Miyagi Prefecture


Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 and has a geographic area of 7,282 km². Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the northwest, Yamagata Prefecture to the west, and Fukushima Prefecture to the south.
Sendai is the capital and largest city of Miyagi Prefecture, and the largest city in the Tōhoku region, with other major cities including Ishinomaki, Ōsaki, and Tome. Miyagi Prefecture is located on Japan's eastern Pacific coast and bounded to the west by the Ōu Mountains, the longest mountain range in Japan, with 24% of its total land area being designated as Natural Parks. Miyagi Prefecture is home to Matsushima Islands, a group of islands ranked as one of the Three Views of Japan, near the town of Matsushima.

History

Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu.

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a subsequent major tsunami hit Miyagi Prefecture, causing major damage to the area. The tsunami was estimated to be approximately 10 meters high in Miyagi Prefecture.
On April 7, 2011, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Miyagi, Japan. Workers were then evacuated from the nearby troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility once again, as a tsunami warning was issued for the coastline. Residents were told to flee for inner land at that time.
Officials from the U.S. Geological Survey later downgraded the magnitude to 7.1 from 7.4.
In 2013, Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako visited the prefecture to see the progress made since the tsunami.

Geography

Miyagi Prefecture is in the central part of Tōhoku, facing the Pacific Ocean, and contains Tōhoku's largest city, Sendai. There are high mountains on the west and along the northeast coast, but the central plain around Sendai is fairly large.
Matsushima is known as one of the three most scenic views of Japan, with a bay full of 260 small islands covered in pine groves.
Oshika Peninsula projects from the northern coastline of the prefecture.
As of 31 March 2019, 24% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Sanriku Fukkō National Park; Kurikoma and Zaō Quasi-National Parks; and Abukuma Keikoku, Asahiyama, Funagata Renpō, Futakuchi Kyōkoku, Kenjōsan Mangokuura, Kesennuma, Matsushima, and Zaō Kōgen Prefectural Natural Parks.

Cities

Fourteen cities are located in Miyagi Prefecture:
These are the towns and villages in each district:

Economy

Although Miyagi has a good deal of fishing and agriculture, producing a great deal of rice and livestock, it is dominated by the manufacturing industries around Sendai, particularly electronics, appliances, and food processing.
As of March 2011, the prefecture produced 4.7% of Japan's rice, 23% of oysters, and 15.9% of sauries.
In July 2011, the Japanese government decided to ban all shipments of beef cattle from northeast Miyagi Prefecture over fears of radioactive contamination.
This has since been rescinded.

Population

Per Japanese census data, and, Miyagi has had fastest growth between 1940-1950 and continued to exhibit growth up until 21st century. Despite Miyagi Prefecture population overall decreasing, its prefecture capital Sendai continues to have population increase.

Education

University

Rail

Expressways and toll roads

The sports teams listed below are based in Miyagi Prefecture.
Also, the Sendai Hi-Land Raceway hosts motorsport road races.

Visitor attractions

Sendai was the castle town of the daimyō Date Masamune. The remains of Sendai Castle stand on a hill above the city.
Miyagi Prefecture boasts one of Japan's three greatest sights. Matsushima, the pine-clad islands, dot the waters off the coast of the prefecture.
The following are also noted as attractions:
Miyagi Prefecture is one of the main settings of Haikyū!!. The main places there are Karasuno High School, Aoba Johsai High School, and Shiratorizawa Academy, as well as Sendai City Gymnasium.