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Japan Tohoku
The northeastern part of Honshu, called Tohoku
(literally, "the
northeast"), includes six prefectures. Tohoku, like most
of Japan,
is hilly or mountainous. Its initial historical settlement
occurred
between the seventh and ninth centuries A.D., well after
Japanese
civilization and culture had become firmly established in
central
and southwestern Japan. Although iron, steel, cement,
chemical,
pulp, and petroleum-refining industries began developing
in the
1960s, Tohoku was traditionally considered the granary of
Japan
because it supplied Sendai and the Tokyo-Yokohama market
with rice
and other farm commodities. Tohoku provided 20 percent of
the
nation's rice crop
(see Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
, ch. 4).
The climate, however, is harsher than in other parts of
Honshu and
permits only one crop a year on paddy land.
The inland location of many of the region's lowlands
has led to
a concentration of much of the population there. Coupled
with
coastlines that do not favor port development, this
settlement
pattern resulted in a much greater than usual dependence
on land
and railroad transportation. Low points in the central
mountain
range fortunately make communications between lowlands on
either
side of the range moderately easy. Tourism became a major
industry
in the Tohoku region, with points of interest including
the islands
of Matsushima Bay, Lake Towada, the Rikuchu Coastline
National
Park, and the Bandai-Asahi National Park.
Data as of January 1994
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