Mutsu, Aomori
Encyclopedia
is a city
located in northeastern Aomori
in the Tōhoku region
of Japan
. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population
of 61,205 and a density
of 70.09 persons per km². Its total area was 863.79 km², making it the largest municipality in Aomori Prefecture in terms of area.
and is bordered by Mutsu Bay
to the south and the Tsugaru Strait
to the north, and is the northernmost city on Honshū
. The city has a cold maritime climate characterized by cool summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. Much of the city is within the limits of the Shimokita Hanto Quasi-National Park
. The volcanic Osorezan Mountain Range
extends across the northern portion of the city, and includes a number of caldera lakes.
under the Morioka Domain
in the Edo period
, and was a resettlement and colonization zone for dispossessed ex-samurai
of the defeated Aizu Domain after the Boshin War
. Ōminato was a port town, and home to the Ōminato Guard District
, a major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy
until the end of World War II
. The base facilities were used by the United States Navy
during the occupation of Japan
, and (on a reduced scale) by the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force to date.
The new city was originally called Ōminato-Tanabu (coupling of the names of two antecedent towns); its name was changed to Mutsu in 1960. At the time, it was the only city with a hiragana name (むつ), which was adopted to avoid confusion with the original kanji
word Mutsu
(陸奥) which indicates the old province that covered most of the modern Tōhoku region
.
On March 14, 2005 the neighboring towns of Kawauchi
and Ōhata
and the village of Wakinosawa
were merged into Mutsu.
fishing in Mutsu Bay. The city is also the location for various facilities of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency
, and was the home port for the nuclear powered
research vessel Mutsu
, until its decommissioning in 1997.
Cities of Japan
||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...
located in northeastern Aomori
Aomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
in the Tōhoku region
Tohoku region
The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 61,205 and a density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 70.09 persons per km². Its total area was 863.79 km², making it the largest municipality in Aomori Prefecture in terms of area.
Geography
Mutsu occupies most of Shimokita PeninsulaShimokita Peninsula
The Shimokita Peninsula is the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū, stretching out towards Hokkaidō. Administratively the area is a part of Aomori Prefecture....
and is bordered by Mutsu Bay
Mutsu Bay
is a bay inside Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It includes three bays; Aomori Bay, Noheji Bay and Ōminato Bay. Mutsu Bay covers about 1660 km². The culture of scallops is prosperous in the bay....
to the south and the Tsugaru Strait
Tsugaru Strait
is a channel between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture...
to the north, and is the northernmost city on Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
. The city has a cold maritime climate characterized by cool summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. Much of the city is within the limits of the Shimokita Hanto Quasi-National Park
Shimokita Hanto Quasi-National Park
is a quasi-national park in the far northern Tohoku region of Honshū in Japan. It is rated a protected landscape according to the IUCN. The park, which covers most of Shimokita Peninsula, includes the volcanic peaks and caldera lakes of the Osorezan Mountain Range, the coastal rock formations of...
. The volcanic Osorezan Mountain Range
Mount Osore
is a region in the center of remote Shimokita Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture, Japan.According to popular mythology, Mount Osore marks the entrance to Hell, with a small brook running to the neighboring Lake Usorisan that is equated to the Sanzu River, a river that deceased souls needed to cross of...
extends across the northern portion of the city, and includes a number of caldera lakes.
Neighbouring municipalities
- KazamauraKazamaura, Aomoriis a village located in Shimokita District, Aomori Prefecture, Japan.As of September 1, 2009, the village had an estimated population of 2,311 and a density of 33.2 persons per km²...
- ŌmaOma, Aomoriis a town located in northeastern Aomori in Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the town had an estimated population of 5,950 and a density of 114 persons per km². Its total area was 52.06 km².-Geography:...
- HigashidōriHigashidori, Aomoriis a village located in northeastern Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the village had an estimated population of 7,544 and a density of 25.6 persons per km²...
- SaiSai, Aomoriis a village located in the Shimokita District of northeastern Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the village had an estimated population of 2,492 and a density of 18.5 persons per km². Its total area was 135.03 km².-Geography:...
- Yokohama
History
Mutsu was founded as September 1, 1959 through the merger of the former towns of Ōminato and Tanabu. Tanabu had been the location of a daikanshoDaikansho
A was the office of a magistrate during the Edo period of Japanese history.-External links:* *...
under the Morioka Domain
Morioka Domain
The was a han or feudal domain that encompasses present-day the middle-northern part of Iwate Prefecture and eastern part of Aomori Prefecture. It is sometimes colloquially called . The domain was tozama daimyo and was governed by the Satake clan. Its income was 100,000...
in the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
, and was a resettlement and colonization zone for dispossessed ex-samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
of the defeated Aizu Domain after the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
. Ōminato was a port town, and home to the Ōminato Guard District
Ominato Guard District
The was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in northern Honshu before and during World War II. Located in Mutsu Bay, The was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in northern Honshu before and during World War II. Located in Mutsu Bay, The was the major navy base for...
, a major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The base facilities were used by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during the occupation of Japan
Occupied Japan
At the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States with contributions also from Australia, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This foreign presence marked the first time in its history that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power...
, and (on a reduced scale) by the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force to date.
The new city was originally called Ōminato-Tanabu (coupling of the names of two antecedent towns); its name was changed to Mutsu in 1960. At the time, it was the only city with a hiragana name (むつ), which was adopted to avoid confusion with the original kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
word Mutsu
Mutsu Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori prefecture and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture...
(陸奥) which indicates the old province that covered most of the modern Tōhoku region
Tohoku region
The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....
.
On March 14, 2005 the neighboring towns of Kawauchi
Kawauchi, Aomori
was a town located in Shimokita District in northern Aomori Prefecture, Japan.Kawauchi Village was founded in 1889 from the merger the hamlets of Kawauchi, Hinokigawa, Shukunohe, and Kakizaki. It was elevated to town status on October 31, 1917...
and Ōhata
Ohata, Aomori
was a town located in Shimokita District in northern Aomori Prefecture, Japan.Ōhata Village was founded in 1889. It was elevated to town status on May 1, 1934...
and the village of Wakinosawa
Wakinosawa, Aomori
was a village located in Shimokita District in northern Aomori Prefecture, Japan.Wakinosawa Village was founded in 1889 from the merger the hamlets of Wakinosawa with neighboring Ozawa...
were merged into Mutsu.
Economy
The economy of Mutsu is heavily dependent on agriculture, forestry and fishing, especially scallopScallop
A scallop is a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Scallops are a cosmopolitan family, found in all of the world's oceans. Many scallops are highly prized as a food source...
fishing in Mutsu Bay. The city is also the location for various facilities of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency
Japan Atomic Energy Agency
The was formed October 1, 2005 by a merger of two previous semi-governmental organizations. While it inherited the activities of both PNC and JAERI, it also inherited the nickname of JAERI, "Genken" 原研, an abbreviated word for "nuclear research"....
, and was the home port for the nuclear powered
Nuclear marine propulsion
Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship by a nuclear reactor. Naval nuclear propulsion is propulsion that specifically refers to naval warships...
research vessel Mutsu
Mutsu (ship)
Mutsu was Japan's first, and only nuclear-powered ship. It was built as a nuclear merchant ship, one of four such vessels ever constructed, but never carried commercial cargo.-Nuclear propulsion tests:...
, until its decommissioning in 1997.
Railway
- East Japan Railway CompanyEast Japan Railway Companyis the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....
- Ōminato Line
- , , , ,
- Ōminato Line
Noted people from Mutsu
- Yuya AsahinaYuya Asahinais a Japanese manga artist. She made her professional manga debut in 1998. She used to work with Ribon, but now her manga is serialized in Margaret Comics.-External links:* *...
– Manga artist - Yuzo KawashimaYuzo Kawashimawas a notable Japanese filmmaker, most famous for making tragi-comic films and satires.-Career:Kawashima was born in Mutsu, Aomori in the Shimokita Peninsula. From his youth, he suffered from a paralysis that affected his right leg and arm. He was educated at Meiji University, where he was a member...
– movie director - Ryu FujisakiRyu Fujisakiis a Japanese manga artist born in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture.He won the 39th and the 40th Tezuka Award. He made his professional manga debut with WORLDS in 1990. All of his works are published by Shueisha under their Shōnen Jump labels. He has also illustrated three light novels and released two...
– Manga artist - Fumie HosokawaFumie Hosokawais a Japanese actress, singer, and model. She is often referred to as the “original” kyonyu idol.-Life and career:Hosokawa was born in Tanabe, Aomori prefecture, and lived in Etajima, Hiroshima Prefecture until the age of 4. She then moved to Hawaii, United States for a year to attend school there...
– actress and gravure model - Kenichi Matsuyama – actor