is the capital

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 ...

, the largest city 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 ...

. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

Date Masamune was a regional ruler of Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful ''daimyō'' in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all ...

. It is nicknamed the ; there are

Japanese zelkova ''Zelkova serrata'' (Japanese zelkova, Japanese elm or keyaki or keaki; ja, 欅 (ケヤキ) keyaki /槻 (ツキ) tsuki; ; ko, 느티나무 neutinamu) is a species of the genus ''Zelkova'' native to Japan, Korea, eastern China and Taiwan.Flora ...

trees lining many of the main thoroughfares such as and . In the summer, the

Sendai Tanabata Festival , also known as the Star Festival ( 星祭り, ''Hoshimatsuri''), is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair res ...

, the largest

Tanabata , also known as the Star Festival ( 星祭り, ''Hoshimatsuri''), is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair res ...

festival in Japan, is held. In winter, the trees are decorated with thousands of lights for the , lasting through most of December. On 11 March 2011, coastal areas of the city suffered catastrophic damage from a magnitude 9.0 offshore earthquake, US Geological Survey 9.0 assessment
/ref>UK Foreign Office 9.0 assessment

/ref> which triggered a destructive

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

History

Edo period

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 ''

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 Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

(modern-day Tokyo). Sendai was an ideal location, being in the centre of Masamune's newly defined territories, upon the major road from Edo.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

gave Masamune permission to build a new castle in Aobayama after the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

. The previous ruler of the Sendai area had used a castle located on Aobayama. At this time Sendai was written as ("a thousand generations"), because a temple with a used to be located in Aobayama. Masamune changed the ''

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

'' to "", which later became "" (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 An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

(reigned 180–157 BCE), comparing it to a mythical palace in the

Kunlun Mountains The Kunlun Mountains ( zh, s=昆仑山, t=崑崙山, p=Kūnlún Shān, ; ug, كۇئېنلۇن تاغ تىزمىسى / قۇرۇم تاغ تىزمىسى ) constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the bro ...

. Tradition says that Masamune chose this ''kanji'' so that the castle would prosper as long as a mountain inhabited by an immortal hermit. Masamune ordered the construction of

Sendai Castle 260px, Layout of Aoba Castle is a Japanese castle located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Throughout the Edo period, Aoba Castle was home to the Date clan, ''daimyō'' of Sendai Domain. The castle was also known as or as . In 2003, the ca ...

in December 1600 and the construction of the surrounding

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

in 1601. The grid plan roads in modern-day central Sendai are based upon his plans. File:Sendai castle01s3872.jpg,

Aoba Castle 260px, Layout of Aoba Castle is a Japanese castle located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Throughout the Edo period, Aoba Castle was home to the Date clan, ''daimyō'' of Sendai Domain. The castle was also known as or as . In 2003, the ca ...

File:仙台城下絵図.jpg, Map of the Area around Sendai Castle File:Sendai Zuiho-den Tor 2.jpg,

Zuihōden in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan is the mausoleum complex of Date Masamune and his heirs, daimyō of the Sendai Domain. History When Date Masamune, known as and founder of the Sendai Domain, died in 1636, he left instructions for a mausoleu ...

File:Sendai Tōshō-gū haiden.jpg,

Sendai Tōshōgū is the memorial shrine of Tokugawa Ieyasu in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Five of its buildings, all dating to 1654, have been designated Important Cultural Properties. The torii and gates were damaged in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and t ...

File:Statue-of-Date-Masamune-in-Aobayama-Park-Sendai-2016.jpg,

Modern era

The first railway line between Sendai and Tokyo, now the

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukush ...

, opened in 1887, bringing the area within a day's travel from Tokyo for the first time in history.

Tohoku Imperial University , or is a Japanese national university located in Sendai, Miyagi in the Tōhoku Region, Japan. It is informally referred to as . Established in 1907, it was the third Imperial University in Japan and among the first three Designated National ...

, 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 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 ...

creation of the modern municipalities system following the

abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...

. At the time of incorporation, the city's area was 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 A , also known as a or , is a Japanese city that has a population greater than 500,000 and has been designated as such by order of the Cabinet of Japan under Article 252, Section 19, of the Local Autonomy Law. Designated cities are delegat ...

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 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 ...

, after the feudal

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 ...

encouraged residents to plant trees in their gardens. As a result, many houses, temples, and shrines in central Sendai had , which were used as resources for wood and other everyday materials. In 1925, the

Senseki Line The is a railway line in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Aoba-dōri Station in Sendai to Ishinomaki Station in Ishinomaki, and provides access to the central coast areas of M ...

to Sendai Station became the first underground railway segment in Japan, preceding the opening of the

Tokyo Metro Ginza Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The official name is . It is 14.3 km long and serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chūō, Chiyoda, and Taitō. It is the oldest subway line in Asia. The line was named af ...

(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 The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the ...

. During the

bombing of Sendai during World War II The on July 10, 1945, was part of the strategic bombing campaign waged by the United States against the civilian population and military targets during the Japan home islands campaign in the closing stages of World War II. Background The city of ...

by the United States on 10 July 1945, much of the historic center of the city was burned, with 2,755 inhabitants killed and 11,933 houses destroyed in the city. File:Sendai map circa 1930.PNG, A city map of 1927, Japanese language edition File:Tohoku Imperial University,1913.jpg,

File:Basho no Tsuji circa 1930.JPG, Basho no Tsuji（1930） File:Sendai after the 1945 air raid.JPG,

Bombing of Sendai during World War II The on July 10, 1945, was part of the strategic bombing campaign waged by the United States against the civilian population and military targets during the Japan home islands campaign in the closing stages of World War II. Background The city of ...

File:Tohoku Daigaku Honbu.jpg,

Tohoku University , or is a Japanese national university located in Sendai, Miyagi in the Tōhoku Region, Japan. It is informally referred to as . Established in 1907, it was the third Imperial University in Japan and among the first three Designated National ...

Katahira Campus

Postwar development

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 The is a south-north national expressway, and the longest expressway in Japan at . Its southern terminus is in Kawaguchi, Saitama in the Greater Tokyo Area, at the Tokyo Gaikan Expressway and Kawaguchi Route near Araijuku Station, and its northe ...

and

Tōhoku Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture in a route length of , making it Japan's longest Shinkansen line. It runs through the more sparsely populated Tōhoku region of Japan's main is ...

. In the early 1950s, the

United States Army, Japan United States Army, Japan (USARJ) is a Major Command of the United States Army. It consists of operating port facilities and a series of logistics installations throughout Honshū and Okinawa. USARJ participates actively with the Japan Ground Se ...

operated Camp Schimmelpfennig and Camp Sendai in the city. Sendai has been subject to several major earthquakes in recent history, including the

1978 Miyagi earthquake The 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 a small tsunami. The earthquake reached a maximum inten ...

, which was a catalyst for the development of Japan's current earthquake resistance standards, and the

2005 Miyagi earthquake On 16 August 2005, an earthquake struck the east coast of the Japanese island of Honshū at 11.46 am (02:46 UTC) on 16 August 2005, causing damage and power outages. The event registered 7.2 on the moment magnitude scale. Earthquake chara ...

. Most recently, the coastal area of Sendai, including

Sendai Airport is an international airport located in the city of Natori, Miyagi, south southeast of Sendai metropolis, Sendai, Japan. The airport is alternatively referred to as . History In 1940, the Imperial Japanese Army built Sendai Airport in order t ...

, was severely damaged in 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 ...

. The tsunami reportedly reached as far as Wakabayashi Ward Office, from 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. File:Sendai City War Reconstruction Memorial Hall cropped.jpg, Sendai City War Reconstruction Memorial Hall File:SH-60B helicopter flies over Sendai.jpg, An aerial view of Sendai harbour after the earthquake, 12 March 2011 File:Hinomaru-Sendai Bus OP-13 and OP-11 Rakuten Eagles Victory Parade 2013.jpg,

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

（2013）

Geography

Sendai is located at lat. 38°16'05" north, long. 140°52'11" east. The city's area is , and stretches from the Pacific Ocean to 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 re ...

, which are the east and west borders of Miyagi Prefecture. As 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 is a mountain within the Ōu Mountains on the border of Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. It is listed as one of the "200 famous mountains of Japan" and has a height of . The mountain is also k ...

which stands

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. Unique among Japan's large coastal cities, Sendai's city core is built on a terrace at elevation. The Sendai basin area is (the mountainous area is , the plain area is and the water body is ). The basin consists of urban areas, paddy fields and forests. The mid and upstream areas have forests. The

Natori River The is a river located in central Miyagi prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. It starts at Mount Kamuro in the Ōu Mountains and flows in an easterly direction through the cities of Natori and Sendai. The river's headwaters start ...

flows through the area and reaches Sendai Bay after . The flows through Sendai. The river 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.

was built close to the river to use the river as a natural

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

. 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 the more famous

Mount Zaō The , commonly called Mount Zaō, are a complex cluster of stratovolcanoes on the border between Yamagata Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. The central volcano of the group includes several lava domes and a tuff cone, Goshiki-dake, which ...

and Naruko volcanoes in nearby municipalities. However, many

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

can be found in the city, indicating

hydrothermal activity Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water (Ancient Greek ὕδωρ, ''water'',Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with th ...

. The Miyagi Oki

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

occurs offshore Sendai once every 25 to 40 years. The 7.2 magnitude

, 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 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, the 9.0 magnitude

2011 Tōhoku earthquake Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''El ...

occurred offshore Sendai, resulting in a devastating tsunami.

Wards

Sendai has five

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

("ku"), which were created when it became a

in 1989. The city consciously avoided names that included directions (e.g., north , center ) when it chose names for the new wards.

Cityscape

File:DownTown of SendaiCity01.jpg, View of Sendai from AER (2019) File:Night view from Mukaiyama.JPG, Sendai night skyline from Mukaiyama (2012） File:211028 Sendai Station Sendai Miyagi pref Japan02s5.jpg, Sendai Station (2021) File:Kokubuncho-dori ave. viewed from Jozenji-dori ave. cropped.jpg, Kokubunchō (2010) File:Koutoudai Park3.jpg, Kōtōdai Park (2007)

Climate

Sendai has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfa''), which features warm and wet summers, and cool and dry winters. Sendai summers are not as hot as

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

to the south, while the winters are much milder than

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

to the north, but retains significant seasonal differences in temperature and rainfall. Extremes range from . Of Japan's prefectural capitals, Sendai experiences the fewest days of extreme temperatures (highs outside ) at 19.6 per year, compared to Tokyo's average of 49. Winters are cool and relatively dry, with January temperatures averaging . Snowfall is much lower than cities on the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

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 . The city is rarely hit by

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

s, and experiences only 6 days with more than of rainfall on average. Sendai's

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

season usually begins in late April to early October, which is later than in most cities in Japan. During this season, cold winds from the Okhotsk air mass, called "

Yamase Yamase (written: 山瀬) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese musician *, Japanese footballer See also * Yamase Station, a railway station in Yoshinogawa, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan * ...

", blow in and depress daytime highs.

Demographics

In 2020 the city had an estimated population of 1,091,407 and a population density of 1,400 persons per km². The city's total area was 786.30 km². Most people in the city at this time lived in urban areas close to train and subway stations. The 2000 National Census revealed that 88.5% of the city's population (892,252 people) lived in a 129.69 km² area, which is 16.6% of the city's total area. The population density in this area was 6,879.9 persons per km², more than 5 times higher than the city's average population density at that time, 1,286.6 persons per km². 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 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.

Governance

Sendai's political system is similar to other cities in Japan, because the

Local Autonomy Law The , passed by the House of Representatives and the House of Peers on March 28, 1947 and promulgated as Law No. 67 of 1947 on April 17,Ministry of Justice, Japanese Law Translation Database SystemLocal Autonomy Act/ref> is an Act of devolution t ...

makes all municipalities uniform in terms of organization and power. However, Sendai is a designated city, so it has the same jurisdiction as

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 ...

in some areas. Sendai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

city legislature. The Sendai City Assembly members are elected from 5 elective districts, which correspond to 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 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 A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

List of Mayors of Sendai (1889 to present)

Economy

Sendai is the center of the Tōhoku region's economy, and is the base of the region's logistics and transportation. The

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is often ...

in Greater Sendai, Sendai

Metropolitan Employment Area is a definition of metropolitan areas used in Japan, defined by the Center for Spatial Information Service of the University of Tokyo. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry defined 233 areas for the UEAs of Japan. It is different from ...

(1.6 million people), 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

, which is well known for its science and engineering departments. There are also incentives for startups available from the prefectural government.

Tohoku Electric Power is an electric utility, servicing 7.6 million individual and corporate customers in six prefectures in Tōhoku region plus Niigata Prefecture. It provides electricity at 100 V, 50 Hz, though some area use 60 Hz. 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 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.

Education

Sendai is sometimes called an because the city has many universities relative to its population. Universities located within Sendai include: *

Tohoku Gakuin University is a private university in Sendai, Japan. It was founded under a Christian background (specifically the German Reformed Church, which later was known as the Reformed Church in the United States. A large part of the Reformed Church in the United S ...

Miyagi University is a public university located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1997, the university has currently two campuses in Miyagi prefecture, after merging with Miyagi Agricultural College in 2005. The university is often called "MYU" or "Miya- ...

Miyagi Gakuin Women's University is a private university in Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. History The Miyagi Girls' School was founded by the Reformed Church in the United States in Japan with the assistance of missionaries Masayoshi Oshikawa Masayoshi Oshikawa (押川方義 ...

Miyagi University of Education , is a national university at Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1873, and it was chartered as a university in 1965., Florida State University website (sister university). It is accredited by the Japanese Ministr ...

Tohoku Fukushi University is a Japanese private university in Sendai. Notable alumni Politics *Shintaro Ito *Itsunori Onodera Sports *Baseball ** Mamoru Kishida **Takashi Saito **Kazuhiro Sasaki ** Kazuhiro Wada **Ken Kadokura **Tomoaki Kanemoto *Figure skating **Akiko ...

* Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University Schools in the city include

Tohoku International School Tohoku International School (TIS) is a coeducational international school located in Izumi-ku, Sendai, Japan. There are about 100 students from kindergarten (ages 4–5) to grade 12. TIS is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Co ...

Transport

Airport

The city is served by

(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.

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

'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 the station to the

Sendai Subway The is a rapid transit system in Sendai, Japan. It is operated by the Sendai City Transportation Bureau. The subway consists of two lines, the north-south Namboku Line, which opened in July 1987, and the east-west Tozai Line, which opened in ...

. 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. * JR logo (east)

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

(JR East) **

: **

: – – – – **

Jōban Line The Jōban Line ( ja, 常磐線, ) is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line officially begins at Nippori Station in Arakawa, Tokyo before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, ...

: – – **

Senzan Line The is a railway line in Japan. Part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) system, it runs from Sendai Station in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture to Uzen-Chitose Station in Yamagata, Yamagata Prefecture, acting as a connector between the T� ...

: – – – – – – – – – – – – – **

: – – – – – – – – – *

(All stations)

Bus

In addition to the public bus system, a loop bus called Loople runs between tourism hotspots around the city.

Highways

The

runs north–south through western Sendai, and is connected to other highways, such as the Sendai-Nambu Road, Sendai-Tobu Road, Sanriku Expressway (Sendai-Matsushima Road), and Sendai Hokubu Road. * * * * * * * * * * * *

Port

Ferries connecting

Tomakomai is a city and port in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the largest city in the Iburi Subprefecture, and the fourth largest city in Hokkaido. As of 29 February 2012, it had an estimated population of 174,216, with 83,836 households, ...

and

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

stop at the Port of Sendai. File:211028 Sendai Airport Sendai Miyagi prefecture Japan01bs.jpg,

File:Sendai Station west entrance 2020.jpg, Sendai Station File:International Center Station south1 exit 20160105.jpg, International Center Station File:Miyakoh-Sendai-Highwaybuscenter.jpg, Sendai Highway Buscenter File:MiyagiKendo23Go2007-10.jpg, Sendai-Tōbu Road（ Gurutto Sendai） File:SendaiPortCentralPark and Port of Sendai.JPG, Sendai Port

Culture

Streets

The most well-known streets in Sendai, and , are both lined with Japanese zelkovas. These are symbols of "The City of Trees". Jozenji-Dori has 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 . Aoba-Dori is the main business road in Sendai. Other major roads in the city include Hirose-Dori (

ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants. The scientific name is also used as the English name. The order to which it belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, 270 million years ago, and is now the only living genus within ...

), and Higashi-Nibancho-Dori.

Festivals

The most famous festival in Sendai is Tanabata, which attracts more than 2 million visitors every year and is the largest

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 A is a sacred religious palanquin (also translated as portable Shinto shrine). Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle to transport a deity in Japan while moving between main shrine and temporary shrine during a festival or when ...

, floats, a samurai parade, and traditional dancing. Local people burn their

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

decorations and pray for health in 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 is a dance festival, derived from the

Yosakoi Festival Yosakoi () is a unique style of dance that originated in Japan and that is performed at festivals and events all over the country. The first Yosakoi festival was held in 1954 in Kōchi, Japan, on the island of Shikoku. Yosakoi-style dancing has ...

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 Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

, Sendai's sister city. In 2005, the streets were lit up with one million miniature bulbs.

Specialties and crafts

Sendai is the origin of several foods, including ''

gyūtan is a Japanese food that is made from grilled beef tongue. The word gyūtan is a combination of the Japanese word for and the English word ''tongue''. Since gyūtan literally means "cow tongue," the word is also used to refer to cow tongues i ...

'' (beef tongue, usually grilled),

hiyashi chūka is a Chinese noodle style Japanese dish consisting of chilled ramen noodles with various toppings served in the summer. It is also called in Kansai region and in Hokkaido. Toppings are usually colorful cold ingredients and a ''tare'' sauce ...

(cold Chinese noodles), and

robatayaki In Japanese cuisine, , often shortened to ''robata'' (ろばた in hiragana), refers to a method of cooking, similar to barbecue, in which items of food are cooked at varying speeds over hot charcoal. Many Japanese restaurants, both in Japan a ...

(Japanese-style barbecue). However, robatayaki was later introduced to

Kushiro is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. It serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. Geography Mountains * Mount Oakan * Mount Meakan * Mount Akan ...

, which developed and popularized the dish. As a result, many people believe Kushiro is the origin of Robatayaki. Zundamochi (ずんだ餅,

mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...

balls with sweet, bright green edamame paste), and sasakamaboko (笹かまぼこ,

kamaboko is a type of cured , a processed seafood product common in Japanese cuisine. is made by forming various pureed deboned white fish with either natural or man-made additives and flavorings into distinctive loaves, which are then steamed u ...

shaped like bamboo leaves) are also considered to be Sendai specialties. Sendai is also known for good

sashimi is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce. Origin The word ''sashimi'' means "pierced body", i.e. "刺身" = ''sashimi'', where 刺し = ''sashi'' (pierced, stuck) ...

sushi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...

, and

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

. This is because Sendai is near several major fishing ports, such as

Kesennuma is a city in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 59,803 and a population density of in 26,390 households. The total area of the city is . Large sections of the city were destroyed by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake an ...

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 ...

, and

Shiogama is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 52,662, and a population density of 3,032 persons per km² in 23,270 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Shiogama is in north-central Miya ...

, and the fact that Miyagi Prefecture is a major producer of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

. There are many

ramen is a Japanese dish, Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese ...

restaurants in Sendai, and the area is known for a particular spicy

miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and ''kōji'' (the fungus ''Aspergillus oryzae'') and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spread ...

. Also, Sendai station offers the most types of

ekiben are a specific type of ''bento'' boxed meals, sold on trains and at train stations in Japan. They come with disposable chopsticks (when necessary) or spoons. ''Ekiben'' containers can be made from plastic, wood, or ceramic. Many train stations ...

of any station in Japan. In autumn, many people organise Imonikai, a sort of picnic by the river which involves making a potato stew called ''

Imoni is a type of taro and meat soup eaten traditionally in the autumn in the Tōhoku region of Japan. Yamagata Prefecture in particular is famous for its imoni, but other prefectures in the region also have their own different varieties. Imoni is ...

''. Many crafts from Sendai were originally created under the influence of the Date family 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 ...

. 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 , are simple wooden Japanese dolls with no arms or legs that have been crafted for more than 150 years as a toy for children. Originally from the northeastern region ( Tōhoku-chihō) of Japan, they are handmade from wood, having a simple trunk ...

dolls were popularized by hot spring resorts that sold them as gifts. Some relatively recent developments include Sendai Tsuishu

lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be ca ...

ware and Tamamushinuri lacquerware, both of which were developed after the

. Sendai was also known for its production of

Tansu are traditional Japanese mobile storage cabinets. are commonly used for the storage of clothing, particularly kimono. were first recorded in the Genroku era (1688–1704) of the Edo period (1603–1867). The two characters, and , appear to ha ...

, clothing drawers made from wood with elaborate ironwork.

Sites of interest

Sendai is home to historical sites related to 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 ...

. The ruins of

are close to downtown on Aobayama, which also gives a panoramic view of the city. The

is the tomb of

and is home to artifacts related to the Date family. It is on a hill called Kyogamine, which is the traditional resting place for Date family members. In Aoba-ku, the

Ōsaki Hachiman-gū Osaki is a type of spirit possession of a fox told about in legends of Japan. They are also called osaki-gitsune. They can also alternatively be written 尾先. Other ways of writing them include 尾裂, 御先狐, 尾崎狐, among others. Conce ...

''shaden'', built in 1607 by Date Masamune, is designated a

National Treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...

Mutsu Kokubun-ji Yakushidō is a Buddhist temple in Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai, Japan, belonging to the Shingon-shū Chizan-ha sect, and is the provincial temple ("kokubunji") of former Mutsu Province. The grounds of the temple are a National Historic Site. and one of its s ...

is the

provincial temple were Buddhist temples established in each of the provinces of Japan by Emperor Shōmu during the Nara period (710 – 794). History Shōmu (701 – 756?) decreed both a ''kokubun-ji'' for monks and a for nuns to be established in each ...

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 ...

Newer historical sites include the former home of Doi Bansui, a famous lyricist, and a monument at Sendai City Museum that commemorates the Chinese writer

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...

. Another statue of Lu Xun can be found in the Tohoku University Katahira Campus, where Lu Xun studied medical science. Older historical sites include the Tōmizuka Tomb, a tomb that dates back to the late 4th century or early 5th century, and the Tomizawa Preserved Forest site, where the excavated remains of a

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

human settlement (

Upper Palaeolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

– roughly 20,000 years ago) have been protected by a large museum structure, built in 1996. The nearby

Site of Tagajō was a ''jōsaku''-style Japanese castle built in the late Nara period in what is now part of the city of Tagajō in Miyagi prefecture in the Tōhoku region of far northern Honshu, Japan. Bashō tells of his visit to the site in ''Oku no Hosomi ...

was an important early fort and administrative centre.

Museums

Sendai City Museum The is the main museum of Sendai, Miyagi, Sendai, Japan, and is located in the former Third Bailey of Sendai Castle. The museum displays various artifacts related to the Date clan and the history of Sendai. Date Masamune's famous suit of armor a ...

displays artifacts related to the Date family and the history of Sendai. Date Masamune's famous suit of armour and artifacts related to

Hasekura Tsunenaga was a kirishitan Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyō of Sendai. He was of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu. Other names include Philip Francis Faxicura, Felipe Francisco Faxicura, and Phi ...

's visit to Rome (

National Treasures of Japan Some of the National Treasures of Japan A is the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs (a special body of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scien ...

) are sometimes on display. The

Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It opened in 2015 as a successor to the Marinepia Matsushima Aquarium, which had been open for 88 years. Exhibits Inherited from the Marinepia Matsushima Aquarium are Commerson's ...

, which opened in 2015 as a successor to the

Marinepia Matsushima Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It opened in 2015 as a successor to the Marinepia Matsushima Aquarium, which had been open for 88 years. Exhibits Inherited from the Marinepia Matsushima Aquarium are Commerson's ...

, is focusing on raising the

Sanriku , sometimes known as , lies on the northeastern side of the island of Honshu, corresponding to today's Aomori, Iwate and parts of Miyagi Prefecture and has a long history. The 36 bays of this irregular coastline tend to amplify the destructivenes ...

fish, the blue sharks. The

Miyagi Museum of Art opened in Sendai, Japan, in 1981. The collection has as its primary focus works associated with Miyagi Prefecture and the Tōhoku region more generally, from the Meiji period to the present day, and also includes paintings by Wassily Kandinsky a ...

is Sendai's largest art museum. A total of 24 sculptures have been installed in public locations in Sendai through its 'City of Sculptures' project. The

Sendai City Tomizawa Site Museum The is an archaeology museum in the city of Sendai in northern Japan that preserves a fossilized forest, where the remains of human habitation that occurred 20,000 years ago were discovered during surveying work in 1988. The museum opened in ...

in the southern part of the city preserves a fossilized forest where the remains of human habitation from 20,000 years ago can be seen. The Sendai City War Reconstruction Memorial Hall is dedicated to remembering the air raid of July 1945 in which most of Sendai was destroyed. Other museums include the 3M Sendai City Science Museum, Sendai Literature Museum and Tohoku University's Museum of Natural History.

Natural sites

Western Sendai is home to many sites of natural beauty, many of them found around Akiu Onsen and

Sakunami is a hot spring resort district in northern Japan about to the northwest of downtown Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. History Local legend attributes the foundation of Sakunami Onsen to the wandering Buddhist priest Gyōki in 721 AD In the early Kam ...

, which are hot spring resorts. Sites around the Akiu area include the

Akiu Great Falls is a waterfall located in Taihaku-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It is a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty. It is one of "Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls", in a listing published by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in ...

, sometimes counted as one of Japan's three great waterfalls, and the Rairai Gorge, known for its autumn colours. The Futakuchi Gorge contains waterfalls that have been designated as natural monuments and the Banji Cliffs, an example of

columnar basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

. The Sakunami area is also known for its natural environment, with

cherry blossom A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

s in the spring, and autumnal colours. The nearby Hōmei Shijuhachi Taki Falls is the name of waterfalls found in the higher reaches of the Hirose River. The origin of the name "Hōmei" (鳳鳴, "

Chinese phoenix ''Fènghuáng'' (, ) are mythological birds found in Sinospheric mythology that reign over all other birds. The males were originally called ''fèng'' and the females ''huáng'', but such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and ...

cry") is said to come from ancient local inhabitants' claim that the sound of the waterfalls was similar to the legendary bird's call. Matsushima miyagi z

The Tatsunokuchi Gorge offers a view of a

petrified wood Petrified wood, also known as petrified tree (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of ''fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. ''P ...

next to the Otamaya-bashi bridge. Nishi Park and Tsutsujigaoka Park are appreciated for their cherry blossom in the spring. The Hirose River and the Gamo tideland are home to diverse wildlife.

Matsushima is a group of islands in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. There are some 260 tiny islands (''shima'') covered in pines (''matsu'') – hence the name – and it is considered to be one of the Three Views of Japan. Nearby cultural properties ...

, which is one of the

Three Views of Japan The is the canonical list of Japan's three most celebrated scenic sights, attributed to 1643 and scholar Hayashi Gahō. In 1915, modeled on the old Three Views of Japan, Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha (株式会社実業之日本社) held a national elect ...

, is near Sendai, in

Other sites

Sendai Mediatheque Sendai Mediatheque is a library in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It was designed by Toyo Ito in 1995 and completed in 2001. History The Sendai Mediatheque held its official opening in January 2001. Ito also refers to Mies' Barcelona Pavilio ...

is a multipurpose facility that houses the city library, galleries, and film studio facilities open for use by the general public. The building was designed by

Toyo Ito is a Japanese architect known for creating conceptual architecture, in which he seeks to simultaneously express the physical and virtual worlds. He is a leading exponent of architecture that addresses the contemporary notion of a "simulated" ...

and is known for its innovative architecture. The AER Building, Miyagi Prefectural Office, and SS30 Building have observation decks that offer panoramic views. The Sendai Trust Tower is the tallest building in Tohoku and

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. Uminomori Aquarium opened in July 2015, built near the Port of Sendai. The

Sendai Daikannon Sendai Daikannon (), officially known as the Sendai Tendou Byakue Daikannon (仙台天道白衣大観音), is a large statue of ''Byakue Kannon'' (白衣観音) bearing a gem in her hand located in Sendai, Japan. It is among the tallest statue ...

is an approximately high

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

statue. The statue was built during Japan's

bubble economy An economic bubble (also called a speculative bubble or a financial bubble) is a period when current asset prices greatly exceed their intrinsic valuation, being the valuation that the underlying long-term fundamentals justify. Bubbles can be c ...

by a now defunct company. It was once the tallest statue in the world. Sendai also contains a

Peace Pagoda A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa; a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most, though not all, peace pagodas built since World War II ...

, built by

Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga , often referred to as just Nipponzan Myohoji or the Japan Buddha Sangha, is a Japanese new religious movement and activist group founded in 1917 by Nichidatsu Fujii, emerging from Nichiren Buddhism. "Nipponzan Myōhōji is a small Nichiren Buddh ...

in 1974.

Religion

Shinto

Shinto shrines in Sendai include

Miyagiken Gokoku Shrine Miyagiken Gokoku Shrine (宮城縣護國神社, ''Miyagiken gokoku jinja'') is a Shinto shrine located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It enshrines the kami of "martyrs of the state" (国事殉難者) and its annual festivals take place on ...

, Tsubonuma Hachiman Shrine,

Futahashira Shrine Futahashira Shrine (二柱神社, ''Futahashira jinja'') is a Shinto shrine located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The main kami enshrined here are Izanagi and Izanami. See also *List of Shinto shrines in Japan This is a list of notable ...

, and

, a memorial shrine of

Catholicism

The Catholic Church has been associated with Sendai since 1613, the year in which

, ''daimyō'' of Sendai, built a galleon to send an embassy to the Pope in Rome headed by

. Although the embassy was successful in its aim of establishing relations with the Holy See, Masamune's plans were frustrated by the suppression of Christianity in Japan. The Diocese of Sendai (previously the Diocese of Hakodate) was established in 1891, only two years after the promulgation of a new constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion in Japan, in 1889. The Bishop of Sendai currently oversees the four northern prefectures of Miyagi, Fukushima, Iwate and Aomori, serving 11,152 Catholics in 56 parishes. Mototerakoji, the Cathedral of the diocese, is located a few blocks north of Sendai Station.

Sports

Although the

Lotte Orions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...

briefly used Sendai as a temporary home for the franchise from 1973 to 1977, the city was largely ignored by professional sports until 1994. In that year, the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team was changed into a club team, Brummel Sendai, with the goal of eventually being promoted into the

J.League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most successfu ...

. The team achieved this goal when the J. League expanded in 1999 with the creation of a second division. The name of the team was simultaneously changed to

Vegalta Sendai is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in J2 League. The team is located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. History Founded in 1988 as ''Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. Soccer Club'', Vegalta joined the J-League in 1999 after p ...

. Currently the city also host semi-professional outfit

Sony Sendai FC is a Japanese football club based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan that plays in the Japan Football League. The team colour is navy. History The club was founded by the workers of Sony's Sendai factory in 1968. They kept a low profile play ...

. In 2005, the number of professional sports teams based in Sendai suddenly increased to three. The

was introduced as a new

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

baseball franchise after widely publicized turmoil involving the merger of the

Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stad ...

and the

Orix Blue Wave The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefect ...

developed into the first strike in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

. Additionally, the

Japan Basketball League The Japan Basketball League (JBL) was a professional basketball league in Japan. It made up the top-tier of basketball in Japan alongside the bj league, Japan's other basketball competition, with no promotion and relegation between bj and the JBL. ...

, which began its inaugural season in November 2005, included the

Sendai 89ers The Sendai 89ers (仙台89ERS) are a Japanese professional basketball team that compete in the first division of the B.League. They are based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. The team name is based on the city's founding year, 1889. Current roster ...

among its first six teams. Annual sporting events include the Sendai Cup, an international football tournament for U-18 teams, and the Sendai International

Half Marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

. In 2006 of the Sendai International half marathon, Mizuki Noguchi, who won the women's marathon gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, took part in and won the race in a surprising course record. Various sporting venues can be found in Sendai, such as

Hitomebore Stadium Miyagi , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is an athletic and football stadium in the town of Rifu in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The stadium's capacity is 49,133. The crescent-shaped roof extending past the edge of the stadium is meant to e ...

(venue of

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

Yurtec Stadium Sendai is a football (soccer), football stadium in the Nanakita Park, Izumi-ku, Sendai, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Built in 1997, it is home to Vegalta Sendai, MyNavi Sendai, Mynavi Sendai Ladies and Sony Sendai FC, Sony Sendai. The stadium ...

Miyagi Baseball Stadium , officially Miyagi Baseball Stadium, is a baseball stadium located in Miyaginohara Sports Park in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The 30,508-seat ballpark is owned by the prefecture and operated by Rakuten, which has used it as the home field f ...

Sendai City Gymnasium is an indoor sporting arena located in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 7,000. It hosted preliminary round games for the Basketball World Championship 2006, and is also the home arena of the Sendai 89ers of the Japan profess ...

, Sendai Athletic Stadium,

Shellcom Sendai is a multipurpose athletic facility located in Izumi-ku, Sendai, Japan. Managed by the city of Sendai, it can be configured for softball, futsal and tennis, among other sports. International events, such as exhibition matches between the U ...

and

Sendai Hi-Land Raceway Sendai Hi-Land Raceway was a motor racing circuit in 12 Hayasaka, Shinkawa, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. In the 1990s, Sendai hosted rounds of the Japanese Touring Car Championship and Japanese Grand Touring Championship. It also ...

. The city is also known as the origin of

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

in Japan, and both 2006 Olympic gold medalist

Shizuka Arakawa is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004 World champion. Arakawa is the first Japanese skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating and the second Japanese skater to win any Olympic medal in fi ...

and two-time Olympic gold medalist (2014, 2018)

Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. He is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), a two-time World champion (2014, 2017), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), the 2020 Four Continents champion, the 2010 World J ...

trained in Sendai during their childhood.

and Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School are well known for their strong sports programs, the latter for

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. In 2006, Sendai hosted some games of the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

. Before that, the city had some experience at hosting international basketball events such as the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

editions of the

FIBA Women's Asia Cup The FIBA Women's Asia Cup is an international basketball tournament which takes place every two years for women's national teams from FIBA Asia, and since 2017 FIBA Oceania. It was known as the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Championship u ...

Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling , often called , is a Japanese women's professional wrestling promotion. It is based in the city of Sendai, Miyagi in the Tohoku region. History Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling was founded in 2005 by Meiko Satomura, a female professional wrestler ...

is a joshi wrestling company based in sendai.

Baseball

( Pa.League)

Basketball

(

B.League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that w ...

)

Football

(

) *

MyNavi Sendai is a women's football club playing in Japan's football league, WE League. Its hometown is the city of Sendai. Kits Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors Stadium Their home stadium is Yurtec Stadium Sendai, in Izumi-ku, Sendai, although a few home ...

（ WE.League）

Futsal

Voscuore Sendai was a Japanese futsal club, played in the F. League. The team was located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Their main arena was Sendai Gymnasium is an indoor sporting arena located in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. The capacity of the arena i ...

（

F.League The F. League (in Japanese: "F・リーグ", officially "日本フットサルリーグ", Nihon Futtosaru Rīgu) is the top league for Futsal in Japan. The winning team obtains the participation right to the AFC Futsal Club Championship. Histo ...

）

Volleyball

*Ligare Sendai（ V.League）

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Sendai has a long history of international relationships. Its affiliation with

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, on March 9, 1957, is the second oldest sister city partnership in Japan. Sendai is twinned with: *

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...

, Mexico (since October 1973) *

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, Basque Country, Spain (since October 1970) *

Changchun Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...

Jilin Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

, China (since October 1980) *

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States (since August 1997) *

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

, South Korea (since April 2002) *

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, Belarus (since April 1973) *

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, France (since September 1967) *

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States (since March 1957)

Friendship cities

Sendai also cooperates with: *

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

North Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia ( fi, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa; sv, Norra Österbotten) is a region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland, Kainuu, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of Karelia. T ...

, Finland (since November 2005) *

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" ...

, Taiwan (since January 2006)

International events

The

Sendai International Music Competition The Sendai International Music Competition is a triennial violin and piano music competition held in Sendai, Japan, presented in association with the Sendai International Music Competition Organizing Committee, City of Sendai and the Sendai Cu ...

takes place every three years, welcoming participants from around the world. Sendai has hosted international conferences about disaster management, as is recognized as a model city for disaster risk prevention.

Notable people

Akitoshi Saito is a Japanese professional wrestler who is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Early life Before pro wrestling, Akitoshi Saito was trained in karate by Masashi Aoyagi. Saito seconded Aoyagi i ...

, Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

who currently works for

Pro Wrestling Noah (stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left the ...

(Currently lives in

Nagoya, Aichi is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

) *

Hirohiko Araki is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his long-running series ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'', which began publication in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' in 1987 and has over 120 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

artist; creator of ''

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly ''seinen'' manga ...

''. The fictional city of Morioh that appears in ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' is based on Sendai. *

Miho Arakawa 松来未祐のアルカナの扉 #4、アイドル専門チャンネルPigoo、2014年放送。 is a Japanese voice actress Voice acting in Japan is an industry where actors provide voice-overs as characters or narrators in media includ ...

, voice actress *

Chris Broad Chris Broad may refer to: * Chris Broad (cricketer) Brian Christopher Broad (born 29 September 1957) is a former English cricketer and broadcaster who currently serves as a cricket official. As an opening batsman, he played 26 Test matches for ...

, British YouTuber based in Sendai *

Mika Doi is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator who was born in Sendai.Doi, Hitoshi. She's also the Japanese voice actor for the charcacter Daisy Duck"Doi Mika" ''Seiyuu Database''. January 3, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2011. Filmography Te ...

, voice actress *

Mimori Yusa , (born February 20, 1964, in Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture), is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She made her nationwide debut at the age of 6 on the TV program Chibikko Nodojiman, which she recited the Takibi nursery rhyme. Shortly after graduating ...

, singer-songwriter *

, figure skater and two time

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

champion (

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

) *

Eugen Herrigel Eugen Herrigel (20 March 1884 – 18 April 1955) was a German philosopher who taught philosophy at Tohoku Imperial University in Sendai, Japan, from 1924 to 1929 and introduced Zen to large parts of Europe through his writings. While living in ...

lectured at

from 1924 until 1929Shoji Yamada Shots in the Dark * Sharla Hinskens, Canadian YouTuber based in Sendai *

Kanata Hongō is a Japanese actor, voice actor and Model (person), model. He is part of Stardust Promotion and has appeared several times in music videos, movies, TV series, and magazines. His major breakthrough role was as Ryoma Echizen in the The Prince of ...

, actor and model *

Karen Iwata is an actress and former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48 under Team A. Biography Iwata was born on May 13, 1998 in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Her mother is Miwa Sugawara, who works as a TV personality in Sendai. As a child, Iwata ...

, member of girl-group

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...

Monkey Majik Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

, band, formed and based in Sendai *

Hikaru Minegishi , also known by his nickname Pika, is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Thai League 2 club Uthai Thani and the Philippines national team. Early life and education Minegishi was born on June 5, 1991. His Filipino mother is a ...

, footballer *

Yūsei Oda , is a Japanese voice actor from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Filmography Anime *''Birdy the Mighty'', Mori *''Charlotte'', Udō (ep 2) *''Cybuster'', Ken *''Digimon Xros Wars'', Stingmon *''Dragon Ball Super'', Zenō's Attendant, Anato, K ...

, voice actor *

Minene Sakurano is the pen name of a Japanese manga artist born on November 29 in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Sakurano made her debut in 1995 with her story ''Mother Doll'', which tied for first place in the 1st Enix 21st Century Manga Prize contest, s ...

artist; creator of ''

Mamotte Shugogetten is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Minene Sakurano which was serialized in the monthly magazine '' Shōnen GanGan'' from 1996 to 2000. A continuation was published in ''Comic Blade'' titled from 2002 to 2005. The manga ...

'' *

Kimi Sato Kimi Sato (born 5 March 1949) is a Japanese composer. Biography She was born in Sendai where she studied with Yoshiro Irino and graduated from the Toko Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo. She continued her studies at the Paris Conservatory with Ol ...

, composer *

Somei Satoh is a Japanese composer of contemporary music. His compositions mix Japanese court music with European romanticism and electronic music. His musical career began with an experimental, mix media group called "Tone Field" in Tokyo. He studied at ...

, composer *

Satomi Satō is a Japanese voice actress and singer. Biography Satō is affiliated with Aoni Production's Junior Talent. She attended Tokyo Announce Gakuin Performing Arts College. She is known as , as means "sugar" in Japanese. She announced her marriage ...

, voice actress *

, figure skater and

Champion (

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

) *

Yoko Kanno is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer best known for her work on the soundtracks of anime series, television series, live-action films, video games, and advertisements. She was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. She has wri ...

, composer * Ayumi Ishida, member of girl-group Morning Musume '17 *

Ai Fukuhara is a retired Japanese table tennis player and Olympic medalist, winning silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics and bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympics with the Japanese women's team. She is sponsored by All Nippon Airways. Table tennis career Fuk ...

, table tennis player *

Tomokazu Harimoto is a Japanese table tennis player. In 2016, he won the world junior singles and team title at the 2016 World Junior Table Tennis Championships for Japan. In August 2017, he became the youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour men's singles ti ...

, table tennis player * Shun Sato, figure skater and 2019

Junior Grand Prix Final The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final or JGP Final (titled the ISU Junior Series Final in the 1997–98 season) is the culmination of a series of junior-level competitions – the ISU Junior Grand Prix organized by the International Skating Union. Medals ...

Champion *

Dash Chisako , better known by her ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. She was trained by Meiko Satomura and has worked for her Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling promotion since her debut in July 2006. For the first ten years of her career, Chisako was ...

Wrestler in sendai girls pro wrestling *

Sendai Sachiko is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . She was trained by Meiko Satomura and made her debut for her Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling promotion in July 2006. Her older sister Chisako is also a professional wrestl ...

former wrestler in sendai girls pro wrestling

References

External links

*
Official Website

Sendai traveling information
{{Authority control Cities in Miyagi Prefecture Populated places established in 1600 Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan