is a

rural district A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. I ...

located in

Yamagata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It has a population of 1,005,926 (1 February 2025) and an area of 9,325 Square kilometre, km2 (3,600 Square mile, sq mi). Its neighbours are Akita Prefectu ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. As of December 2013, the district has an estimated population of 26,429 and an area of 92.59 km². The portion of the cities of Yamagata and Tendō were formerly part of Higashimurayama District.

Towns and villages

* Nakayama * Yamanobe

History

Murayama County was an ancient place name in part of

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early per ...

, occupying the area of modern Mogami, Nishimurayama, Kitamurayama and Higashimurayama districts. Under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, the area Higashimurayama district was a complicated mosaic. The

controlled 12 villages as

tenryo The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, with an additional 2 villages as

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the Shōgun, shogunates in History of Japan, Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred ...

territory. Various domains controlled most of the remaining territory: 20 villages were part of

Tatebayashi Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Kōzuke Province (modern-day Gunma Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Tatebayashi Castle in what is now the city of Tatebayashi, Gunma. History Fol ...

, 19 villages were part of

Sakura Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Shimōsa Province (modern-day Chiba Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Sakura Castle in what is now the city of Sakura, Chiba. It was ruled for most of its hist ...

, 16 villages were part of

Tendō Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered in what is now the city of Tendō, Yamagata. Tendō was ruled by the tozama daimyo, tozama Oda clan, direct ...

, 7 villages were under

Yamagata Domain was a feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Yamagata Castle in what is now the city of Yamagata. Unlike some ''han'' whose control was relatively stable throughou ...

, 7 villages were part of

Tsuchiura Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Tsuchiura Castle in what is now the city of Tsuchiura, Ibaraki. It was rule ...

, 6 villages were part of

Tanakura Domain was a ''fudai'' Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in southern Mutsu Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Tanagura Castle, located in what is now part of the town of Tanagura, Fuk ...

and 12 villages were either shared between domains or were ecclesiastical territory. The area became part of Yamagata Prefecture in 1876. At that time, Higashimurayama District consisted of 1 town and 97 villages. With the establishment of the municipality system on April 1, 1889, the district was consolidated into one town (Tendō) and 23 villages. * On July 27, 1896 Yamanobe was raised to town status * On August 26, 1897 Nagasaki was raised to town status * On October 10, 1954 Nagasaki merged with the village of Toyota to form the town of Nakayama * On October 1, 1958 Tendō was raised to city status {{authority control Districts in Yamagata Prefecture