The section of the line between Morioka and Metoki first opened on 1 September 1891, and was nationalized on 1 November 1906. The line was double-tracked by 12 July 1968, and it was electrified on 22 August 1968. With the privatization of
Japanese National Railways (JNR) on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of
East Japan Railway Company (JR East). From 1 December 2002, with the opening of the parallel Tohoku Shinkansen extension to Hachinohe, ownership of the line was transferred to the third-sector Iwate Galaxy Railway Company. ==References==