Map showing original extent of Monou District in Miyagi Prefecture

colored area=original extent in Meiji period was a

rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...

Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...

, 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 ...

of northern Japan. The city of

Higashimatsushima is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 39,580 in 16102 households, and a population density of 390 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Higashi-Matsushima (lit. "East Matsus ...

and much of the city of

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 ...

were formerly part of this district, which was dissolved in 2005.

History

Under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

, the district was within

Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the comb ...

and was under the control of the

Date clan The is a Japanese samurai kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Date", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 5 retrieved 2013-5-5. History The Date family was founded ...

Sendai Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871. The Sendai Domain was based at Aoba Castle in Mutsu Province, in the modern city of Sendai, located in the Tōhoku region of the i ...

. In 1869, following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, Mutsu Province was divided, with the area of Monou District becoming part of

Rikuzen Province is an old province of Japan in the area of Miyagi Prefecture (excluding Igu, Katta District and Watari Districts) and parts of Iwate Prefecture (specifically Kesen District). Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Rikuzen''" in . It was some ...

, and from 1872, part of Miyagi Prefecture. In the establishment of the modern municipalities system, the district was organized into fifteen villages (Miyato (宮戸村), Nobiru (野蒜村), Ono (小野村), Takagi (鷹来村), Kanomata (鹿又村), Fukaya (深谷村), Maeyachi (前谷地村), Nakatsuyama (中津山村), Monou (桃生町), Oyachi (大谷地村), Iinogawa (飯野川町), Hashiura (橋浦村), Futamata (二股村), Okawa (大川村), Jugohama (十五浜村)). file:Miyagi Monou-gun 1889.png, 1. Miyato; 2. Nobiru; 3. Ono; 4. Takagi; 5. Kanomata; 6. Fukaya; 7. Maeyachi; 8. Nakatsuyama; 9. Monou; 10. Oyachi; 11. Iinogawa; 12. Hashiura; 13. Futamata; 14. Okawa; 15. Jugohama; Purple = Ishinomaki City; Red= Higashimatsushima City *April 1, 1896: The village of Fukaura was abolished; villages of Oshio, Akai, Kita, Sue and Hirobuchi were established. *March 26, 1901: The village of Iinogawa was elevated to town status. *April 1, 1940: The village of Takagi was elevated to town status and renamed Yamoto (矢本町) *April 1, 1941: The village of Jugohama was elevated to town status and renamed Ogatsu (雄勝町) *April 1, 1951: The village of Shishiori was elevated to town status *March 11, 1955: Okawa, Oyachi and Futamata merge with Iinogawa to form the town of Kahoku (河北町) *March 11, 1955: The villages of Kanomata, Maeyachi, Kita, Sue, Hirobuchi merge to form the town of Kanan (河南町) *March 11, 1955: The villages of Monou and Nakatsuyama merge to form the town of Monou. *March 30, 1955: The village Hashiura and the village of Jusanhama from Motoyoshi District merge to form the village of Kitakami (北上村) *May 3, 1955: The villages of Miyato, Nobiru and Ono merge to form the town of Naruse (鳴瀬町) *May 3, 1955: The villages of Akai and Oshio merge with the town of Yamoto. *April 1, 1961: The village of Kitakami is elevated to town status. * On April 1, 2005 - the towns of Yamoto and Naruse were merged to form the city of

. * On April 1, 2005 - the towns of Kahoku, Kanan, Kitakami, Monou, and Ogatsu were merged with the town of Oshika (from Oshika District) and Ishinomaki City to create a larger, new and expanded Ishinomaki City. {{coord missing, Miyagi Prefecture 2005 disestablishments in Japan Former districts of Miyagi Prefecture