Article

03215 ／おうしゅうし

Oshu City

A hospital of 1874, with a tower on top.

Former Iwayado Kyoritsu Hospital

Photo by Ty19080914 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Observation Room

A third term in latitude variationwas found from observations in this room.

The Former Provisional Latitude Observatory's visual zenith tube room was completed in 1899. Three years after observations began, in 1902, Director Kimura Hisashi found a third term that explains latitude variation, and it was named the Z-term. It stands on the NAOJ Mizusawa campus and is a nationally registered tangible cultural property.

Completed 1899
Z-term found, 1902
Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building)

02 ／ Burial Mound

Haniwa set in rows on the mound,a keyhole-shaped tomb ringed by a moat.

Tsunozuka Kofun lies on an alluvial fan formed by the Isawa River and is a national historic site. The city calls it "Japan's northernmost keyhole-shaped tomb." Excavations found that haniwa clay figures were set in rows on the mound, which was covered with stones and surrounded by a moat. Haniwa shaped like horses and birds were also unearthed.

Mound about 45 m long
Horse and bird haniwa unearthed
National Historic Site (designated 1985)

03 ／ Folk Customs

Thirteen mounds stand in a single row,and only the central No. 7 is square.

The Kuroishi Thirteen Mounds lie on the left bank of the Kitakami River in Kuroishi-cho, Mizusawa. The 13 mounds stand in a row across about 169.8 m and are described as one of 17 places in Japan where all 13 survive. The central No. 7 is the largest and the only square one. They are thought to have been built on the basis of Thirteen Buddhas worship.

13 mounds
169.8 m in total length
Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property (designated 1993)

Oshu City from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot June 2024)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

Tokyo in 2 h 14 min on the Tohoku Shinkansen.

about 110,000 people
Shinkansen stops here

The Tohoku Shinkansen stops at Mizusawa-Esashi Station, which Tokyo Station reaches with no change of train. The fastest daily train takes 2 hours 14 minutes. The Kitakami River runs through the middle of the city, with an alluvial fan formed by the Isawa River to the west.

People living here: 112,937people
Area: 993.3km²
Households: 42,371households
Rent (average for rentals): 43,077yen
Healthcare: 9 hospitals ／ 86 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —32 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Oshu City in Japan39.145°N 141.139°E

to TokyoTohoku Shinkansen134min

Travel times follow JR東日本の駅の時刻表（東京駅の下り・列車ページ）を jr_count.py で数えた。東京発18:56（4109B）→水沢江刺着21:10＝134分が、平日・土休日の両方に同じ分数で載る毎日運転の最速。次は135分（4105B 16:56発・4107B 17:56発・4111B 19:40発）、138分（4101B 07:16発）、144分（4103B 07:56発）。列車ページの『運転日』の欄は空（臨時の日付注記なし）。 (checked 2026-10-23). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 9 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Oshu City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.

North to south

37.0km

Iwate Prefecture: Ichinoseki City, Kanegasaki Town, Kitakami City, Hiraizumi Town, Hanamaki City, Tono City, Sumita Town, Nishiwaga Town
Akita Prefecture: Higashinaruse Village

Oshu City isthis kind of town.

01The Former Iwayado Kyoritsu Hospital in the Esashi district, completed in 1874, is a four-storey building with a tower on top, in the tower-pavilion style, and is a Prefecturally Designated Tangible Cultural Property
02At the Former Provisional Latitude Observatory's visual zenith tube room in the Mizusawa district, Director Kimura Hisashi found a third term in latitude variation, the Z-term, in 1902; the Kuroishi Thirteen Mounds are a nationally designated Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property where all 13 survive
03Tsunozuka Kofun in the Isawa district is a national historic site that the city calls Japan's northernmost keyhole-shaped tomb; the city also has the Isawa Castle site, a national historic site, and the Former Takahashi Residence, a national Important Cultural Property

See the town as it is now.

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Oshu City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes