Miyagi Prefecture

Miyagi Prefecture (宮城県) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of 7,282 sqkm. 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. m high in Miyagi Prefecture.

On April 7, 2011, a magnitude 7.4 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.

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.

In addition, Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture that is particularly prone to earthquakes even in Japan, which is an earthquake-prone country. Large earthquakes occur frequently Miyagi offshore, and earthquakes also occur frequently inland. In the 2011 Tohoku earthquake that occurred Miyagi offshore, Miyagi Prefecture suffered the most damage nationwide.

Cities
Fourteen cities are located in Miyagi Prefecture:

Towns and villages
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.

Demographics
According to Japanese census data, Miyagi prefecture experienced its greatest period of growth from 1940 to 1950 and continued to exhibit growth up until the 21st century. Nevertheless, like the majority of Japan, the population of Miyagi has begun to slowly decline. The prefectural capital of Sendai, however, has seen a moderate, but steady rise in population over the past twenty years.

University

 * Miyagi University
 * Miyagi University of Education
 * Miyagi Gakuin Women's University
 * Sendai University
 * Sendai Shirayuri Women's College
 * Tohoku University
 * Tohoku Gakuin University
 * Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University
 * Tohoku Institute of Technology
 * Tohoku Fukushi University
 * Tohoku Seikatsu Bunka College
 * Tohoku Pharmaceutical University
 * Shokei Gakuin University
 * Ishinomaki Senshu University

Rail

 * JR East
 * Tōhoku Shinkansen
 * Tohoku Line
 * Jōban Line
 * Senseki Line
 * Senzan Line
 * Ishinomaki Line
 * Rikuu East Line
 * Kesennuma Line
 * Ōfunato Line
 * Sendai Municipal Subway
 * Namboku Line
 * Tōzai Line
 * Abukuma Express
 * Sendai Airport Line

Expressways and toll roads

 * JP Expressway E4.svg Tōhoku Expressway
 * Yamagata Expressway
 * Sanriku Expressway
 * Sendai East Road
 * Sendai North Road
 * Sendai South Road

National highways

 * (Nihonbashi of Tokyo–Kasukabe–Utsunomiya–Koriyama–Sendai–Furukawa–Ichinoseki–Morioka–Towada–Aomori)
 * (Nihonbashi of Tokyo–Mito–Iwaki–Soma–Sendai)
 * (Sendai–Ishinomaki–Ofunato–Kamaishi–Kuji–Hachinohe–Towada)
 * (Furukawa–Narugo–Shinjyo–Sakata)
 * (Sendai–Yamagata)

Ports

 * Sendai Port – Ferry route to Tomakomai, Hokkaido and Nagoya, container hub port
 * Ishinomaki Port – Ferry route to Mount Kinka and Tashiro Island.
 * Matsushima Bay

Airports

 * Sendai Airport

Sports
The sports teams listed below are based in Miyagi Prefecture.
 * Baseball
 * Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (Miyagi Baseball Stadium, Sendai)
 * Tohoku Reia
 * Football (soccer)
 * Vegalta Sendai  (Yurtec Stadium Sendai, Sendai)
 * Sony Sendai F.C. (Yurtec Stadium Sendai, Sendai)
 * Vegalta Sendai Ladies (Yurtec Stadium Sendai, Sendai)
 * Basketball
 * Sendai 89ERS (Sendai Gymnasium, Sendai)
 * Volleyball
 * Sendai Bellefille
 * Futsal
 * Voscuore Sendai
 * Professional wrestling
 * Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling

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:


 * Aoba Castle
 * Ichibanchō
 * Akiu Hot Spring
 * Iwai Point
 * Kinkasan Islet
 * Matsushima Bay


 * Naruko Hot Spring
 * Rikuchu Coast
 * Okama Crater Lake
 * Zao Botanical Garden
 * Zao Hot Spring

Famous festivals and events

 * Sendai New Year's traditional Sale on January 2
 * Shiroishi Kokeshi Exhibition, May 3–5
 * Aoba Festival, Suzume Odori traditional Japanese dance event in May
 * Shiogama Port Festival in July
 * Sendai Tanabata Festival, August 6–8
 * Sendai Pageant of Starlight in December

Popular culture
Miyagi Prefecture is one of the main settings of the manga and anime series Haikyū!!. The most well-known fictional schools located there are Karasuno High School, Aoba Johsai High School, Date Tech High and Shiratorizawa Academy, as well as Sendai City Gymnasium. Another anime series Wake Up, Girls! is also set in Miyagi Prefecture.