Article

04422 ／おおさとちょう

Miyagi Prefecture 黒川郡

Osato Town

Envoy's grave: said to have lived to 84.

Hasekura Tsunenaga's grave

Photo by ToshiJapon (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Shell mound

On a terrace north of a former lake,a shell mound grew about 5,000 years ago.

The town describes a large shell mound in the town as one that grew on a terrace on the north shore of a former lake in the middle Jomon period, about 5,000 years ago. It covers about 5,000 square meters and is made of freshwater clam shells. The area around it is thought to have been a fairly populous settlement. The site is private land, and visitors are asked not to enter without permission.

Middle Jomon, about 5,000 years ago
About 5,000 square meters
Freshwater clam shells
Private land

02 ／ Castle site

A castle of the Oka family, whose origins are unclear,is now a park overlooking the fields.

Castle site in Osato Town — Photo by ToshiJapon (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Tsukidate Castle in the town was the residence of Oka Yamashiro-no-kami, and the date it was built is unknown. Little is known of the Oka family's origins, but they are thought to have ruled the area from the Kamakura to the Muromachi period. It is now a park where the surrounding countryside spreads out below. It is not the Tsukidate in Kurihara City.

Seat of Oka Yamashiro-no-kami
Date built unknown
Thought to have ruled from Kamakura to Muromachi

03 ／ Burial mound

On a terrace of the Yoshida River,a round mound with a water moat remains.

Burial mound in Osato Town — Photo by ToshiJapon (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Suwa Tumulus, on a terrace of the Yoshida River is a round mound 15 to 17 m long and 2.5 m high. A water moat 3.0 m wide and 1.2 m deep surrounds it. Built around the 6th century, it is among the older mounds in the town. The ditches of the Yamanaka and Daishoji mounds show no trace of having held water.

15-17 m long, 2.5 m high
Moat 3.0 m wide, 1.2 m deep
Round mound, around the 6th century

Osato Town 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 May–June 2023)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

A town with no station, where paddies follow the Yoshida River.

about 8,000 people
Rural district town

The town overview says Osato lies near the center of Miyagi Prefecture, with the Yoshida River flowing from west to east through its middle and paddy fields spreading along it. There is no railway station in the town; public transport is the town-run resident bus, which runs Monday to Friday. The town describes Sendai as about 30 minutes away by car.

People living here: 7,813people
Area: 82.01km²
Households: 2,483households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 3 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —1 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.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities.

Osato Town in Japan38.424°N 141.004°E

Territory of Osato Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

15.9km

Osaki City, Taiwa Town, Matsushima Town, Rifu Town, Ohira Village

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Osato Town isthis kind of town.

01A grave said to be that of Hasekura Tsunenaga lies in the hills of a district in the town, and the town favors its theory that he lived there in hiding, one of three theories in the prefecture. The district keeps a custom of drawing a cross on the face and chest of family members at New Year
02A large shell mound in the town grew about 5,000 years ago on a terrace north of a former lake, and Tsukidate Castle was the seat of Oka Yamashiro-no-kami, of a family whose origins are unclear
03Suwa Tumulus is a round mound of around the 6th century on a terrace of the Yoshida River, with a water moat; the town also introduces a shrine, a rice-planting dance and a kagura as local heritage

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Osato Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes