Tōhoku region

Tōhoku retains a reputation as a remote, scenic region with a harsh climate. In the 20th century, tourism became a major industry in the Tōhoku region.

History

Ancient and classical period

In mythological times, this area, along with Kantō region, was called Azuma (吾妻, あづま) and was the region of Honshu occupied by the indigenous peoples known as the Emishi, and, later, the Ainu. The area was historically the Dewa and the Mutsu or Michinoku regions, a term first recorded in the Hitachi no kuni Fudoki (常陸国風土記) (654). There is some variation in modern usage of the term "Michinoku". The combination of the kanji used to write Dewa and Mutsu/Michi was read as Ōu (奥羽), and sometimes is used in place of the name Tōhoku in texts.

Yamato (ethnic Japanese) settlement in the Tōhoku occurred between the seventh and ninth centuries, well after the Yamato culture had become firmly established in central and southwestern Japan. As the last stronghold of the Emishi, the indigenous peoples of Honshu, and the site of many battles, the region has at various times throughout history maintained a degree of autonomy from Kyoto.

The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏, Ōshū Fujiwara-shi) were a kuge (Yamato noble clan of the Heian) that ruled the Tōhoku in the 12th century as their own realm. They were independent from the Imperial Court in Kyoto by the strength of their warrior bands. This ended when Minamoto no Yoritomo, head of the Minamoto clan and founder of the Kamakura shogunate, defeated them in 1189 a few years after the Genpei War. Fujiwara no Kiyohira (藤原清衡), who was of mixed Yamato and Emishi parentage, was its first ruler. He ruled from what is now Hiraizumi in Iwate Prefecture beginning about 1100. Initially, he used the clan name Kiyohara, but later adopted his father's clan name. He was married to a wide variety of wives, including two Emishi women and a Taira noblewoman, to establish strong alliances for his stake.

Feudal period

Christianity in Tōhoku

Date Masamune (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. 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 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.

Once Tokugawa Ieyasu (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, for instance, a series of tiny islands, was praised for its beauty and serenity by the wandering haiku poet Matsuo Bashō.

Early modern period

The haiku poet Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) wrote Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North) during his travels through Tōhoku.

Contemporary period

In the 1960s, ironworks, steelmaking, cement, chemical industry, pulp, and petroleum refining industries began developing. The region is traditionally known as a less developed area of Japan.

The catastrophic 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, inflicted massive damage along the east coast of this region, causing 19,759 deaths, and was the costliest natural disaster ever which left 500,000 people homeless along with a radiation accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.