 Tōhoku region (東北地方, Tōhoku-chihō) - A
geographical area of Japan. Tōhoku is Japanese for
"northeast," and the Tōhoku region occupies the northeastern
portion of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. The area is
also known as Michinoku (みちのく, Michinoku?.
The region consists of six prefectures: Akita, Aomori,
Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata Prefectures.
The last stronghold of the indigenous Ainu on Honshū and the
site of many battles, Tōhoku retains a reputation as a
remote region, offering breathtaking scenery but a harsh
climate. The haiku poet Matsuo Bashō wrote Oku no Hosomichi
(The Narrow Road to the Deep North) during his travels
through Tōhoku.
Tōhoku, like most of Japan, is hilly or mountainous, with
the Ōu Mountains running north-south. Its initial historical
settlement occurred between the seventh and ninth centuries,
well after Japanese civilization and culture had become
firmly established in central and southwestern Japan.
Although iron, steel, cement, chemical, pulp, and
petroleum-refining industries began developing in the 1960s,
Tōhoku was traditionally considered the granary of Japan
because it supplied Sendai and the Tokyo-Yokohama market
with rice and other farm commodities. Tōhoku provided 20
percent of the nation's rice crop. The climate, however, is
harsher than in other parts of Honshū and permits only one
crop a year on paddy fields.
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 railroad transportation. Low points
in the central mountain range fortunately make
communications between lowlands on either side of the range
moderately easy. Tourism became a major industry in the
Tōhoku region, with points of interest including
Hirosaki
the islands of Matsushima Bay
Lake Towada
Oirase River Valley
Lake Tazawa
Kakunodate
the Rikuchu Coastline National Park
the Bandai-Asahi National Park
Sanriku Coastline
Morioka
Hiraizumi
Aizu
Mount Bandai
Three Mountains of Dewa
Information source: “Tōhoku region.” wikipedia.org. Article
date: 2 Feb. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 4 Mar. 2008 <Tōhoku region>. |
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