Onagawa

• Name — Onagawa • Type — Town • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — Japan • Subdivision Type1 — Region • Subdivision Name1 — Tōhoku • Subdivision Type2 — Prefecture • Subdivision Name2 — Miyagi • Subdivision Type3 — District • Subdivision Name3 — Oshika • Leader Title — Mayor • Leader Name — Yoshiaki Suda • Area Total Km2 — 65.35 • Population Total — 6,430 • Population As Of — October 10, 2020 • Population Density Km2 — auto • Time Zone1 — Japan Standard Time • Utc Offset1 — +9 • Custom Label Sec1 — Phone number • Custom Data Sec1 — 0225-54-3131 • Custom Label1 Sec1 — Address • Custom Data1 Sec1 — 136-banchi Onagawa Onagawahama, Onagawa-chō, Oshika-gun, Miyagi-ken 986-2292 • Custom Label Sec2 — Climate • Custom Data Sec2 — Cfa

Onagawa is located on the rugged Sanriku Coast of north-central Miyagi Prefecture, with the Kitakami Mountains to the west and the city of Ishinomaki to the east, south and north. Much of the town is within the borders of the Sanriku Fukkō National Park. Onagawa is a natural deep water port, located at the intersection of two major ocean currents and noted for its commercial fishing industry. Located nearby on the southern side of Onagawa Bay is the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant.

Miyagi Prefecture • Ishinomaki

Onagawa has a humid subtropical climate (abbreviated Cfa) closely bordering on a temperate oceanic climate (abbreviated Cfb), characterized by mild summers and cool to cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Onagawa is 11.1 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1213 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around -0.1 °C.

Per Japanese census data, the population of Onagawa has declined rapidly over the past 60 years.

The area of present-day Onagawa was part of ancient Mutsu Province, and has been settled since at least the Jōmon period by the Emishi people. During 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 village of Onagawa was established on 1 June 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The port of Onagawa, with its deep and sheltered harbor, has long been important both commercially and militarily. The port was hit by an air raid on 9 August 1945, which sank several ships during the closing days of World War II. A memorial to Canadian Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilot Robert Hampton Gray who died in the attack, was unveiled in the town in 1989. Onagawa was raised to town status on 1 April 1956.

Onagawa was one of the most heavily damaged communities by the 11 March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The tsunami reached in excess of 15 m in height and swept 1 km inland, claiming 827 lives and destroying 70% of the buildings in the town. At least 12 of the town's 25 designated evacuation sites were inundated by the tsunami. The town's hospital located on a hill was extensively flooded on the first floor at the maximum recorded wave height of 18 meters. Six reinforced concrete buildings in the town of up to 4 stories in height were overturned by the force of the surging water and debris and Onagawa Station and its nearby railway tracks were also destroyed. • Illustration — View of Onagawa one month after the tsunami. (10 April 2011) In an incident widely reported in the Chinese media, Mitsuru Sato, managing director of Sato Suisan, a fish processing company in the town, gave his life ensuring that all the firm's workers, including 20 female Chinese resident trainees, had evacuated safely to higher ground. • Illustration — Onagawa after the tsunami Whereas the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant suffered insufficient cooling in the wake of the tsunami which led to three nuclear meltdowns and the release of radioactive material, the Onagawa nuclear generation facility, much closer to the earthquake epicenter, survived the earthquake without any significant damage and served as an emergency refuge for the local community. The town had previously been hit by tsunami including that caused by the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, although it had received comparatively less impact from tsunami in the aftermath of the 1896 and 1933 Sanriku earthquakes. Seismologists note that the deep inlets and bays of the nearby ria coastline have the potential to amplify the destructiveness of tsunami waves. Tsunami mitigation structures, warning systems and evacuation training have long been a feature of the town.

• Illustration — Onagawa Town Hall Onagawa has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 12 members. Onagawa, together with the city of Ishinomaki, contributes five seats to the Miyagi Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Miyagi 5th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

The economy of Onagawa is largely based on commercial fishing. The town acts as a processing and distribution hub for variety of sea foods, but is particularly known for coho salmon, pacific saury and the cultivation of oysters. The Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant, once a major source of income for the town, has remained offline since the 2011 earthquake; an intended restart date for the plant was originally set for 2021, but has been moved to 2024.

Onagawa has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school. The old high school (Miyagi Prefecture Onagawa High School) was closed in 2014 as it only had 47 students.

• Ishinomaki Line • Urashuku - Onagawa

• Route

• Kinkasan Ferry

The town takes pride in the fact that it still has beaches with "squeaking sand", which have become rare in Japan due to human induced environmental changes.

• Masatoshi Nakamura, actor