Ichinohe, Iwate

Ichinohe is located in far north-central Iwate Prefecture, roughly in between the Ōu Mountains and the Kitakami Mountains. Approximately 61% of the town’s area is covered in mountains and forest.[2] The Mabechi River flows through the town.

Per Japanese census data,[4] the population of Ichinohe peaked in the 1950s has declined steadily over the past 60 years.

The area of present-day Ichinohe was part of ancient Mutsu Province, and has been settled since at least the Jōmon period. Many Jōmon and Kofun period remains have been found. Inhabited by the Emishi tribes, the Nihon Shoki describes the penetration of the area by forces of the Yamato dynasty in the Nara period; however, it was not under effective control of the central government until the mid-Heian period. The area was dominated by the Nanbu clan from the early Muromachi period, and was named for one of the nine numbered stockades, or fortified ranches, that established to secure this frontier area. During the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate, the area was under the control of Morioka Domain.

In the early Meiji period, the modern town of Ichinohe was created within Ninohe District on April 1, 1889, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The neighboring villages of Anetai, Kozuya, Chōkai, and Namiuchi were merged with Ichinohe on January 1, 1955.

Ichinohe has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 14 members. Ichinohe, and the city of Ninohe together contribute two seats to the Iwate Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Iwate 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

The economy of Ichinohe is based primarily on agriculture.

Ichinohe has seven public elementary schools and four public middle schools operated by the town government, and two public high schools operated by the Iwate Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.

• Goshono Site (御所野遺跡, Goshono-isseki) is a park containing extensive Jōmon period remains, including the foundations for numerous pit dwellings. The area is a National Historic Site[5] and has been submitted for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the Jōmon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaidō, Northern Tōhoku, and other regions[6][7]
• Ōshū Kaidō (奥州街道, Ōshū Kaidō) - a number of sections of the Ōshū Kaidō, an ancient highway linking Kyoto with northern Japan has been preserved within Ichinohe as a National Historic Site [8]>
• Basenkyo ravine on the Mabechi River, a National Place of Scenic Beauty.[9]

• Yasutake Funakoshi, sculptor[10]

Media related to Ichinohe, Iwate at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Website (in Japanese)