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Tohoku · Prefecture · JP-06

Yamagata

山形県やまがたけんYamagata-ken

Sacred peaks, basin towns and the Mogami River

Yamagata is a mountainous prefecture on the Sea of Japan side of Tohoku, almost entirely drained by the Mogami River and known for the Dewa Sanzan pilgrimage mountains, the rime-ice of Zao, the temple of Yamadera and Japan's largest cherry harvest.

Overview

Yamagata Prefecture occupies the southern half of the old province of Dewa, between the Ou Mountains on the Miyagi border and the Sea of Japan. Its settled land is a chain of inland basins – Yonezawa, Yamagata, Shinjo – threaded together by the Mogami River, which runs its whole course within the prefecture before breaking through the Dewa hills to the coastal plain of Shonai. The four traditional districts of Okitama, Murayama, Mogami and Shonai still frame local identity, dialect and cuisine.

The prefecture is one of the great religious landscapes of northern Japan. The three mountains of Dewa Sanzan – Haguro-san, Gassan and Yudono-san – have been a centre of Shugendo mountain asceticism for more than a millennium, and the cliff temple of Yamadera inspired one of Matsuo Basho's best-known haiku. Zao, on the Miyagi border, is famous for the juhyo, or "snow monsters", that form when rime ice coats its conifers in midwinter.

Yamagata is a strongly agricultural prefecture: it grows the bulk of Japan's cherries and much of its Western pears, and Shonai is one of the country's premier rice districts. Castle towns such as Yonezawa and Tsuruoka preserve the legacy of the Uesugi and Sakai daimyo houses, while a ring of hot-spring villages, from Ginzan to Zao, gives the prefecture one of the densest onsen landscapes in Japan.

Name and origins

The prefecture takes its name from its capital, Yamagata, "mountain shape", a name recorded for the district around the castle from the medieval period. Dewa Province was formed in 712 from the northern frontier of Echigo; in the Meiji reorganisation of 1869 it was split into Uzen in the south and Ugo in the north.

After the abolition of the domains in 1871 the area was divided among several short-lived prefectures. In 1876 the prefectures of Yamagata, Okitama (Yonezawa) and Tsuruoka were merged into the present Yamagata Prefecture, which covers the whole of Uzen plus Akumi District on the northern Shonai coast, formerly part of Ugo. The rest of Ugo became Akita Prefecture.

Cities

CapitalYamagataYamagata-shiCastle town between Yamadera and ZaoCityTsuruokaTsuruoka-shiSamurai town, sacred mountains and Shonai cookingCityYonezawaYonezawa-shiThe Uesugi castle town of the Okitama basin

Geography

About three-quarters of Yamagata is mountain and forest. The Ou Mountains, including Zao, form the eastern border with Miyagi; the Asahi and Iide ranges rise to the south-west and south, on the Niigata and Fukushima borders; and Chokai-san, at 2,236 metres, dominates the north-west on the Akita border. Between them lie a series of basins linked by the Mogami River, which flows 229 kilometres from the Azuma mountains to the Sea of Japan at Sakata and is counted among Japan's three swiftest rivers.

The Shonai Plain on the coast, built by the Mogami and Aka rivers, is flat, wind-swept and given over to rice. Offshore lies Tobishima, the prefecture's only inhabited island. Much of the south-west, including the Dewa Sanzan and the Asahi and Iide mountains, lies in Bandai-Asahi National Park.

Climate

The whole prefecture belongs to the Sea of Japan climate zone and receives heavy snow, especially in the Mogami district and the mountains, where snow cover of two metres or more is normal. The inland basins have marked continental contrasts: cold winters and hot, humid summers. Yamagata city recorded 40.8 °C in 1933, a figure that stood as Japan's highest temperature for over seventy years. The Shonai coast is milder in temperature but exposed to strong seasonal winds, notably the Kiyokawa-dashi that blows down the Mogami gorge.

Landscape

  • Mogami River

    最上川Mogami-gawa

    The prefecture's spine: 229 km long and flowing entirely within Yamagata, it once carried safflower and rice to Sakata for shipment to Kyoto and Osaka. Basho's haiku on its summer-rain torrent made the gorge at Tozawa famous.

  • Dewa Sanzan

    出羽三山Dewa Sanzan

    Haguro-san (414 m), Gassan (1,984 m) and Yudono-san (1,504 m), the three sacred mountains of Shugendo in northern Japan, walked as a symbolic journey through present, death and rebirth.

  • Zao

    蔵王連峰Zaō Renpō

    Volcanic range on the Miyagi border with the Okama crater lake and, in midwinter, fields of rime-coated firs known as juhyo.

  • Chokai-san

    鳥海山Chōkai-san

    The highest peak in Tohoku's Sea of Japan coast, a 2,236 m stratovolcano rising almost straight from the sea on the Akita border; called Dewa Fuji locally.

  • Asahi and Iide mountains

    朝日連峰・飯豊連峰Asahi Renpō, Iide Renpō

    Remote granite ranges with some of Japan's largest beech forests and late-lying snowfields, protected in Bandai-Asahi National Park.

  • Shonai Plain

    庄内平野Shōnai Heiya

    Coastal rice plain between Tsuruoka and Sakata, framed by Chokai-san to the north and the Dewa Sanzan to the south.

  • Yamagata, Yonezawa and Shinjo basins

    山形盆地・米沢盆地・新庄盆地Yamagata Bonchi, Yonezawa Bonchi, Shinjō Bonchi

    The chain of inland basins along the Mogami where most of the population lives and where orchards of cherries, pears and grapes cover the alluvial fans.

Nature in this prefecture

National ParksBandai-Asahi National ParkBandai-Asahi Kokuritsu KōenPilgrim peaks, snow ranges and the lakes of a shattered volcano2128 mMountainsGassanGassanThe moon mountain of the Dewa Sanzan, realm of the dead and of summer snow.1984 mMountainsMount ChōkaiChōkai-sanDewa Fuji: a sacred volcano rising straight from the Sea of Japan.2236 mMountainsZaō MountainsZaō-zanEmerald crater lake, snow monsters and sulphur springs on the spine of Tōhoku.1841 m

History

Dewa was a frontier province of the Yamato state, created in the early eighth century as the court pushed north against the Emishi. In the Middle Ages the Mogami clan, a branch of the Ashikaga-related Shiba, ruled the Yamagata basin, while the Date held Yonezawa before moving to Sendai. Mogami Yoshiaki sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1600, held off the Uesugi at the Battle of Hasedo, and was rewarded with a domain of 570,000 koku, but his house was dispossessed in 1622.

In the Edo period the area was divided among several domains, the most enduring being the Uesugi at Yonezawa and the Sakai at Tsuruoka. The Mogami River trade and the westbound Kitamaebune shipping made Sakata a rich port, and safflower grown in the basins supplied the dye houses of Kyoto. During the Boshin War of 1868 both Yonezawa and Shonai joined the northern alliance against the new government. Unified as a prefecture in 1876, Yamagata was modernised under governor Mishima Michitsune, whose Western-style public buildings still stand in the capital.

  1. 712

    Dewa Province is established on the northern frontier of the Yamato state.

  2. 860

    Risshaku-ji (Yamadera) is founded, by tradition by the Tendai monk Ennin.

  3. 1357

    Shiba Kaneyori, ancestor of the Mogami clan, settles in Yamagata and builds the first castle.

  4. 1600

    Mogami Yoshiaki repels the Uesugi at the Battle of Hasedo; his domain grows to 570,000 koku.

  5. 1601

    Uesugi Kagekatsu is transferred from Aizu to a much reduced domain at Yonezawa.

  6. 1622

    The Mogami house is dispossessed; the Sakai take over the Shonai domain at Tsuruoka.

  7. 1689

    Matsuo Basho travels through the region on the journey recorded in Oku no Hosomichi.

  8. 1868

    Yonezawa and Shonai fight on the side of the northern alliance in the Boshin War.

  9. 1876

    Yamagata, Okitama and Tsuruoka prefectures merge into the present Yamagata Prefecture.

  10. 1992

    The Yamagata Shinkansen opens through-running from Tokyo; it is extended to Shinjo in 1999.

Culture

Yamagata's culture is shaped by its four districts. Shonai looks to the sea and to Kyoto, reached for centuries by the Kitamaebune ships, and keeps refined traditions such as Kurokawa Noh. The inland basins grew rich on safflower and silk and kept the manners of castle towns. Mountain worship runs through everything: the yamabushi of Haguro still lead ascetic training, and pilgrim lodgings line the approach to the Dewa Sanzan.

The prefecture's dialects differ markedly between the coast and the interior. Communal eating is a local institution, above all the autumn imoni-kai, when friends, schools and companies gather by the rivers to cook potato-and-meat stew in the open air.

Festivals

  • Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri

    山形花笠まつりYamagata Hanagasa Matsuri

    Held from 5 to 7 August in central Yamagata: thousands of dancers parade with straw hats decorated with red safflower blossoms to the Hanagasa Ondo. Counted among the major summer festivals of Tohoku.

  • Uesugi Festival

    上杉まつりUesugi Matsuri

    Yonezawa's spring festival at the turn of April and May, with a procession of armoured warriors and a large re-enactment of the Battle of Kawanakajima.

  • Kurokawa Noh at the Ogi Festival

    黒川能・王祇祭Kurokawa Nō, Ōgi-sai

    On 1 and 2 February the farmers of Kurokawa in Tsuruoka perform an all-night programme of Noh transmitted within their village for over five centuries, dedicated to Kasuga Shrine.

  • Shinjo Festival

    新庄まつりShinjō Matsuri

    Late-August festival of Shinjo with some twenty elaborate floats; the float procession is part of the UNESCO-listed Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals.

  • Imoni-kai Festival

    日本一の芋煮会フェスティバルNihon-ichi no Imonikai Festibaru

    In September a giant iron cauldron, stirred by construction machinery, cooks imoni for tens of thousands on the banks of the Mamigasaki River in Yamagata city.

  • Haguro-san Shoreisai

    松例祭Shōrei-sai

    New Year's Eve rite on the summit of Haguro-san in which two groups of yamabushi compete in fire rituals to divine the coming year's fortune.

Traditional crafts

  • Tendo shogi pieces

    天童将棋駒Tendō shōgi koma

    Hand-inscribed pieces for shogi (Japanese chess) from Tendo, which makes the great majority of Japan's shogi pieces; the craft began as a side trade for low-ranking samurai.

  • Yamagata cast iron

    山形鋳物Yamagata imono

    Thin-walled cast-iron kettles and vessels made in the capital since the Heian period, a designated traditional craft.

  • Oitama tsumugi

    置賜紬Oitama tsumugi

    Silk textiles of the Okitama district, including Yonezawa-ori; the industry was fostered by Uesugi Yozan's domain reforms.

  • Uetsu shinafu

    羽越しな布Uetsu shinafu

    Rough cloth woven from the bast fibre of the Japanese linden in the mountain villages of southern Shonai.

  • Sasano ittobori

    笹野一刀彫Sasano ittōbori

    Stylised birds and animals carved with a single knife from Yonezawa, above all the lucky otaka-poppo hawk.

Traditions

  • Yamabushi of Haguro

    羽黒山伏Haguro yamabushi

    Mountain ascetics of the Haguro Shugendo tradition, who still conduct the autumn mine-iri retreat and guide pilgrims around the Dewa Sanzan.

  • Sokushinbutsu

    即身仏sokushinbutsu

    Self-mummified monks of the Yudono-san cult, several of whom are preserved and venerated at temples in the Shonai area such as Dainichibo and Churen-ji.

  • Imoni-kai

    芋煮会imonikai

    Outdoor autumn gatherings to cook taro stew by the river; the inland version uses beef and soy sauce, the Shonai version pork and miso.

  • Yamagata dialect

    山形弁Yamagata-ben

    The inland and Shonai dialects are distinct: Shonai speech shows Kyoto and Echigo influence through the old shipping routes.

Cuisine

Yamagata's cooking rests on rice, mountain vegetables, beef from the Okitama basin and, on the Shonai coast, fish from the Sea of Japan. Long winters produced a tradition of pickles, preserved vegetables and hearty stews. Tsuruoka was designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy for the heirloom vegetables and seasonal cooking of the Shonai area. Fruit is a mainstay: cherries in June and July, grapes and La France pears in autumn.

  • Imoni

    芋煮imoni

    Stew of taro, konnyaku, leeks and beef in soy-sauce broth, the defining autumn dish of inland Yamagata.

  • Yonezawa beef

    米沢牛Yonezawa-gyū

    Highly marbled wagyu from the Okitama district, counted among Japan's best-known beef brands.

  • Dashi

    だしdashi

    Finely chopped raw summer vegetables and herbs such as cucumber, aubergine and myoga, seasoned with soy sauce and served over rice or tofu.

  • Hiyashi ramen

    冷やしラーメンhiyashi rāmen

    Chilled ramen served in cold soup with ice, a summer invention of Yamagata city.

  • Tama konnyaku

    玉こんにゃくtama konnyaku

    Balls of konnyaku simmered in soy sauce and eaten from a skewer, sold at Yamadera and on festival days.

  • Itasoba

    板そばitasoba

    Coarse country soba served on long wooden trays, a speciality of the Murayama district.

  • Dadacha-mame

    だだちゃ豆dadacha-mame

    Aromatic heirloom edamame grown around Tsuruoka and harvested in late summer.

  • Sakuranbo

    さくらんぼsakuranbo

    Cherries, above all the Sato Nishiki variety, from the orchards of the Murayama basin around Higashine and Tendo.

Hot springs

  • Zao Onsen

    蔵王温泉Zaō Onsen

    Strongly acidic sulphur springs at the foot of the Zao ski slopes, one of the oldest spa towns of the region.

  • Ginzan Onsen

    銀山温泉Ginzan Onsen

    Narrow gorge village in Obanazawa lined with multi-storey wooden inns from the early twentieth century, named after a former silver mine.

  • Kaminoyama Onsen

    かみのやま温泉Kaminoyama Onsen

    Castle and post town south of Yamagata whose springs lie in the town centre.

  • Tendo Onsen

    天童温泉Tendō Onsen

    Spa district of the shogi-piece town of Tendo, developed after a hot spring was struck in 1911.

  • Akayu Onsen

    赤湯温泉Akayu Onsen

    Spa town of Nan'yo in the Okitama basin, surrounded by vineyards and wineries.

  • Hijiori Onsen

    肘折温泉Hijiori Onsen

    Remote tōji (therapeutic) spa village near Gassan, with a morning market and some of the deepest snow in the prefecture.

  • Yunohama and Yutagawa

    湯野浜温泉・湯田川温泉Yunohama Onsen, Yutagawa Onsen

    Tsuruoka's seaside spa on the Sea of Japan and its quiet valley spa, both old bathing places of the Shonai domain.

  • Onogawa and Shirabu

    小野川温泉・白布温泉Onogawa Onsen, Shirabu Onsen

    The two spa villages of Yonezawa, the second high on the slopes of the Azuma mountains.

Economy

Agriculture remains unusually important: Yamagata leads Japan in cherries and Western pears, is a major grower of rice, grapes and edible chrysanthemums, and raises brand beef. Manufacturing is concentrated in electronics and precision machinery along the inland highways, with a notable research cluster in organic electronics around Yamagata University's engineering faculty in Yonezawa and a biotechnology cluster in Tsuruoka around Keio University's research institute. Tourism rests on onsen, winter sports at Zao and pilgrimage to the Dewa Sanzan.

Key industries

  • Fruit growing (cherries, pears, grapes, apples)
  • Rice and sake brewing
  • Beef cattle
  • Electronic components and precision machinery
  • Organic electronics and biotechnology research
  • Textiles and traditional crafts
  • Tourism: onsen, skiing and pilgrimage

Notable people

  • Mogami Yoshiaki (1546–1614)

    最上義光

    Daimyo of Yamagata who unified the Murayama and Shonai districts and laid out the castle town of Yamagata.

  • Uesugi Yozan (1751–1822)

    上杉鷹山

    Lord of Yonezawa whose austerity and industrial reforms rescued a bankrupt domain; a model of enlightened rule in Japan.

  • Honma Munehisa (1724–1803)

    本間宗久

    Rice merchant of the Sakata Honma family, traditionally credited with the price analysis that underlies candlestick charts.

  • Kiyokawa Hachiro (1830–1863)

    清河八郎

    Loyalist activist from Shonai who organised the Roshigumi, the forerunner of the Shinsengumi.

  • Saito Mokichi (1882–1953)

    斎藤茂吉

    Tanka poet and psychiatrist from Kaminoyama, a leading figure of modern Japanese poetry.

  • Fujisawa Shuhei (1927–1997)

    藤沢周平

    Novelist from Tsuruoka whose samurai stories, set in the fictional Unasaka domain modelled on Shonai, became widely filmed.

Getting there

  • Yamagata Shinkansen: through trains from Tokyo run on the Tohoku Shinkansen to Fukushima and then on the converted Ou Line via Yonezawa to Yamagata (about two and a half to three hours) and Shinjo.
  • Shonai is reached by Joetsu Shinkansen to Niigata and the Uetsu Line limited express to Tsuruoka and Sakata, or by air.
  • Airports: Yamagata Airport in Higashine for the inland basins and Shonai Airport between Tsuruoka and Sakata, both with flights to Tokyo Haneda.
  • From Sendai the Senzan Line and frequent highway buses cross the Ou Mountains to Yamagata city in about an hour.
  • Expressways: the Tohoku-Chuo Expressway links Fukushima, Yonezawa and Yamagata; the Yamagata Expressway runs from Sendai across the prefecture towards Shonai.

Neighbouring prefectures

Former provinces

  • 出羽国Dewa no kuni
  • 羽前国Uzen no kuni
  • 羽後国Ugo no kuni

Prefectural symbols

Flower
紅花benibana
Tree
桜桃sakuranbo
Bird
鴛鴦oshidori

Frequently asked questions

What is Yamagata Prefecture best known for?

Cherries, the sacred Dewa Sanzan mountains, the rime-ice juhyo of Zao, the cliff temple of Yamadera, Yonezawa beef and hot-spring villages such as Ginzan Onsen.

When can the snow monsters of Zao be seen?

The juhyo form on the upper slopes of Zao in the coldest part of winter, typically from late December to early March, with the densest cover in February. A ropeway from Zao Onsen climbs to the main viewing area.

How long does it take to reach Yamagata from Tokyo?

The Yamagata Shinkansen runs directly from Tokyo to Yamagata city in roughly two and a half to three hours. The Shonai coast is usually reached via Niigata or by flying to Shonai Airport.

What are the Dewa Sanzan?

Haguro-san, Gassan and Yudono-san, three mountains near Tsuruoka that form one of Japan's major Shugendo pilgrimage circuits. Haguro is accessible year-round; Gassan and Yudono-san are reached only in the snow-free months.

Is Yamadera in Yamagata city?

Yes. Risshaku-ji, known as Yamadera, lies in the north-east of Yamagata city and is reached by the Senzan Line; about a thousand stone steps lead up through cedar forest to its halls.

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.山形県ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 山形県
  4. 4.磐梯朝日国立公園 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省
  5. 5.Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) (opens in a new tab) — Japan National Tourism Organization

Editorial team · Published: