The is the fourth largest river in Japan and the largest in the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a ...

. It is long and drains an area of . page 793 It flows through mostly rural areas of Iwate and

Miyagi Miyagi may refer to: Places * Miyagi Prefecture, one of the 47 major divisions of Japan * Miyagi, Gunma, a village in Japan, merged into Maebashi in 2004 *Miyagi District, Miyagi, a district in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan Other uses * Miyagi (surna ...

Prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

. The source of the river is the

Mount Nanashiruge Mount Nanashiruge is the source of the Kitakami River in Japan, north of Iwate, Iwate. References

Mountains of Iwate Prefecture {{Japan-geo-stub ...

in northern Iwate, from which it flows to the south between the

Kitakami Mountains is a mountain range in northeastern Honshu, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan.Kitakami Moun ...

and the

Ōu Mountains The are a mountain range in the Tōhoku region of Honshū, Japan. The range is the longest range in Japan and stretches south from the Natsudomari Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture to the Nasu volcanoes at the northern boundary of the Kantō ...

. The river is unusual in that it has two mouths, one flowing south into Ishinomaki Bay and the other flowing east into the Pacific Ocean, both in

Ishinomaki is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 138,538, and a population density of 250 persons per km2 in 61,919 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Ishinomaki is in northeastern Miya ...

City. The Kitakami river was an important transportation route during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

and before the building of railways in the early

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

. Numerous dams have been constructed on the river and its tributaries from the Taishō and

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

s for hydroelectric power generation,

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

and irrigation. However, another unusual feature is that there are no dams from its mouth to the

Shijūshida Dam The is a dam on the Kitakami River, located in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture on the island of Honshū, Japan. History Shijūshida Dam is the fourth in a series of five multipurpose dams built directly on the main stream of the Kitakami River, start ...

north of Morioka. This allows for a spectacular

salmon run ''Salmon Run'' is a 1982 video game for the Atari 8-bit family created by Bill Williams and distributed via the Atari Program Exchange. ''Salmon Run'' was the first game in Williams's career, followed by a string of successes noted for their o ...

every fall.

Tributaries

In Iwate Prefecture from north to south showing from which direction the water flows and the city where it empties into the Kitakami River. * Tanto-gawa - from the east ( Iwate) * Matsu-gawa - from the west ( Hachimantai) *

Nakatsu River The is a river in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. It flows through the city of Morioka, where it enters the Kitakami River The is the fourth largest river in Japan and the largest in the Tōhoku region. It is long and drains an area of . page 7 ...

- from the east (

Morioka is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . ...

) *

Shizukuishi River The is a river in Iwate Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Honshū in Japan. The river is long and has a watershed of . The Shizukuishi River rises in the Ōu Mountains just south of Mount Akita-Komagatake in the town of Shizukuishi ...

- from the west (

) * Iwasaki-gawa - from the west ( Shiwa) * Takina-gawa - from the west ( Shiwa) * Kuzumaru-gawa - from the west (

Hanamaki is a Cities of Japan, city in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 94,691, and a population density of 100 persons per km², in 37,773 households. The total area of the city is . Hanamaki is famous as the birthplace ...

) * Hienuki-gawa - from the east (

) *

Sarugaishi River The is a river in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. The Sarugaishi River rises in the Kitakami Mountains just south of Mt. Yakushi in Tōno and empties into the Kitakami River in Hanamaki. The Tase Dam is on the Sarugaishi River, in eastern Hanamaki in ...

- from the east (

) * Se-gawa - from the west (

) * Toyosawa-gawa - from the west (

) *

Waga River The is a river in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. From its headwaters near Mt. Waga in the Ōu Mountains it flows from north to south through the entire length of Nishiwaga Town before turning east through Kitakami City. The River enters the Kita ...

- from the west ( Kitakami) *

Isawa River The is a river in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. For about half its length it marks the border between Kanegasaki Town and Ōshū City. The river's origin is in the Ōu Mountains just west of Mt. Yakeishi (1548 meters). At its highest point it is ...

- from the west (

Ōshū Oshu or Ōshū may refer to: *Another name for Mutsu Province, a former Japanese province *Ōshū, Iwate, Japan, a city *Northern Fujiwara The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese kuge, noble Japanese c ...

) * Hirose-gawa - from the east (

) * Hitokabe-gawa - from the east (

) * Koromo-gawa - from the west (

Hiraizumi is a town located in Nishiiwai District, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 7,408 and a population density of in 2,616 households. The total area of the town was . It is noted for the Historic Monuments and Sit ...

) * Iwai-gawa - from the west (

Ichinoseki is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. , the city had a population of 114,476 and a population density of 91 persons per km² in 46,375 households. It is currently the second largest city by population in ...

) * Kitetsu-gawa - from the north (

) * Senmaya-gawa - from the east (

) * Kinomi-gawa - from the east ( Fujisawa) * Kinryu-gawa - from the west (

)

References

External links

(mouth) (former mouth) Rivers of Iwate Prefecture Rivers of Miyagi Prefecture Iwate, Iwate Takizawa, Iwate Morioka, Iwate Yahaba, Iwate Shiwa, Iwate Hanamaki, Iwate Kitakami, Iwate Kanegasaki, Iwate Ōshū, Iwate Hiraizumi, Iwate Ichinoseki, Iwate Tome, Miyagi Ishinomaki Rivers of Japan {{Japan-river-stub

Tributaries

See also

References

External links