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 ...

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 (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

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rural district A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom.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

. The district makes up the suburban area of the

Aomori metropolitan area The , also known as the is a metropolitan region in the Japanese prefecture of Aomori that includes the city of Aomori and its surrounding satellites, Hiranai, Imabetsu, Sotogahama, and Yomogita. The metropolitan area is defined as the Aomori ...

. As of September 2013, the district had an estimated population of 24,011 and an area of 652.83 km². Much of the city of

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

was formerly part of Higashitsugaru District. In terms of national politics, the district is represented in the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

as a part of the

Aomori 1st district Aomori 1st district (青森県第1区, ''Aomori-ken dai-ikku'' or simply 青森1区, ''Aomori-ikku'') is a single-member constituency of the House of Representatives in the national Diet of Japan. It is located in Northern Aomori and covers the ...

Towns and villages

Hiranai () is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan and a part of the Aomori metropolitan area. , the town had an estimated population of 9,750 in 4,736 households, and a population density of 45 persons per km2. It is the most heavily populate ...

Imabetsu is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan and a part of the Aomori metropolitan area. , the town had an estimated population of 2,311 in 1338 households, and a population density of 18 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geogr ...

Sotogahama is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan and a part of the Aomori metropolitan area. , the town had an estimated population of 4,990 in 2239 households, and a population density of 22 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geogra ...

* Yomogita

History

The area of Higashitsugaru District was formerly part of Mutsu Province. At the time of 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

of 1868, the area consisted of one towns (Aomori) and 137 villages, formerly under the control of

Hirosaki Domain file:Hirosakijo.jpg, Hirosaki Castle, the seat of the Hirosaki Domain , also known as , was a ''tozama'' Han (Japan), feudal domain of Edo period JapanRavina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 It is located in Muts ...

and 28 villages under the control of

Kuroishi Domain was a '' tozama'' feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in northwestern Mutsu Province, Honshū. Its territory included 2000 ''koku'' in the area around present-day city of Kuroishi, 1000 ''koku'' in p ...

. Aomori Prefecture was founded on December 13, 1871, and Higashitsugaru District was carved out of the former Tsugaru District on October 30, 1878. file: Aomori HigashiTsugaru-gun 1889.png, Historic Map of Higashitsugaru District:
1.Aomori 2.Uramachi 3.Ōno 4.Takada 5.Takiuchi 6.Okuuchi 7.Yomogita 8.Tairadate 9.Imabetsu 10.Yokouchi 11.Hamadate 12. Azumadake 13.Nishi-Hiranai 14.Arakawa 15.Aburakawa 16.Shinjo 17.Ushirogata 18.Kanita 19.Ippongi 20.Minmaya 21.Tsutsui 22.Harabetsu 23.Nonai 24.Naka-Hiranai, later Kominato 25. Higashi-Hiranai
Purple= Aomori City, Pink=Hiranai, Orange=Imabtesu, Red=Sotogahama, Light Blue=Yomogita With the establishment of the municipality system on April 1, 1889, Higashitsugaru District, organized into one town (Aomori) and 24 villages, was established. When a municipality is elevated to, or is absorbed into a city, it ceases to be part of a district. For example, when the village, Nonai was incorporated into the city of Aomori as a neighborhood, it ceased to be part of a rural district. *1898 – Aomori was elevated to city status. *1919 – Aburakawa was elevated to town status. *1928 – Kominato was elevated to town status *1939 – Aburakawa was merged into the city of Aomori *1941 – Kanita was raised to town status *1951 – Tsutsui was raised to town status *1955 – Kominato absorbed two neighboring villages to become the town of Hiranai.

was also raised to town status *1962 – Nonai was merged into Aomori. *On March 28, 2005 - the town of Kanita and the villages of Tairadate and Minmaya were merged to form the new town of

References

{{Coord, 41.127, N, 140.542, E, type:landmark_source:itwiki, display=title Districts in Aomori Prefecture Aomori metropolitan area