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Tohoku · Prefecture · JP-04

Miyagi

宮城県みやぎけんMiyagi-ken

Date Masamune's domain between the Ou Mountains and the Pacific

Miyagi is the Pacific-coast prefecture at the heart of Tohoku, home to Sendai, the region's largest city and former seat of the Date lords, and to Matsushima Bay, one of the Three Views of Japan.

Overview

Miyagi occupies the central stretch of Tohoku's Pacific side, from the volcanic Ou Mountains in the west across the broad Sendai Plain to a coast that changes from sandy beaches in the south to the drowned ria inlets of Sanriku in the north. It is the most populous prefecture in Tohoku, and its capital Sendai, a designated city of five wards, serves as the commercial, administrative and university centre of the whole north-east.

The prefecture's identity is bound up with the Date clan. Date Masamune founded Sendai in 1601 and his successors ruled one of the largest domains of the Edo period from Aoba Castle, leaving shrines, mausoleums and temples in Sendai and Matsushima as well as a lasting civic pride. Earlier still, Tagajo near Sendai was the ancient court's military and administrative outpost in the north.

Miyagi is also a prefecture of the sea and the rice field: its fishing ports and oyster beds supply much of eastern Japan, and the Sendai Plain produced rice varieties such as Sasanishiki and Hitomebore. The coast suffered some of the heaviest losses of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011, and memorial parks and preserved ruins now stand alongside rebuilt towns.

Name and origins

The prefecture is named after Miyagi District (Miyagi-gun), the ancient county around Sendai and Tagajo. A frequently cited explanation reads 'miya' as the shrine, Shiogama Jinja, and 'ki' as the fortress of Tagajo, but the etymology is not settled.

Until 1869 the whole area belonged to the vast province of Mutsu. When Mutsu was divided in that year, most of today's Miyagi became Rikuzen, while the southern districts of Katta, Shibata, Igu and Watari fell to Iwaki. After the abolition of the domains in 1871 the area was organised as Sendai Prefecture, renamed Miyagi Prefecture in 1872; after further mergers of neighbouring units it reached roughly its present borders by 1876.

Cities

CapitalSendaiSendai-shiThe castle town of the Date and capital of the north-eastCityIshinomakiIshinomaki-shiRiver port, fishing harbour and a city of memoryTownMatsushimaMatsushima-machiPine islands, Zen temples and the Date legacy on the bay

Geography

The western border follows the Ou Mountains, whose volcanoes – Kurikoma-yama in the north, Funagata-yama in the centre and the Zao massif in the south – feed the rivers that cross the Sendai Plain to the Pacific. The Kitakami River reaches the sea at Ishinomaki, the Abukuma River in the south, and the Natori and Hirose rivers flow through Sendai.

The coastline is sharply divided. South of the Oshika Peninsula it is low and sandy, fringed with pine forest and lagoons; Matsushima Bay, just north-east of Sendai, is scattered with pine-covered islets of soft tuff. North of Oshika begins the ria coast of Sanriku, with deep bays such as Onagawa, Shizugawa and Kesennuma. Inland, the lakes and marshes of Izunuma-Uchinuma and Kabukuri-numa are major wintering grounds for geese.

Climate

The plains have a Pacific-side climate: summers are warm and humid, winters cold but comparatively dry and sunny, with little lasting snow in Sendai. The western mountains receive heavy snowfall, which supports ski areas at Zao and Naruko. In early summer the cool north-easterly yamase wind can bring fog and low temperatures to the coast, historically a cause of poor rice harvests.

Landscape

  • Zao

    蔵王連峰Zaō Renpō

    Volcanic massif on the Yamagata border with the emerald crater lake Okama; the Miyagi side is approached through Togatta Onsen.

  • Kurikoma-yama

    栗駒山Kurikoma-yama

    Volcano of 1,626 m where Miyagi, Iwate and Akita meet, known for its autumn colour; the centre of Kurikoma Quasi-National Park.

  • Sendai Plain

    仙台平野Sendai Heiya

    The largest plain in southern Tohoku, a rice-growing lowland stretching from the Kitakami to the Abukuma River.

  • Kitakami River

    北上川Kitakami-gawa

    Tohoku's longest river, rising in Iwate; its lower course was diverted to Ishinomaki in the early seventeenth century to carry rice to Edo.

  • Matsushima Bay

    松島湾Matsushima-wan

    Shallow bay with some 260 pine-clad islets, counted among the Three Views of Japan and a Special Place of Scenic Beauty.

  • Oshika Peninsula and Kinkasan

    牡鹿半島Oshika Hantō

    Mountainous peninsula east of Ishinomaki, with the sacred island of Kinkasan off its tip; part of Sanriku Fukko National Park.

  • Sanriku ria coast

    三陸海岸Sanriku Kaigan

    Drowned-valley coastline from Onagawa north to Kesennuma, rich in fisheries and exposed to tsunami.

  • Izunuma-Uchinuma

    伊豆沼・内沼Izunuma-Uchinuma

    Shallow lakes in northern Miyagi listed under the Ramsar Convention in 1985, a winter roost for large flocks of greater white-fronted geese and famous for summer lotus.

Nature in this prefecture

CoastsMatsushima BayMatsushima-wanSome 260 pine-crowned islands in a sheltered bayNational ParksSanriku Fukko National ParkSanriku Fukkō Kokuritsu KōenCliffs, rias and a coast rebuilding after the tsunamiMountainsZaō MountainsZaō-zanEmerald crater lake, snow monsters and sulphur springs on the spine of Tōhoku.1841 m

History

In the eighth century the Yamato court pushed its frontier north into the lands of the Emishi and built Tagajo, the headquarters of Mutsu Province and of the military command of the north. After the fall of the Oshu Fujiwara of Hiraizumi in 1189, the area passed through the hands of warrior houses such as the Osaki and Kasai until Toyotomi Hideyoshi's reorganisation of the north in 1590–1591.

Date Masamune, moved from Yonezawa to Iwadeyama, founded Sendai in 1601 and turned the domain into a regional power: he rerouted the Kitakami River to ship rice to Edo, rebuilt Zuigan-ji and Osaki Hachimangu, and in 1613 sent Hasekura Tsunenaga on a diplomatic mission to Spain and Rome. In the Boshin War of 1868 Sendai led the northern alliance of domains against the new government and was defeated.

In the modern era Sendai grew into the administrative and educational capital of Tohoku, anchored by Tohoku Imperial University from 1907. The city was rebuilt after air raids in 1945 and became a designated city in 1989. The earthquake and tsunami of 2011 devastated the coast; reconstruction brought sea walls, raised ground, relocated settlements and a network of memorial sites.

  1. 724

    Tagajo is established as the provincial seat of Mutsu and the court's northern military headquarters.

  2. 869

    The Jogan earthquake and tsunami flood the Sendai Plain, as recorded in the official histories.

  3. 1601

    Date Masamune moves into Aoba Castle and lays out the castle town of Sendai.

  4. 1609

    The rebuilt Zuigan-ji at Matsushima is completed under Masamune's patronage.

  5. 1613

    Hasekura Tsunenaga's embassy sails from Tsukinoura near Ishinomaki for New Spain, Spain and Rome.

  6. 1868

    Sendai heads the Ou-Etsu alliance of northern domains in the Boshin War and surrenders in the autumn.

  7. 1872

    Sendai Prefecture is renamed Miyagi Prefecture.

  8. 1907

    Tohoku Imperial University is founded in Sendai.

  9. 1982

    The Tohoku Shinkansen opens, linking Sendai to Omiya and later to Tokyo.

  10. 2011

    The Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March, centred off the Oshika Peninsula, and the tsunami it caused devastate the coast.

Culture

Much of Miyagi's culture traces back to the Date court: the Tanabata festival, the gilded Momoyama style of Osaki Hachimangu and Zuiho-den, the patronage of crafts such as Sendai tansu chests and Sendai-hira silk. The spa villages of the mountains developed their own crafts, above all the turned wooden kokeshi dolls, while the coast keeps kagura and fishing rites alive.

Sendai itself has a strong civic and student culture, from street jazz to the winter illuminations of Jozenji-dori, and its nickname Mori no Miyako, the City of Trees, refers to the zelkova avenues and wooded estates of the old samurai town.

Festivals

  • Sendai Tanabata Matsuri

    仙台七夕まつりSendai Tanabata Matsuri

    Held from 6 to 8 August, when the shopping arcades are hung with huge washi streamers; a tradition encouraged since Masamune's time.

  • Sendai Aoba Matsuri

    仙台・青葉まつりSendai Aoba Matsuri

    Spring festival in May with historical processions, yamaboko floats and troupes performing the suzume odori sparrow dance.

  • Donto-sai

    どんと祭Donto-sai

    On the night of 14 January New Year decorations are burned at shrines, and white-clad pilgrims walk to Osaki Hachimangu in the hadaka mairi.

  • Shiogama Minato Matsuri

    塩竈みなと祭Shiogama Minato Matsuri

    Summer festival of the port of Shiogama, in which the portable shrines of Shiogama Jinja are carried aboard decorated boats across the bay.

  • Sendai Pageant of Starlight

    SENDAI光のページェントSendai Hikari no Pējento

    In December the zelkova trees of Jozenji-dori are strung with lights for the winter illumination.

  • Ishinomaki Kawabiraki Matsuri

    石巻川開き祭りIshinomaki Kawabiraki Matsuri

    Riverside festival at the turn of July and August honouring Kawamura Magobei, who redirected the Kitakami River, with lantern floating and fireworks.

Traditional crafts

  • Miyagi traditional kokeshi

    宮城伝統こけしMiyagi dentō kokeshi

    Turned and painted wooden dolls from spa villages; Miyagi has several distinct lineages, including Naruko, Togatta, Yajiro and Sakunami.

  • Naruko lacquerware

    鳴子漆器Naruko shikki

    Lacquered bowls and trays from Naruko, notably the swirling ryumon-nuri technique.

  • Ogatsu inkstones

    雄勝硯Ogatsu suzuri

    Inkstones cut from the black slate of Ogatsu in Ishinomaki, a craft with centuries of history; the same slate roofs Tokyo Station's Marunouchi building.

  • Sendai chests

    仙台箪笥Sendai tansu

    Zelkova chests finished in lacquer and fitted with heavy decorative ironwork.

  • Sendai-hira

    仙台平Sendai-hira

    Stiff, finely striped silk for formal hakama, woven since the Date era.

  • Tsutsumi ware

    堤焼Tsutsumi-yaki

    Folk pottery of Sendai with a characteristic running black and white glaze.

Traditions

  • Suzume odori

    すずめ踊りsuzume odori

    Leaping 'sparrow dance' with fans, said to have been improvised by stonemasons celebrating the building of Sendai Castle; the sparrow echoes the Date family crest.

  • Sendai dialect

    仙台弁Sendai-ben

    Southern Tohoku dialect with sentence endings such as -be and -cha, still widely heard outside central Sendai.

  • Ogatsu hoin kagura

    雄勝法印神楽Ogatsu hōin kagura

    Masked shrine dance of the Ogatsu coast, handed down by mountain-ascetic priests and revived after the tsunami.

  • Akiu rice-planting dance

    秋保の田植踊Akiu no taue odori

    Spring dance of Akiu praying for a good rice harvest, performed by girls in bright headdresses.

Cuisine

Miyagi's table draws on the Sendai Plain's rice, the cold, nutrient-rich waters off Sanriku and the old castle-town trade in miso. Sendai added its own post-war speciality in grilled beef tongue, and edamame paste sweets date back to the Edo period. The coast is known for oysters, sea squirt, wakame and mackerel, and the prefecture has a strong sake-brewing tradition.

  • Gyutan

    牛タンgyūtan

    Thick-sliced beef tongue grilled over charcoal, served with barley rice, oxtail soup and pickles; a Sendai speciality since the late 1940s.

  • Zunda mochi

    ずんだ餅zunda mochi

    Rice cakes coated in a bright green paste of crushed, sweetened edamame.

  • Sasa-kamaboko

    笹かまぼこsasa-kamaboko

    Bamboo-leaf-shaped fish cakes, grilled; made in Sendai, Shiogama and Ishinomaki.

  • Harako-meshi

    はらこ飯harako-meshi

    Rice cooked in salmon broth and topped with salmon and salmon roe, an autumn dish of Watari on the Abukuma estuary.

  • Oysters

    牡蠣kaki

    Farmed in Matsushima Bay and along the Sanriku coast; Miyagi is also a major supplier of oyster seed to other regions.

  • Hoya

    ほやhoya

    Sea squirt with a briny, bitter-sweet taste, farmed in the bays around Ishinomaki and Onagawa.

  • Sendai miso

    仙台味噌Sendai miso

    Rich, reddish rice-koji miso whose production was organised under the Date domain.

Hot springs

  • Naruko Onsen

    鳴子温泉Naruko Onsen

    Group of spa villages in Osaki with an unusually wide range of spring types, the Naruko Gorge and a long kokeshi tradition.

  • Akiu Onsen

    秋保温泉Akiu Onsen

    Spa within Sendai city, counted with Iizaka and Naruko among the three famous baths of Oshu; the Akiu Great Falls are nearby.

  • Sakunami Onsen

    作並温泉Sakunami Onsen

    Riverside spa on the road from Sendai to Yamagata, near the Miyagikyo whisky distillery.

  • Togatta Onsen

    遠刈田温泉Tōgatta Onsen

    Spa town at the foot of Zao, home of the Togatta kokeshi lineage and gateway to the Zao Echo Line.

  • Kamasaki Onsen

    鎌先温泉Kamasaki Onsen

    Small old spa in Shiroishi with wooden inns, traditionally used for healing.

Economy

Sendai concentrates Tohoku's head offices, national-government branch offices, wholesale trade and universities, making services the largest part of the prefectural economy. Manufacturing has grown along the motorway corridor north of Sendai, including car assembly and semiconductor equipment, while Tohoku University anchors research in materials science and electronics. Agriculture and fisheries remain important: Miyagi is a leading rice producer, and its ports handle large catches and aquaculture products.

Key industries

  • Wholesale, retail and business services centred on Sendai
  • Automotive assembly and parts in the Osato–Ohira area north of Sendai
  • Semiconductor manufacturing equipment and electronics
  • Rice farming, including the Sasanishiki and Hitomebore varieties
  • Fisheries and aquaculture: oysters, scallops, wakame, hoya, bonito and mackerel
  • Seafood processing, notably kamaboko and fish products
  • Paper and pulp at Ishinomaki
  • Tourism: Matsushima, onsen towns and Sendai

Notable people

  • Date Masamune (1567–1636)

    伊達政宗

    Daimyo who founded Sendai and ruled the Sendai domain; known as the 'one-eyed dragon'.

  • Hasekura Tsunenaga (1571–1622)

    支倉常長

    Date retainer who led the Keicho embassy to Spain and Rome and met Pope Paul V in 1615.

  • Hayashi Shihei (1738–1793)

    林子平

    Sendai scholar who warned of the need for coastal defence in his treatise Kaikoku Heidan.

  • Doi Bansui (1871–1952)

    土井晩翠

    Poet from Sendai who wrote the lyrics of the song Kojo no Tsuki.

  • Ishinomori Shotaro (1938–1998)

    石ノ森章太郎

    Manga artist from Tome, creator of Cyborg 009 and Kamen Rider.

  • Hanyu Yuzuru (born 1994)

    羽生結弦

    Figure skater from Sendai, Olympic champion in 2014 and 2018.

Getting there

  • The Tohoku Shinkansen links Tokyo and Sendai in about 90 minutes on the fastest trains; the Hayabusa and Komachi services continue to Morioka, Aomori and Akita.
  • Sendai Airport, on the coast south of the city, is the region's main airport, with domestic flights to Hokkaido, western Japan and Okinawa as well as international routes; the Sendai Airport Access Line reaches Sendai Station in under half an hour.
  • The Port of Sendai is a stop for long-distance car ferries between Tomakomai in Hokkaido and Nagoya.
  • The Tohoku Expressway runs north–south through the prefecture, the Sanriku Expressway follows the coast north, and frequent highway buses connect Sendai with Yamagata.
  • Within the prefecture, the JR Senseki Line serves Matsushima and Ishinomaki, and the Senzan Line crosses the mountains to Yamagata via Sakunami and Yamadera.

Neighbouring prefectures

Former provinces

  • 陸前Rikuzen
  • 磐城Iwaki

Prefectural symbols

Flower
ミヤギノハギMiyagino-hagi
Tree
ケヤキkeyaki
Bird
ガンgan

Frequently asked questions

What is Miyagi Prefecture known for?

Miyagi is known for Sendai and its founder Date Masamune, the island-studded bay of Matsushima, the Tanabata festival, onsen towns such as Naruko and Akiu, and food such as gyutan, zunda mochi and oysters.

What is the capital of Miyagi?

The capital is Sendai, a designated city and the largest city in Tohoku. It was founded as a castle town by Date Masamune in 1601.

How long does it take to get from Tokyo to Sendai?

The fastest Tohoku Shinkansen trains take about 90 minutes from Tokyo Station to Sendai. Highway buses are slower but also run frequently.

Is Matsushima in Miyagi?

Yes. Matsushima Bay lies just north-east of Sendai and is reached in under an hour by the JR Senseki Line. It is one of the Three Views of Japan, together with Amanohashidate and Miyajima.

How was Miyagi affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami?

The earthquake of 11 March 2011 was centred off the Oshika Peninsula, and the tsunami destroyed large parts of coastal towns such as Ishinomaki, Onagawa, Minamisanriku and Kesennuma. Reconstruction has rebuilt infrastructure, and preserved ruins and memorial parks document the disaster.

Related

Sources

  1. 1.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — Statistics Bureau of Japan
  2. 2.全国都道府県市区町村別面積調 (opens in a new tab) — Geospatial Information Authority of Japan
  3. 3.宮城県公式ウェブサイト (opens in a new tab) — 宮城県
  4. 4.三陸復興国立公園 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省
  5. 5.Miyagi (opens in a new tab) — Japan National Tourism Organization

Editorial team · Published: