When you visit an unfamiliar town, what do you want to know? There are probably many things, like delicious restaurants and tourist attractions. Among them, many of you must want to experience history and culture.
For those people, this article introduces 7 spots where you can learn about the history and culture of Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture. It is a town where you can learn about a mix of old and new history and culture, from history dating back to the Jomon period to new cultures born after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Whether you have never been to Ishinomaki or live there, please read on.
As you know, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, was a region that suffered immense damage from the tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and there are many organizations that rose up and facilities that were built to pass on that memory. This time, I would like to introduce just two of them.
The coastal area of Ishinomaki City called "Minamihama" was swept away by the tsunami. In Minamihama, the "Ishinomaki Minamihama Tsunami Recovery Memorial Park" (hereinafter referred to as the Recovery Memorial Park) opened in 2021 as a symbol of recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Footpaths and other facilities have been developed in what was a residential area before the earthquake, and many trees have been planted, operating as a place to "pass on history while moving forward into the future."
The glass-enclosed building in the center of the Recovery Memorial Park is the "Miyagi Great East Japan Earthquake Tsunami Memorial Museum," a facility that exhibits records of tsunami damage in Miyagi Prefecture. In addition to records from the Great East Japan Earthquake, you can learn about the history of tsunamis in Miyagi Prefecture and the mechanism of tsunami generation, making it a facility that raises disaster prevention awareness.
As someone living in Japan, an earthquake-prone country, I felt that even if you are not a resident of Ishinomaki, it would be good to visit once.
Location: 2 Chome-1-56 Minamihama-cho, Ishinomaki, Miyagi 986-0835 Business days: Tuesday-Sunday (Closed Mondays) Business hours: 9:00~17:00 Access: 10 minutes by car or bus from Ishinomaki Station Parking: Available Official HP, SNS:https://ishinomakiminamihama-park.jp/
Two heavy topics follow, but I would appreciate your patience for a little longer.
The "Ishinomaki City Disaster Remains Kadonowaki Elementary School" is a memorial facility that preserves the "Kadonowaki Elementary School," which was engulfed in flames due to a tsunami fire during the Great East Japan Earthquake, and has added a new exhibition space. The photo of the exterior is a bit shocking, isn't it?
It is a facility where classrooms remain as they were, and you can learn about the tsunami damage in Ishinomaki, but what is unique about the "Ishinomaki City Disaster Remains Kadonowaki Elementary School" is that you can learn "how to spend your daily life in a way that leads to protecting your own and others' lives in an emergency." Even with just one evacuation drill, they approached it with a high level of awareness, asking "Why are we doing this evacuation drill?", and as a result, on 3.11, the entire school took swift evacuation actions and were able to minimize the damage.
I will not elaborate further, but the citizens of Ishinomaki hope that you will take what you see and learn at this memorial facility back to your communities and homes and share it.
Location: 4 Chome-3-15 Kadonowaki-cho, Ishinomaki, Miyagi 986-0834 Business days: Tuesday-Sunday (Closed Mondays) Business hours: 9:00~17:00 Access: 10 minutes by car or bus from Ishinomaki Station Parking: Available Official HP, SNS:https://www.ishinomakiikou.net/
Walking along the banks of the former Kitakami River, you will see a distinctive spherical facility. This is the "Ishinomori Manga Museum," where numerous manga works, including those by Shotaro Ishinomori, the creator of Kamen Rider, are exhibited.
Many manga characters greet you from the entrance.
It's a three-story building, and first, you go to the exhibition space on the second floor. There are both permanent and special exhibitions, and when I visited in the spring of 2022, there was a special exhibition of Kaiketsu Zorori (by Yutaka Hara). It wasn't just a display of past works; you could also learn behind-the-scenes stories like "Why did he make this story?", making it a very interesting exhibition.
The permanent exhibition features works by Shotaro Ishinomori, such as Cyborg 009 and Sarutobi Ecchan, in addition to Kamen Rider works. Many of the works were unfamiliar to me, being born in the Heisei era, but it was still an exhibition that made me want to read them.
On the third floor, in addition to a library where you can read many manga, you can see the damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent recovery. The messages of encouragement from famous manga artists are truly moving.
After seeing all the exhibits, you can buy souvenirs and goods on the first floor. They would make great gifts for family and relatives.
Location: 2-7 Nakaze, Ishinomaki, Miyagi 986-0823 Business days: Monday-Sunday Business hours: 9:00~18:00 Access: 10 minutes walk from Ishinomaki Station Parking: Available Official HP, SNS:https://www.mangattan.jp/manga/
The "Maruhon Maki Art Terrace," a museum with a distinctive chimney-like shape, is a multi-purpose exhibition facility that just opened in the spring of 2021. Within the same facility, there are two types of spaces: the "Ishinomaki Art and Culture Center" and the "Ishinomaki City Museum."
The former, the "Ishinomaki Art and Culture Center," hosts art-related events as they arise, while the latter, the "Ishinomaki City Museum," allows you to learn about the history and culture of Ishinomaki City. Just one spoiler: humans began living in what is now Ishinomaki City about 9,000 years ago!
The facility also has a branch of "Coffee Kobo Ishikawa," a famous coffee shop in Ishinomaki, so it's nice to relax with a coffee after viewing the exhibits.
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