Prehistory in the
Tohoku region The keyhole-shaped
Ōyasuba Kofun is the largest
kofun in the
Tohoku region. The site was designated a
National Historic Site of Japan in 2000.
Classical and feudal period chapel
Shiramizu Amidadō Until the
Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was part of what was known as
Mutsu Province. The
Shirakawa Barrier and the Nakoso Barrier were built around the 5th century to protect 'the heathens' from the 'barbarians' to the north. Fukushima became a province of
Mutsu after the
Taika Reforms were established in 646. In 718, the provinces of
Iwase and
Iwaki were created, but these areas reverted to Mutsu some time between 722 and 724. The
Shiramizu Amidadō is a
chapel within the
Buddhist temple Ganjō-ji in
Iwaki. It was built in 1160 and it is a
National Treasure. The temple, including the
paradise garden is an
Historic Site.
Contemporary period This region of Japan is also known as Michinoku and Ōshū. The
Fukushima Incident, a political tumult, took place in the prefecture after
Mishima Michitsune was appointed governor in 1882.
2011 earthquake and subsequent disasters On Friday, March 11, 2011, 14:46
JST, a
magnitude 9.0
earthquake occurred off the coast of
Miyagi Prefecture.
Shindo measurements throughout the prefecture reached as high as 6-upper in isolated regions of
Hama-dōri on the eastern coast and as low as a 2 in portions of the
Aizu region in the western part of the prefecture.
Fukushima City, located in
Naka-dōri and the capital of Fukushima Prefecture, measured 6-lower. Following the earthquake there were isolated reports of major damage to structures, including the failure of
Fujinuma Dam as well as damage from landslides. The earthquake also triggered a massive tsunami that hit the eastern coast of the prefecture and caused widespread destruction and loss of life. In the two years following the earthquake, 1,817 residents of Fukushima Prefecture had either been confirmed dead or were missing as a result of the earthquake and tsunami. that led to explosions, which released large amounts of
radioactive material into the air In the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that followed, the outer housings of two of the six reactors at the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in
Ōkuma exploded followed by a partial meltdown and fires at three of the other units. Many residents were evacuated to nearby localities due to the development of a large evacuation zone around the plant. Radiation levels near the plant peaked at 400 mSv/h (
millisieverts per hour) after the earthquake and tsunami, due to damage sustained. This resulted in increased recorded radiation levels across Japan. On April 11, 2011, officials upgraded the disaster to a level 7 out of a possible 7, a rare occurrence not seen since the
Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Several months later, officials announced that although the area nearest the melt down were still off limits, areas near the twenty kilometer radial safe zone could start seeing a return of the close to 47,000 residents that had been evacuated. == Geography ==