The area of present-day Sukagawa was part of ancient
Mutsu Province. Remains from the
Japanese Paleolithic through the
Nara period and
Heian period indicate continuous settlement of the area for many centuries. Sukagawa developed as a
castle town of the
Nikaido clan during the
Kamakura period. The castle was destroyed by
Date Masamune after his aunt
Onamihime surrendered the castle during the
Sengoku period. During the
Edo period the area prospered from its location as a major
lodging place on
Ōshū Kaidō, which is one of the
Edo Five Routes, and was the commercial center in the region. The area was mostly administered as an exclave of
Takada Domain under the
Tokugawa Shogunate. After the
Meiji restoration, it was organized as part of
the Nakadōri region of
Iwaki Province. The village of Sukagawa was formed on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system. However, after mid-
Meiji period, the municipality was eclipsed by
Kōriyama, which had succeeded in inviting the junction of
West Ban'etsu Line with the
Tōhoku Main Line train routes. On March 31, 1954, Sukagawa was elevated to city status after merging with the town of Hamada and villages of Nishibukuro and Inada (all from
Iwase District), and the village of Oshioe (from
Ishikawa District). Later, Sukagawa absorbed Niida Village (from Iwase District) on March 10, 1955, and then absorbed Ohigashi Village (from Ishikawa District) on February 1, 1967. On April 1, 2005, Sukagawa absorbed the town of
Naganuma and village
Iwase (both from Iwase District). After the
earthquake of 2011, the
Fujinuma Dam collapsed resulting in seven fatalities. See also
Radiation effects from Fukushima I nuclear accidents. ==Geography==