Ogatsu, Miyagi
Encyclopedia
Ogatsu is a town
located in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture
, Japan
.
On April 1, 2005, Ishinomaki was merged
with six towns, Kahoku, Kanan, Kitakami, Monou and Ogatsu, all from the former Monou District
, and Oshika, from Oshika District
, to more than quadruple its area and added nearly 60,000 people to its population.
Ogatsu is famous for its inkstones and has a scallop
festival
every year in the fall season.
Ogatsu, along with other nearby villages, was almost completely destroyed in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
. Many residents were killed, and several survived marooned on school rooftops waiting to be picked up days, or even weeks later. It is still not known whether there will or will not be an attempt to rebuild the town.
Towns of Japan
A town is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture , city , and village...
located in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture
Miyagi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...
, 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...
.
On April 1, 2005, Ishinomaki was merged
Merger and dissolution of municipalities of Japan
Municipal mergers and dissolutions carried out in Japan can take place within one municipality or between multiple municipalities and are required to be based upon consensus.- Merger policy:...
with six towns, Kahoku, Kanan, Kitakami, Monou and Ogatsu, all from the former Monou District
Monou District, Miyagi
Monou was a district located in Miyagi, Japan.As of 2005, this district no longer exists.* On April 1, 2005 the towns of Yamoto and Naruse merged to form the city of Higashimatsushima....
, and Oshika, from Oshika District
Oshika District, Miyagi
is a district located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 16,069 and a population density of 115.80 persons per km²...
, to more than quadruple its area and added nearly 60,000 people to its population.
Ogatsu is famous for its inkstones and has a scallop
Scallop
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...
festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
every year in the fall season.
Ogatsu, along with other nearby villages, was almost completely destroyed in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
. Many residents were killed, and several survived marooned on school rooftops waiting to be picked up days, or even weeks later. It is still not known whether there will or will not be an attempt to rebuild the town.