Nishinumata Site, storehouse, Tendo City
Article

06210 / てんどうし

Yamagata Prefecture

Tendo City

Rebuilt storehouse on a Kofun-era site.

Nishinumata Site, storehouse

Photo by Mukasora (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 / Ema

From the inscription on the back, the city saysthe temple's ema was painted by a Sagae craftsman.

Ema in Tendo City
Photo by Konome Sadoshige (Public domain)

On the festival day of the temple's Kannon, the 18th day of the 9th month of Eiroku 6 (1563), a retainer of the Oe clan, lord of Sagae Castle, dedicated this wooden plaque to pray for his late wife. The city explains that the inscription "Sagae no uchi" (within Sagae) on the back shows it was painted by a Sagae craftsman, and it notes scribbles across the surface.

  • Dedicated in Eiroku 6 (1563)
  • "Sagae no uchi" inscribed on the back
  • Important Cultural Property (national)

02 / Natural Monument

In a hollow where air of about 0°C blows outeven in midsummer, plants grow opposite to alpine zones.

Jagaramogara is a bowl-shaped hollow, 30 m east to west and 62 m north to south, northwest of Mount Amayobari. Many wind holes blow out air of about 0°C even in midsummer, and, contrary to alpine zones, vegetation changes from grasses to shrubs to tall trees as the elevation rises from the hollow, the city explains.

  • 30 m by 62 m
  • About 0°C in midsummer
  • Prefectural Natural Monument

03 / Shogi pieces

Shogi piece making from the Oda domain's days in Takahatawas brought to Tendo, the city says.

The city explains that shogi pieces were already being made from the time the Oda domain was in Takahata, before it entered Tendo, and that this was brought to Tendo. The domain entered Tendo in 1831 (Tenpo 2). In the late Edo period, making pieces was encouraged to relieve the domain's samurai, which is said to have set off the craft's growth.

  • Oda domain entered Tendo in 1831
  • Encouraged to relieve samurai in the late Edo period
  • Traditional craft designated by the national government

Tendo City from the sky

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

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot October–November 2007)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 33 min on the Yamagata Shinkansen.

  • about 60,000 people
  • Shinkansen stops here

The Tsubasa No. 131 from Tokyo Station reaches Tendo Station with no change of train. JR East's timetable (November 2026 edition) gives 2 hours 33 minutes, and the city's relocation guide shows 2 hours 34 minutes.

People living here
62,140people
19952020

−0.1% since 2015

60,626 → 62,140

Area
113.02km²

75.35km² of it habitable

2024

Households
22,589households

2.8 people per household

2020

Rent (average for rentals)
48,391yen

National average 60,630 yen

2023

Healthcare
4 hospitals / 52 clinics

9.0 per 10,000 people

2023

Area113.02km²Habitable land75.35km² / 67%
Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103
Children waiting for childcare
—9 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.

Tendo City in Japan38.362°N 140.378°E
TokyoOsakaTendo City
Tendo Station
天童駅2024
  • to TokyoYamagata Shinkansen153min

Travel times follow JR東日本「駅の時刻表」(2026年11月号=2611)の天童駅(下り・平日 tt1032/103201 0 と 土曜・休日 tt1032/103201 1)に載る列車ページから、東京発・天童着を列車ごとに数えた(jr_count.py。15列車)。毎日運転の最速は『やまびこ131号/つばさ131号(東京〜福島〜新庄)』=東京 09:24 発→天童 11:57 着の153分(平日・土休日とも同じ分数。列車ページの『運転日』欄に注意書きなし)。次点は157B(19:16発)の173分で、131B が圧倒的な最速(東京〜天童の最速を取り違えない)。下ごしらえの数え(153分)と一致した (checked 2026-10-28). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities.

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

Tendo City isthis kind of town.

  1. 01At the Nishinumata Site, a national historic site and a farming village of the late Kofun period, the park has a reconstructed raised storehouse (Building No. 7)
  2. 02A Tendo temple holds a wooden votive plaque dated 1563, a national Important Cultural Property, and Jagaramogara, northwest of Mount Amayobari, is a prefectural Natural Monument where air of about 0°C blows out in midsummer
  3. 03The city says shogi piece making in Tendo is known to have been brought from Takahata, where it was made in the days of the Oda domain

See the town as it is now.

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.