is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in

Miyagi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...

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 ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 52,662, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 3,032 persons per km² in 23,270 households. The total area of the city is .

Geography

Shiogama is in north-central Miyagi Prefecture, bordered by the

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

to the east.

Neighboring municipalities

*Miyagi Prefecture ** Rifu ** Shichigahama **

Tagajō is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 62,869 in 27,869 households, and a population density of 3,200 people per km². The total area of the city is . The city was named after Taga Castle, the c ...

Climate

Shiogama has a humid climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa'') characterized by mild summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Shiogama is . The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around .

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Shiogama peaked around 1990 and has declined since.

Etymology

"Shiogama" means "salt furnace" and refers to a local

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

ritual involving the making of salt from sea water, still performed every July. The name is sometimes written using the ''

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, 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 and are ...

'' 塩釜 rather than 塩竈 and both spellings are officially permitted. Both 釜 and 竈 are pronounced ''gama'' in compounds, but as lone words they are pronounced ''kama'' and ''kamado'', respectively. A ''

kamado A is a traditional Japanese wood- or charcoal-fueled cook stove. Etymology and history The precursor of the Kamado was introduced to Japan by Yayoi immigrants from the Korean peninsula during the Kofun period.Farrispp. 83–87./ref> The ...

'' (竈, "furnace") is what a ''

kama ''Kama'' (Sanskrit: काम, ) is the concept of pleasure, enjoyment and desire in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. It can also refer to "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsका� ...

'' (釜, "kettle") is placed upon, and so the two are not completely interchangeable. 塩竈 is the form officially used by the city, but for ease of writing, the 10-

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

釜 is often used in place of the 21-stroke 竈, such as in Shiogama Station. Shiogama Jinja uses the rendering 鹽竈, with an archaic character for salt. This third form is rarely seen outside of this context.

History

The area of present-day Shiogama was part of ancient Mutsu Province, and has been settled since at least the

Jōmon period In Japanese history, the is the time between , during which Japan was inhabited by the Jōmon people, a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united by a common culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism an ...

by the Emishi people. During the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

, the area came under the control of colonists from the

imperial dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

based at nearby

and was the most important seaport in Mutsu. The ruins of the provincial capital of Mutsu Province have been found within the city borders. During later portion of the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, the area was ruled by the

Northern Fujiwara The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.

. During the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

, the area was contested by various

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

clans before the area came under the control of the

Date clan The is a Japanese samurai kin group.Edmond Papinot, 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 fam ...

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 ...

during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, 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 town of Shiogama was established 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. Parts of Tagajō and Shichigahama were incorporated into Shiogama of September 1, 1938. Shiogama was raised to city status on November 23, 1941 (187th, nationally; 3rd in Miyagi). The city annexed the Gyūchi area of neighboring Tagajō on December 1, 1949 and the village of Urato on April 1, 1950. The city was affected by the

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) 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 underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, although damage to its fishing industry turned out to be light.

Government

Shiogama 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 consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city legislature of 18 members.

Economy

The economy of Shiogama is largely based on

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

, especially of tuna, and fish processing. The city also boasts one of the highest density of

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

restaurants in Japan.

Education

Shiogama has six public elementary schools and four middle schools operated by the city government, and one public high school operated by the Miyagi Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and 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 in ...

(JR East) – Senseki Line ** , , *

(JR East) –

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line () is a 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, Saitama, Saitama, Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Uts ...

Highway

National highways

Miyagi Prefectural Highways

* Miyagi Prefectural Route 3 (Shiogama—Yoshioka) * Miyagi Prefectural Route 10 (Shiogama—Watari) * Miyagi Prefectural Route 11 (Shiogama—Shiogama-kō) * Miyagi Prefectural Route 23 (Sendai—Shiogama) * Miyagi Prefectural Route 35 (Izumi—Shiogama) * Miyagi Prefectural Route 58 (Shiogama—Shichigahama—Tagajō)

Local attractions

Festivals

* Shiogama 'Hote' festival (10 March) * Shiogama Flower festival and Shiogama Citizens Festival (late April) * Shiogama Harbor festival (Eve: before

Marine Day , also known as "Ocean Day" or "Sea Day", is a public holiday in Japan usually celebrated on the third Monday in July. The purpose of the holiday is to give thanks for the ocean's bounty and to consider the importance of the ocean to Japan as a ...

/festival:

July)

Specialties and crafts

* raw tuna ( Maguro) catches in Japan *

Sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

restaurant density in Japan * Sasa Kamaboko (fish paste and roasted into the shape of sasa (

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

leaf)) processed fishery production in Japan * Sweets (Shihogama, Namadora, etc.) * Japanese ''

sake Sake, , or saki, 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 indeed any East Asi ...

'' (Shiogama brands: Uragasumi Zen, Omotaka Otokoyama, Shiki no Matsushima, Date no Iki, etc.)

Visitor attractions

* Shiogama Jinja * Shiwahiko Jinja * Okama Jinja * Magaki Jinja * Shiogama Port * Shiogama Fish Market * Urato Islands * Nagai Shiyouiti

Manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

Museum : Shiogama-city Community Center (Fureai ESP Shiogama) * Shiogama Kyokusui * Noda no Tamagawa (One of Japan's six Tamagawa) * Mother and child stone * Marine Gate Shiogama

Notable people from Shiogama

* Masao Maruyama (anime producer) * Masashi Nakano (politician)Official profile
/ref> *

Nobunaga Shimazaki is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production. He won the Best Rookie Actor Award at the 7th Seiyu Awards and the Best Actors in Supporting Roles at the 15th Seiyu Awards. Biography On January 1, 2023, Shimazaki announced on Twitter ...

(voice actor) *

Koichi Yamadera is a Japanese actor, narrator and singer from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with the Tokyo Actor' ...

(voice actor)

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Miyagi Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan