The also pronounced "Ojika" is a peninsula which projects southeast into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

from the coast of

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 northeast

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

, the main island of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The peninsula is most often visited as the gateway to the island of

Kinkasan , native_name_link = , image_caption = View from Oshika Peninsula , image_size = , locator_map = , map_custom = , nickname = , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Oshik ...

, which can be accessed by ferries running from the coastal whaling port of Ayukawa in

Ishinomaki, Miyagi 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 ...

and from

Onagawa is a town located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 6,319, and a population density of 97 persons per km2 in 3,110 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Onagawa is located on the rugged San ...

2011 earthquake and tsunami

The Oshika Peninsula was the closest part of Honshu to the epicenter of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, the closest parts of its eastern coastline approximately away, with only a few neighboring minor islands a few kilometers closer. A report on March 14 indicated that 1,000 bodies had washed ashore on the peninsula. The March 11 earthquake shifted Oshika Peninsula by towards the epicenter and lowered it by , according to the Geospatial Information Authority in

Tsukuba is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 244,528 in 108,669 households and a population density of 862 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 20.3%. The total ar ...

. These two land mass movements are records for Japan, according to government figures. Many small hamlets along the coast of the peninsula, administered by Ishinomaki City, were heavily damaged.

Yoriisohama

One of the hamlets affected by the tsunami was located about 1 km east of the

Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant The is a nuclear power plant located on a 1,730,000 m2 (432 acres) site in Onagawa in the Oshika District and Ishinomaki city, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It is managed by the Tohoku Electric Power Company. It was the most quickly constructed nu ...

, on a headland comprising cliffs and small fjord-like bays on the eastern side of the Oshika Peninsula. The main settlement is in a south-facing bay on the southern slope of , (153m high).Johannes H. Wilhelm (2005
Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the beliefs of Japanese fishing villages. With Special Reference to Yoriiso (Miyagi) and the Sanriku region
in ''Japanese Religions'', 30 (1 & 2): 21-53. Yoriiso was founded in the 14th century. Local legend has it that its name arose from a rock which was washed onto the beach and which was venerated by the villagers. ( = "the seashore rocks approach"). Formerly part of the town of Oshika, the hamlet became part 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 ...

. In April 2005. As of 2005 Yoriisohama consisted of about 100 households, with a population of about 500, mainly engaged in fishery and related occupations. Historically, Yoriiso included the hamlet of 500 metres to the west (population 100 / 25 households). Yoriisohama was largely destroyed by the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

. After their homes were destroyed by a 15 metre high wave, twelve inhabitants died. 150 residents took refuge in the local school which served as an evacuation centre.Survivors strive to start picking up the pieces

Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

27 March 2011. However, due to its location on a steep slope at the northern tip of the Samenoura bay, it was less severely damaged compared to other settlements in the bay.Johannes Wilhelm and Alyne Delaney (2013): No homes, no boats, no rafts: Miyagi coastal people in the aftermath of disaster, in: Tom Gill, Brigitte Steger and David H. Slater (eds.): ''Japan Copes with Calamity: Ethnographies of the Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disasters of March 2011''. Oxford u.a.O.: Peter Lang. pp. 99-124.

Notes

External links

{{Authority control Peninsulas of Japan Tourist attractions in Miyagi Prefecture Landforms of Miyagi Prefecture

2011 earthquake and tsunami

Yoriisohama

See also

Notes

External links