japan were first-level administrative divisions of Japan from the 600s to 1868. Provinces were established in Japan in the late 7th century under the Ritsuryō law system that formed the first central government. Each province was divided into and ...

Tōsandō is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. It is part of the ''Gokishichidō'' system. It was situated along the central mountains of northern Honshu, specifically th ...

> Rikuchū Province > Iwate District *

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 ...

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 ...

Iwate Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture (behind Hokkaido) at , with a population of 1,165,886 (as of July 1, 2023). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Pre ...

> Iwate District is a

rural district A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. I ...

located in

. As of June 1, 2019, the district has an estimated population of 34,416 with a density of 24.5 per km² and an area of 1404.24 km². The entire city of Takizawa, the southern half of the city of Hachimantai and most of the city of

Morioka is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 August 2023, the city had an estimated population of 283,981 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of t ...

were formerly part of Iwate District.

Towns and villages

The district consists of three towns: * Iwate * Kuzumaki *

Shizukuishi is a town located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 16,263 in 6354 households, and a population density of 27 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Shizukuishi is located in the Ōu Mo ...

History

Under Mutsu Province

Iwate District was the northernmost of the six districts of northern Mutsu Province (六奥郡) created in the early

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

after the conquest of the

Kitakami River The is the fourth largest river in Japan and the largest in the Tōhoku region. It is long and drains an area of . page 793 It flows through mostly rural areas of Iwate Prefecture, Iwate and Miyagi Prefecture, Miyagi Prefectures of Japan, Pr ...

Valley from the

Emishi The were a group of people who lived in parts of northern Honshū in present-day Japan, especially in the Tōhoku region. The first mention of the Emishi in literature that can be corroborated with outside sources dates to the 5th century AD, ...

tribes by the Japanese army led by General

Sakanoue no Tamuramaro was a court noble, general and ''shōgun'' of the early Heian period of Japan. He served as Dainagon, Minister of War and ''Ukon'e no Taisho'' (Major Captain of the Right Division of Inner Palace Guards). He held the ''kabane'' of Ōsukune an ...

. The districts were named by

Emperor Heizei , also known as ''Heijō-tennō'', was the 51st emperor of Japan, Emperor Heizei, Yamamomo Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Heizei's reign lasted from 806 to 809. Traditional nar ...

, and the name of “Iwate” was originally written with the ''

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 ...

'' 磐手, and appears in this form in the ''

Yamato Monogatari is a collection of 173 short stories which give details about life in the imperial court in the 9th and 10th centuries. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Yamato monogatari''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 1047. It is an '' uta monogatari'' (a ...

'', compiled in the year 951. By the middle Heian period, the ''kanji'' had changed to its present form, although it was also occasionally referred to as ‘''Iwadenomori (岩出の森郡) Iwate District was the northern frontier of Japan until the Enkyu-Emishi War of 1070, which extended the frontier to the northern coast of Honshu. As with the rest of the region, the early history of Iwate District is uncertain. Although

Shiwa Castle was an early Heian period ''jōsaku''-style Japanese castle located in what is now part of the city of Morioka, Iwate Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of far northern Honshu, Japan. The site was proclaimed a National Historic Site of Japan in 197 ...

was constructed in 803 as a major army base in the region, it fell into ruins only ten years later. The area came to be ruled by the

Abe clan The was one of the oldest of the major Japanese clans (''uji''); and the clan retained its prominence during the Sengoku period and the Edo period.Meyer, Eva-Maria"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit." Universität Tübingen (in German). Th ...

until the

Former Nine Years War The , also known in English as the Former Nine Years' War or the Early Nine Years' War, was fought between the Imperial Court and the Abe clan in Mutsu Province, in Northeast Japan, from 1051 to 1062. It resulted in Imperial Court victory and ...

(1051-1063), followed by the

Kiyohara clan The was a powerful clan of the far north of Japan during the Heian period, descended from Prince Toneri, son of Emperor Tenmu (631–686). Kiyohara no Fusanori (9th century) had two sons: the elder was the ancestor of the samurai branch fam ...

until the

Gosannen War The Gosannen War (後三年合戦, ''gosannen kassen''), also known as the Later Three-Year War, was fought in the late 1080s in Japan's Mutsu Province on the island of Honshū. History The Gosannen War was part of a long struggle for power ...

(1083-1089) and the

Northern Fujiwara The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.

until 1189. During the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

, the area gradually came under the control of the

Nanbu clan The was a Japanese clan, Japanese samurai clan who ruled most of northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region of Japan for over 700 years, from the Kamakura period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Nanbu claimed descent from the Seiwa Ge ...

from Nukanobu District to the north. Under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, Iwate county consisted of one town (Morioka) and 85 villages under the control of

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 ...

Early Meiji period

Following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, Iwate District came under Rikuchū Province and became part of Morioka Prefecture in 1871. Morioka Prefecture became Iwate Prefecture in 1872. In January 1879, Iwate District was divided into Kita-Iwate District with 47 villages, and Minimi-Iwate District with 38 villages.

Subsequent timeline

*April 1, 1897 – With the establishment of the municipality system, Kita-Iwate District and Minami-Iwate District were merged to become Iwate District, and was organized into one town (

and 24 villages) *December 23, 1940 - The village of Shizukuishi was elevated to town status. (2 towns, 21 villages) *April 10, 1941 - The villages of Asagishi, Nakano and Motomiya were merged into the city of Morioka. (2 towns, 18 villages) *July 1, 1948 - The town of Kuzumaki, and the village of Ekari were moved from Kunohe District to Iwate District. (3 towns, 19 villages) *April 1, 2002 - The town of Ashiro was moved from Ninohe District to Iwate District. (5 towns, 3 villages) *September 1, 2005 - The towns of Ashiro and Nishine, and the village of

Matsuo Matsuo may refer to: Places *Matsuo, Chiba *Matsuo, Iwate *Mount Matsuo *Matsuo Station (disambiguation) *Siege of Matsuo *Matsuo mine Other uses *Matsuo (name) Matsuo (written: 松尾) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the name include: ...

were merged to create the city of Hachimantai. (3 towns, 2 villages) *January 10, 2006 - The village of Tamayama was merged into the expanded city of Morioka. (3 towns, 1 village) *January 1, 2014 - The village of Takizawa was elevated to city status. (3 towns) {{Authority control Districts in Iwate Prefecture Rikuchu Province