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59-500: Although the Sendai area was inhabited as early as 20,000 years ago, the history of Sendai as a city begins from 1600, when the daimyō Date Masamune relocated. Masamune was not happy with his previous stronghold, Iwadeyama , which was located in the northern portion of his territories and was difficult to access from Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Sendai was an ideal location, being in the centre of Masamune's newly defined territories, upon

118-424: A barrier, a zone of higher strength, between the two aftershock zones. Earthquakes with similar magnitudes have occurred in this region periodically, about every 40 years. Such earthquakes include the ones that occurred in 1793, 1835, 1861, 1897, 1936, and 1978. The 2005 Miyagi earthquake is not considered to be the one that was expected to follow the 1978 Miyagi earthquake. More recent comparisons have confirmed

177-402: A day's travel from Tokyo for the first time in history. Tohoku Imperial University , the region's first university, was founded in Sendai in 1907 and became the first Japanese university to admit female students in 1913. Sendai was incorporated as a city on 1 April 1889, with the post- Meiji restoration creation of the modern municipalities system following the abolition of the han system . At

236-508: A new class, the sengoku-daimyō , who arose from the ranks of the shugodai and jizamurai . Among the sengoku daimyō ( 戦国大名 ) were many who had been shugo-daimyō , such as the Satake , Imagawa , Takeda , Toki , Rokkaku , Ōuchi , and Shimazu . New to the ranks of the daimyo were the Asakura , Amago , Nagao , Miyoshi , Chōsokabe , Hatano, and Oda . These came from the ranks of

295-474: A practice called sankin-kōtai . In 1869, the year after the Meiji Restoration, the daimyo, together with the kuge, formed a new aristocracy, the kazoku . In 1871, the han were abolished , and prefectures were established. In this year, around 200 daimyo returned their titles to the emperor, who consolidated their han into 75 prefectures. Their military forces were also demobilized, with

354-604: A promenade and a few sculptures. It is a place of relaxation. Many events and festivals, such as the Sendai Pageant of Starlight and the Jozenji Street Jazz Festival, take place on Jozenji-Dori and in Kōtōdai Park ( 匂当台公園 ) . Aoba-Dori is the main business road in Sendai. Other major roads in the city include Hirose-Dori ( ginkgo ), and Higashi-Nibancho-Dori. The most famous festival in Sendai

413-410: A result, the city's geography is quite diverse. Eastern Sendai is a plains area, the center of the city is hilly, and western areas are mountainous. The highest point in the city is Mount Funagata which stands 1,500 metres (4,921 feet) above sea level . Unique among Japan's large coastal cities, Sendai's city core is built on a terrace at 40–60 m (131–197 ft) elevation. The Sendai basin area

472-673: A small tsunami . The earthquake reached a maximum intensity of Shindo 5 in Sendai and caused 28 deaths and 1,325 injuries. The northeastern part of Honshū lies above the subduction zone that forms the Japan Trench , where the Pacific plate is being subducted beneath the Okhotsk microplate . The rupture of the plate interface that caused the earthquake, occurred in two distinct stages, from study of surface and body wave data and

531-506: Is 939 km (363 sq mi) (the mountainous area is 675 km (261 sq mi), the plain area is 245 km (95 sq mi) and the water body is 20 km (8 sq mi)). The basin consists of urban areas, paddy fields and forests. The mid and upstream areas have forests. The Natori River flows through the area and reaches Sendai Bay after 55 km (34 mi). The Hirose River ( 広瀬川 , Hirose-gawa ) flows 45 kilometres (28 miles) through Sendai. The river

590-528: Is Tanabata, which attracts more than 2 million visitors every year and is the largest Tanabata Festival in Japan. It is relatively quiet compared to other traditional Japanese festivals, because its main attractions are intricate Tanabata decorations. The Aoba Matsuri Festival follows more typical Japanese festival traditions, with a mikoshi , floats , a samurai parade, and traditional dancing. Local people burn their New Year decorations and pray for health in

649-540: Is US$ 61.7 billion in 2010. Sendai city by itself has a nominal GDP of approximately US$ 50 billion as of 2015. The city's economy heavily relies upon retail and services – the two industries provide approximately two thirds of the employment and close to half of the establishments. Sendai is frequently called a branch-office economy, because very few major companies are headquartered in the city. Various authorities are cooperating to alleviate this problem, primarily by encouraging high-tech ventures from Tohoku University , which

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708-774: Is a dance festival, derived from the Yosakoi Festival that takes place in Kōchi . Trees in downtown Sendai are decorated with lights during the Sendai Pageant of Starlights. The event provided the idea for the Festival of Lights annually held in Riverside , Sendai's sister city. In 2005, the streets were lit up with one million miniature bulbs. Sendai is the origin of several foods, including gyūtan (beef tongue, usually grilled), hiyashi chūka (cold Chinese noodles), and robatayaki (Japanese-style barbecue). However, robatayaki

767-534: Is connected to other highways, such as the Sendai-Nambu Road, Sendai-Tobu Road, Sanriku Expressway (Sendai-Matsushima Road), and Sendai Hokubu Road. Ferries connecting Tomakomai and Nagoya stop at the Port of Sendai. The most well-known streets in Sendai, Jozenji-Dori ( 定禅寺通り ) and Aoba-Dori ( 青葉通り ) , are both lined with Japanese zelkovas . These are symbols of "The City of Trees". Jozenji-Dori has

826-466: Is later than in most cities in Japan. During this season, cold winds from the Okhotsk air mass, called " Yamase ", blow in and depress daytime highs. See or edit raw graph data . As of 1 March 2023, the city had an estimated population of 1,097,407 and a population density of 1,397 persons per km. The city's total area was 786.35 km. The 2000 National Census revealed that 88.5% of

885-487: Is much lower than cities on the Sea of Japan coast, such as Niigata and Tottori . Summers are very warm and much of the year's precipitation is delivered at this time, with an August average of 24.1 °C (75.4 °F). The city is rarely hit by typhoons , and experiences only 6 days with more than 10 centimetres (4 in) of rainfall on average. Sendai's monsoon season usually begins in late April to early October, which

944-403: Is near several major fishing ports, such as Kesennuma , Ishinomaki , and Shiogama , and the fact that Miyagi Prefecture is a major producer of rice . There are many ramen restaurants in Sendai, and the area is known for a particular spicy miso ramen . Also, Sendai station offers the most types of ekiben of any station in Japan. In autumn, many people organise Imonikai, a sort of picnic by

1003-519: Is similar to other cities in Japan, because the Local Autonomy Law makes all municipalities uniform in terms of organization and power. However, Sendai is a designated city, so it has the same jurisdiction as prefectures in some areas. Sendai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature. The Sendai City Assembly members are elected from 5 elective districts, which correspond to

1062-462: Is well known as a symbol of Sendai, especially because it appears in the lyrics of Aoba-jō Koi-uta (青葉城恋唄; literally, The Aoba Castle Love Song ), a popular song sung by Muneyuki Satō. Aoba Castle was built close to the river to use the river as a natural moat . The river frequently flooded until the 1950s, but dams and levees constructed in the 1960s and 1970s have made such floods rare. Most mountains in Sendai are dormant volcanoes, much older than

1121-510: Is well known for its science and engineering departments. There are also incentives for startups available from the prefectural government. Tohoku Electric Power , a major regional supplier of electric power, has its headquarters in Sendai and also operates the Shin-Sendai Thermal Power Station located within the city. Sendai's economic growth rate has stabilized since the 2011 Japan earthquake. The growth rate

1180-526: The kanji to " 仙臺 ", which later became " 仙台 " (literally: "hermit/wizard" plus "platform/plateau" or figuratively, "hermit on a platform/high ground"). The character came from a Chinese poem that praised a palace created by the Emperor Wen of Han China (reigned 180–157 BCE), comparing it to a mythical palace in the Kunlun Mountains . Tradition says that Masamune chose this kanji so that

1239-538: The Meiji Restoration , after the feudal Sendai Domain encouraged residents to plant trees in their gardens. As a result, many houses, temples, and shrines in central Sendai had household forests ( 屋敷林 , yashikirin ) , which were used as resources for wood and other everyday materials. In 1925, the Senseki Line to Sendai Station became the first underground railway segment in Japan, preceding

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1298-474: The Meiji Restoration . Sendai was also known for its production of Tansu , clothing drawers made from wood with elaborate ironwork. Daimy%C5%8D Daimyo ( 大名 , daimyō , Japanese pronunciation: [daimʲoː] ) were powerful Japanese magnates , feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to

1357-858: The Mori of Chōshū , the Shimazu of Satsuma , the Date of Sendai , the Uesugi of Yonezawa , and the Hachisuka of Awa . Initially, the Tokugawa regarded them as potentially rebellious, but for most of the Edo period, control policies such as sankin-kōtai , resulted in peaceful relations. Daimyo were required to maintain residences in Edo as well as their fiefs, and to move periodically between Edo and their fiefs, typically spending alternate years in each place, in

1416-504: The Mōri , Shimazu and Hosokawa , were cadet branches of the Imperial family or were descended from the kuge , other daimyo were promoted from the ranks of the samurai , notably during the Edo period. Daimyo often hired samurai to guard their land, and paid them in land or food, as relatively few could afford to pay them in money. The daimyo era ended soon after the Meiji Restoration , with

1475-583: The Shiba , Hatakeyama , and Hosokawa clans , as well as the tozama clans of Yamana , Ōuchi , Takeda and Akamatsu . The greatest ruled multiple provinces. The Ashikaga shogunate required the shugo-daimyō to reside in Kyoto , so they appointed relatives or retainers, called shugodai , to represent them in their home provinces. Eventually, some of these in turn came to reside in Kyoto, appointing deputies in

1534-592: The shogun and nominally to the emperor and the kuge (an aristocratic class). In the term, dai ( 大 ) means 'large', and myō stands for myōden ( 名田 ) , meaning 'private land'. From the shugo of the Muromachi period through the Sengoku period to the daimyo of the Edo period , the rank had a long and varied history. The backgrounds of daimyo also varied considerably; while some daimyo clans, notably

1593-646: The shugodai and their deputies. Additional sengoku-daimyō such as the Mōri , Tamura , and Ryūzōji arose from the jizamurai . The lower officials of the shogunate and rōnin ( Late Hōjō , Saitō ), provincial officials (Kitabatake), and kuge (Tosa Ichijō) also gave rise to sengoku-daimyo . The Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 marked the beginning of the Edo period . Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu reorganized roughly 200 daimyo and their territories into han , which were assessed by rice production. Those heading han assessed at 10,000 koku (50,000 bushels) or more were considered daimyo. Ieyasu also categorized

1652-533: The 9.0 magnitude 2011 Tōhoku earthquake occurred offshore Sendai, resulting in a devastating tsunami. Sendai has five wards ("ku"), which were created when it became a designated city in 1989. The city consciously avoided names that included directions (e.g., north 北 , center 中央 ) when it chose names for the new wards. per km Sendai has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa ), which features warm and wet summers, and cool and dry winters. Sendai summers are not as hot as Tokyo to

1711-516: The Edo shogunate, some rising to the position of rōjū . The fact that fudai daimyo could hold government positions, while tozama in general could not, was a main difference between the two. Tozama daimyō held mostly large fiefs far away from the capital, with e.g. the Kaga han of Ishikawa Prefecture , headed by the Maeda clan , assessed at 1,000,000 koku . Other famous tozama clans included

1770-690: The Miyagi Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Miyagi 1st district and the Miyagi 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . Sendai is the center of the Tōhoku region's economy, and is the base of the region's logistics and transportation. The GDP in Greater Sendai, Sendai Metropolitan Employment Area (1.6 million people),

1829-509: The adoption of the prefecture system in 1871. The shugo daimyō ( 守護大名 ) were the first group of men to hold the title daimyō . They arose from among the shugo during the Muromachi period (approximately 1336–1573). The shugo-daimyo held not only military and police powers, but also economic power within a province . They accumulated these powers throughout the first decades of the Muromachi period. Major shugo-daimyō came from

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1888-523: The castle would prosper as long as a mountain inhabited by an immortal hermit. Masamune ordered the construction of Sendai Castle in December 1600 and the construction of the surrounding castle town in 1601. The grid plan roads in modern-day central Sendai are based upon his plans. The first railway line between Sendai and Tokyo, now the Tōhoku Main Line , opened in 1887, bringing the area within

1947-516: The city include Tohoku International School . The city is served by Sendai Airport (located in neighboring Natori ), which has international flights to several countries, and the Port of Sendai. A rail link to Sendai began service on March 18, 2007. JR East 's Sendai Station is the main transport hub for the city. The station is served by seven JR lines and is a major station on the Tōhoku and Akita Shinkansen lines. An underground passage connects

2006-409: The city's 5 wards. The number of assembly members allocated to each ward is based upon population. As of May 2005, the city has 60 assembly members; 17 from Aoba Ward, 11 from Miyagino, 8 from Wakabayashi, 13 from Taihaku, and 11 from Izumi. The City Assembly elects an Assembly Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. Sendai has two vice mayors, who are not elected by the populace. Miyagi contributes 24 seats to

2065-464: The city's population (892,252 people) lived in a 129.69 km area, which is 16.6% of the city's total area. The population density in this area was 6,879.9 persons per km, more than 5 times higher than the city's average population density at that time, 1,286.6 persons per km. Approximately 10,000 people in Sendai were non-Japanese citizens. Sendai had 525,828 households in 2020. The average household had approximately 2.07 members. The average household

2124-487: The city. Sendai has been subject to several major earthquakes in recent history, including the 1978 Miyagi earthquake , which was a catalyst for the development of Japan's current earthquake resistance standards, and the 2005 Miyagi earthquake . Most recently, the coastal area of Sendai, including Sendai Airport , was severely damaged in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami . The tsunami reportedly reached as far as Wakabayashi Ward Office, 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) from

2183-489: The coastline. Thousands were killed, and countless more were injured and/or made homeless. Sendai's port was heavily damaged and temporarily closed, reopening on 16 April 2011. Sendai is located at lat. 38°16'05" north, long. 140°52'11" east. The city's area is 788.09 km (304.28 sq mi), and stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Ōu Mountains , which are the east and west borders of Miyagi Prefecture. As

2242-595: The daimyo according to their relation to the ruling Tokugawa family: the shinpan were related to the Tokugawa; the fudai had been vassals of the Tokugawa or allies in battle; and the tozama had not allied with the Tokugawa before the Battle of Sekigahara (did not necessarily fight against the Tokugawa). The shinpan were collaterals of Ieyasu, such as the Matsudaira , or descendants of Ieyasu other than in

2301-717: The daimyo and their samurai followers pensioned into retirement. The move to abolish the feudal domains effectively ended the daimyo era in Japan. This was effectively carried out through the financial collapse of the feudal-domain governments, hampering their capability for resistance. In the wake of the changes, many daimyo remained in control of their lands, being appointed as prefectural governors ; however, they were soon relieved of this duty and called en masse to Tokyo, thereby cutting off any independent base of power from which to potentially rebel. Despite this, members of former daimyo families remained prominent in government and society, and in some cases continue to remain prominent to

2360-438: The differences between the 1978 and 2005 events but called into question whether this sequence truly represents the repeat of a characteristic earthquake . The rupture zone of the 1978 earthquake occurred at the westernmost limit of known interplate earthquakes, some 150 km back from the trench. This deepest part of the rupture zone, about 40 km, is interpreted to represent the depth of transition to aseismic creep on

2419-403: The distribution of aftershocks. The first stage of rupture propagated northwards, roughly parallel to the trench axis, along the upper of the two aftershock zones. The second stage began after about 11 seconds with a second shock, about 30 km westward of the first, at the base of the upper aftershock zone, propagating down dip. The cause of this rupture sequence is thought to be the presence of

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2478-570: The historic center of the city was burned, with 2,755 inhabitants killed and 11,933 houses destroyed in the city. Following World War II, the city was rebuilt, and Sendai became a vital transportation and logistics hub for the Tōhoku region with the construction of major arteries such as the Tōhoku Expressway and Tōhoku Shinkansen . In the early 1950s, the United States Army, Japan operated Camp Schimmelpfennig and Camp Sendai in

2537-548: The main line of succession. Several shinpan , including the Tokugawa of Owari ( Nagoya ), Kii ( Wakayama ), and Mito , as well as the Matsudaira of Fukui and Aizu , held large han . A few fudai daimyō , such as the Ii of Hikone , held large han, but many were small. The shogunate placed many fudai at strategic locations to guard the trade routes and the approaches to Edo . Also, many fudai daimyo took positions in

2596-463: The major road from Edo. Tokugawa Ieyasu gave Masamune permission to build a new castle in Aobayama after the Battle of Sekigahara . The previous ruler of the Sendai area had used a castle located on Aobayama. At this time Sendai was written as 千代 ("a thousand generations"), because a temple with a thousand Buddha statues ( 千体 , sentai ) used to be located in Aobayama. Masamune changed

2655-580: The more famous Mount Zaō and Naruko volcanoes in nearby municipalities. However, many hot springs can be found in the city, indicating hydrothermal activity . The Miyagi Oki earthquake occurs offshore Sendai once every 25 to 40 years. The 7.2 magnitude 2005 Miyagi earthquake , which occurred on August 16, 2005, had an epicenter close to the Miyagi Oki earthquake area. However, the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion concluded that it

2714-751: The new year during the Dontosai Festival, the oldest festival in Miyagi Prefecture. Various contemporary festivals also take place in Sendai, such as the Jōzenji Streetjazz Festival, the Michinoku Yosakoi Festival, and the Sendai Pageant of Starlight. The Jōzenji Streetjazz Festival is one of the largest amateur music festivals in Japan. It began as a jazz festival in 1991, but soon began to accept applications from all genres. The Michinoku Yosakoi festival

2773-636: The opening of the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (Asia's first subway line) by two years. The 2nd Infantry Division was known as the "Sendai Division" as it was based in Sendai, and recruited locally. During the Second World War it was involved in many different campaigns, but one of the most important was the Battle of Guadalcanal . During the bombing of Sendai during World War II by the United States on 10 July 1945, much of

2832-432: The plate interface. The maximum peak ground acceleration recorded was 0.125g. There was a foreshock of magnitude M j 5.8 at 17:06 local time, minutes before the main shock. There were widespread landslides that caused extensive damage to highways and one death in the area around Sendai. 1,183 houses were completely destroyed within Miyagi Prefecture, with a further 5,574 partially destroyed. Soil liquefaction

2891-443: The present day. For example, Morihiro Hosokawa , the former Prime Minister of Japan, is a descendant of the daimyo of Kumamoto . 1978 Miyagi earthquake The 1978 Miyagi earthquake ( 1978年宮城県沖地震 , 1978 nen Miyagi-ken-oki jishin ) occurred at 17:14 local time (08:14 UTC) on 12 June. The epicentre was offshore of Miyagi Prefecture , Japan. It had a surface-wave magnitude of 7.7, JMA magnitude 7.4, and triggered

2950-609: The provinces. The Ōnin War was a major uprising in which shugo-daimyō fought each other. During this and other wars of the time, kuni ikki , or provincial uprisings, took place as locally powerful warriors sought independence from the shugo-daimyo . The deputies of the shugo-daimyō , living in the provinces, seized the opportunity to strengthen their position. At the end of the fifteenth century, those shugo-daimyō who succeeded remained in power. Those who had failed to exert control over their deputies fell from power and were replaced by

3009-697: The river which involves making a potato stew called Imoni . Many crafts from Sendai were originally created under the influence of the Date family during the Edo period . Examples are Sendai Hira, a hand woven silk fabric, Tsutsumiyaki pottery, and Yanagiu Washi paper . However, some crafts, such as umoregi zaiku (crafts created from fossil wood) were developed by low-ranking samurai who needed side jobs to survive. Kokeshi dolls were popularized by hot spring resorts that sold them as gifts. Some relatively recent developments include Sendai Tsuishu lacquerware and Tamamushinuri lacquerware, both of which were developed after

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3068-515: The south, while the winters are much milder than Sapporo to the north, but retains significant seasonal differences in temperature and rainfall. Extremes range from −11.7 to 37.2 °C (10.9 to 99.0 °F). Of Japan's prefectural capitals, Sendai experiences the fewest days of extreme temperatures (highs outside 0–30 °C (32–86 °F)) at 19.6 per year, compared to Tokyo's average of 49. Winters are cool and relatively dry, with January temperatures averaging 1.5 °C (34.7 °F). Snowfall

3127-505: The station to the Sendai Subway . The subway has two lines— Namboku ("north-south") and Tōzai ("east-west") with a total of 30 stations. When completed in 2015, Yagiyama station became the highest-elevated subway station in the country at 136.4 meters. In addition to the public bus system, a loop bus called Loople runs between tourism hotspots around the city. The Tōhoku Expressway runs north–south through western Sendai, and

3186-483: The time of incorporation, the city's area was 17.45 square kilometres (6.74 sq mi) and its population was 86,000. The city grew, however, through seven annexations that occurred between 1928 and 1988. The city became a designated city on 1 April 1989; the city's population exceeded one million in 1999. Sendai was considered to be one of Japan's greenest cities, mostly because of its great numbers of trees and plants. Sendai became known as The City of Trees before

3245-408: Was becoming smaller every year, because single-member households were increasing. At this time Sendai had more people in their early 50s and in their 20s and early 30s than in other age groups. This is a result of the first and second baby booms in Japan, and university students. The average age in Sendai is 38.4, which makes the city one of the youngest major cities in Japan. Sendai's political system

3304-413: Was later introduced to Kushiro , which developed and popularized the dish. As a result, many people believe Kushiro is the origin of Robatayaki. Zundamochi (ずんだ餅, mochi balls with sweet, bright green edamame paste), and sasakamaboko (笹かまぼこ, kamaboko shaped like bamboo leaves) are also considered to be Sendai specialties. Sendai is also known for good sashimi , sushi , and sake . This is because Sendai

3363-402: Was not the Miyagi Oki earthquake, saying "...the recent event is not thought to be this earthquake. This is because the magnitude of the earthquake was small, and the source area, which was estimated from the aftershock distribution and seismic waves, didn't cover the whole expected source region. Although, the recent event ruptured a part of the focal region of the expected earthquake." In 2011,

3422-621: Was observed in lands claimed by embankment. No damage was reported from the tsunami. A maximum wave height of about 60 cm (24 in) was recorded at Kesennuma and Onagawa , close to the epicenter. The extent of damage to buildings caused by the earthquake, led directly to a revision of the Japanese Building Standard Act in 1981. The earthquake also led to a major revision in the Earthquake Insurance System , which had been set up by

3481-505: Was only 0.4% in 2011 after the quake created economic turmoil in coastal areas. The year after, in 2012 the rate spiked to 10.4% after reconstruction efforts. It has since fallen to a closer trend to what is expected of 3.7% in 2013. Tourism in 2016 attracted an estimated 2.229 million visitors to Sendai. Sendai is sometimes called an "Academic City" ( 学都 , gakuto ) because the city has many universities relative to its population. Universities located within Sendai include: Schools in

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