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Tome (登米市, Tome-shi) is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. As of 30 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 77,897 and a population density of 150 persons per km2 in 27,298 households.[2] The total area of the city is 536.12 square kilometres (207.00 sq mi). The area is known for its rice production.
Tome is in far northeastern Miyagi Prefecture, bordered by Iwate Prefecture to the north. The Kitakami River flows through the city. The city is approximately 70 kilometers north of the prefectural capital of Sendai.[3]
Iwate Prefecture
Miyagi Prefecture
Tome has a humid climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa) characterized by mild summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Tome is 11.5 °C (52.7 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,078.2 mm (42.45 in) with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.8 °C (74.8 °F), and lowest in January, at around −0.1 °C (31.8 °F).[4]
Per Japanese census data,[6] the population of Tome peaked in the 1950s and has declined steadily over the past 70 years.
The area of present-day Tome was part of ancient Mutsu Province, and has been settled since at least the Jōmon period by the Emishi people. During the later portion of the Heian period, the area was ruled by the Northern Fujiwara. During the Sengoku period, the area was contested by various samurai clans before the area came under the control of the Date clan of Sendai Domain during the Edo period, under the Tokugawa shogunate.
The town of Tome was established on June 1, 1889, within Tome District, Miyagi with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The city of Tome was established on April 1, 2005, from the merger of the towns of Hasama, Ishikoshi, Minamikata, Nakada, Toyoma, Towa, Toyosato, Tsuyama, and Yoneyama (all from Tome District), and the town of Tsuyama (from Motoyoshi District). Tome District was dissolved as a result of his merger.
Tome was one of several cities severely affected by an earthquake and tsunami on Friday, 11 March 2011, with as many as 6,000 people left homeless.[7] On 15, 2011, authorities announced that German and Swiss teams with search dogs would be deployed to the city to aid in search and recovery efforts. Other search and rescue team came from Australia and New Zealand.[8] Early reports suggest that many residents of the nearby town of Minamisanriku, which was one of the hardest hit by the tsunami, had evacuated to Tome.[9]
Tome has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 26 members.[10] Tome contributes two seats to the Miyagi Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, after the abolishment of the Miyagi 6th district in 2022, the city is part of Miyagi 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.[11]
The economy of Tome is largely based on agriculture. The city is one of the leading agricultural production areas in the Tōhoku region, with rice cultivation concentrated on the plains formed by the Hasama and Kitakami rivers. Tome is among Miyagi Prefecture's largest rice-producing municipalities and is known for the cultivation of the "Hitomebore" variety.[12]
Tome has 21 public elementary schools, one combined public elementary/middle school, nine public junior high schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Miyagi Prefectural Board of Education.
East Japan Railway Company (JR East) - Tōhoku Main Line
East Japan Railway Company (JR East) - Kesennuma Line
Tōhoku Expressway: (Tsukidate and Wakayanagi interchanges)
Sanriku Expressway: (Monou-Toyosato, Toyoma (Tome), Towa/Mitakido, and Monou-Tsuyama interchanges)
National Route 45
National Route 342
National Route 346
National Route 398
National Route 456
