Iwate Prefecture

Iwate Prefecture sits in Japan’s Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu, facing the Pacific Ocean. It’s the second-largest prefecture in Japan—only Hokkaido is bigger—covering 15,275 square kilometers. As of July 2023, about 1.17 million people live there. Its capital and biggest city is Morioka; other major cities include Ichinoseki, Ōshū, and Hanamaki. To the north lies Aomori Prefecture, Akita Prefecture is to the west, and Miyagi Prefecture borders it on the south. Honshu’s easternmost point, Cape Todo, is here, and the prefecture shares the tallest peaks of the Ōu Mountains—Japan’s longest mountain range—along its border with Akita. Outside of Hokkaido, Iwate has the lowest population density, and five percent of its land is set aside as national parks. Famous spots include Morioka Castle, the Buddhist temples of Hiraizumi (such as Chūson-ji and Mōtsū-ji), the Fujiwara no Sato movie lot and theme park in Ōshū, and Tenshochi park in Kitakami, known for its huge, ancient cherry trees.

The name “Iwate” has several possible origins, but the best-known story is the legend of Oni no tegata, tied to the Mitsuishi (“Three Rocks”) Shrine in Morioka. These rocks are said to have been thrown down by an eruption of Mount Iwate. According to the tale, a devil once tormented local people. They prayed to the spirits of Mitsuishi for protection, and the devil was chained to the rocks, forced to promise never to bother them again. As a seal of that oath, the devil left a handprint on one rock—hence “Iwate,” which literally means “rock hand.” Even today, after rain, people say the devil’s handprint can still be seen.

Culturally, Iwate is known for foods like walnuts, wanko soba (“bowl noodles”), and hittsumi-jiru (“pull and tear” soup, named for how the dough is pulled into oval shapes). Morioka is also famous for its apples, which bloom in May and are harvested from September to November. The poet Matsuo Bashō visited Iwate and wrote about it in his travelogue *Oku no Hosomichi*, especially inspired by the town of Hiraizumi.

Historically, though the Yamato government claimed all of Honshu from early times, imperial forces couldn’t occupy what is now Iwate until 802, when two powerful Emishi leaders, Aterui and More, surrendered at Fort Isawa. The area was home to Jōmon people, who left artifacts across the prefecture: burial pits from the Middle Jōmon period (2800–1900 BC) at Nishida; Late Jōmon sites (1900–1300 BC) at Tateishi, Makumae, and Hatten with clay figurines, masks, and ear- and nose-shaped clay items; and the Kunenbashi site in Kitakami City, which yielded stone “swords,” tablets, tools, clay figurines, earrings, and potsherds from the Final Jōmon period (1300–300 BC).

The earliest mention of a Japanese presence dates to around 630, when the Hakusan Shrine was reportedly built on Mount Kanzan in what is now Hiraizumi. Japanese traders, hunters, adventurers, priests, and criminals gradually arrived. In 712, the province of Mutsu (covering all of Tōhoku) was split into Dewa Province (west of the Ōu Mountains) and Mutsu Province. In 729, the itinerant priest Gyōki founded Kokuseki-ji Temple in what is now Mizusawa Ward, Ōshū City. Little is known about early relations with the native Emishi, but in 776, large Yamato forces invaded Iwate, attacking the Isawa and Shiwa tribes in February and November. More fighting followed in Dewa and areas south of present-day Iwate. Then, in March 787, the Yamato army suffered a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Sufuse Village (now Mizusawa Ward, Ōshū City). Emishi leaders, including Aterui, led a large cavalry force that trapped Yamato infantry and pushed them into the Kitakami River, where their heavy armor proved deadly—over 1,000 soldiers drowned. The Japanese general Ki no Asami Kosami was rebuked by Emperor Kanmu upon returning to Kyoto.

Unable to win on the battlefield, the Japanese turned to other tactics: trading superior iron goods and sake to make the Emishi dependent, bribing leaders with Japanese citizenship and rank, and burning crops while kidnapping Emishi women and children to relocate them to western Japan. In 801, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro launched a new campaign against the Isawa Emishi with moderate success. On April 15, 802, the Emishi leaders More and Aterui surrendered with about 500 warriors. They were taken to Kyoto for an audience with the emperor and beheaded at Moriyama in Kawachi Province, against General Sakanoue’s wishes. This cruelty enraged the Emishi, leading to another twenty-plus years of fighting. After the surrender, several forts built on the Chinese model appeared along the Kitakami River: Fort Isawa (802, now Mizusawa Ward, Ōshū City), Fort Shiwa (803, now Morioka City), and Fort Tokutan (812, also in Morioka). During the latter part of the Heian period, the town of Hiraizumi in southern Iwate became a notable center.