Ōfunato

Ōfunato (大船渡市, Ōfunato-shi) is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. As of 30 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 35,452, and a population density of 110 persons per km² in 14,895 households.[1] The total area of the city is 322.51 square kilometres (124.52 sq mi).[2]

Ōfunato

大船渡市
City
Ōfunato City Hall
Flag
Seal
Location of Ōfunato in Iwate Prefecture
Ōfunato
 
Coordinates: 39°4′4.8″N 141°43′30.8″E
CountryJapan
RegionTōhoku
PrefectureIwate
Area
 • Total322.51 km2 (124.52 sq mi)
Population
 (30 April 2020)
 • Total35,452
 • Density110/km2 (280/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (Japan Standard Time)
City symbols 
– TreePine
– FlowerCamellia
– BirdBlack-tailed gull
Phone number0192-27-3111
Address15, Sakarichō Aza Utsunosawa, Ōfunato-shi, Iwate-ken 022-8501
WebsiteOfficial website
Ofunato port, 2006

Geography

Ōfunato is located in southeastern Iwate Prefecture, with the Pacific Ocean to the east. Outside its bay, the warm and cold ocean currents meet, which allow a commercial fishing industry to flourish. The city has been attempting to establish itself as a major shipping port. Kaminari-iwa on the city's Goishi coastline has been designated one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan by the Ministry of the Environment.[3] Much of the city is within the borders of the Sanriku Fukkō National Park.

Neighbouring municipalities

Iwate Prefecture

Climate

Ōfunato has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) bordering on a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa) with warm summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Ōfunato is 8.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1472 mm with September as the wettest month and January as the driest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 21.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around -2.9 °C.[4]

Climate data for Ōfunato, 1981–2010 normals
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.8
(62.2)		 17.7
(63.9)		 23.9
(75.0)		 32.0
(89.6)		 34.7
(94.5)		 33.7
(92.7)		 35.5
(95.9)		 37.0
(98.6)		 34.0
(93.2)		 28.2
(82.8)		 22.8
(73.0)		 21.2
(70.2)		 37.0
(98.6)
Average high °C (°F) 4.5
(40.1)		 5.0
(41.0)		 8.3
(46.9)		 14.1
(57.4)		 18.5
(65.3)		 21.5
(70.7)		 24.8
(76.6)		 26.9
(80.4)		 23.6
(74.5)		 18.6
(65.5)		 13.0
(55.4)		 7.5
(45.5)		 15.5
(59.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 0.8
(33.4)		 1.1
(34.0)		 3.8
(38.8)		 9.2
(48.6)		 13.7
(56.7)		 17.4
(63.3)		 21.0
(69.8)		 23.0
(73.4)		 19.5
(67.1)		 14.0
(57.2)		 8.3
(46.9)		 3.6
(38.5)		 11.3
(52.3)
Average low °C (°F) −2.7
(27.1)		 −2.6
(27.3)		 −0.4
(31.3)		 4.4
(39.9)		 9.2
(48.6)		 13.9
(57.0)		 18.0
(64.4)		 20.0
(68.0)		 16.0
(60.8)		 9.6
(49.3)		 3.8
(38.8)		 −0.1
(31.8)		 7.4
(45.3)
Record low °C (°F) −11.0
(12.2)		 −11.6
(11.1)		 −8.5
(16.7)		 −4.3
(24.3)		 0.2
(32.4)		 3.8
(38.8)		 4.9
(40.8)		 10.2
(50.4)		 4.7
(40.5)		 −0.3
(31.5)		 −4.8
(23.4)		 −9.2
(15.4)		 −11.6
(11.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 49.9
(1.96)		 45.5
(1.79)		 98.0
(3.86)		 142.8
(5.62)		 145.2
(5.72)		 172.9
(6.81)		 204.2
(8.04)		 196.5
(7.74)		 201.8
(7.94)		 140.7
(5.54)		 94.1
(3.70)		 50.4
(1.98)		 1,541.9
(60.70)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 19
(7.5)		 23
(9.1)		 13
(5.1)		 1
(0.4)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 2
(0.8)		 11
(4.3)		 69
(27)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.5 mm) 7.2 7.0 10.2 10.4 10.6 11.7 14.6 11.5 12.5 10.2 8.1 7.9 121.9
Average relative humidity (%) 62 62 63 66 72 79 83 82 80 74 69 64 71
Mean monthly sunshine hours 142.8 136.9 157.6 173.0 180.3 147.3 132.7 148.8 116.3 140.7 134.9 132.0 1,743.1
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency[5][6]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,[7] the population of Ōfunato peaked around the year 1980, and has declined over the past 40 years.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1920 24,175—    
1930 28,608+18.3%
1940 32,767+14.5%
1950 41,589+26.9%
1960 47,363+13.9%
1970 48,816+3.1%
1980 50,132+2.7%
1990 47,219−5.8%
2000 45,160−4.4%
2010 40,737−9.8%

History

The area of present-day Ōfunato was part of ancient Mutsu Province, and has been settled since at least the Jōmon period, and numerous shell middens around Ōfunato Bay have been excavated by archaeologists. During the Sengoku period, the area was dominated by various samurai clans before coming under the control of the Date clan during the Edo period, who ruled Sendai Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate.

The village of Ōfunato was created within Kessen District, Iwate on 1 April 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. The 1896 Sanriku earthquake caused a 25-meter tsunami which killed 27,000 people in the area. Ōfunato was elevated to town status on 1 April 1932. The 1933 Sanriku earthquake had a magnitude of 8.4 and caused a 28-meter tsunami which killed 1522 people.

The neighboring town of Sakari and the villages of Akasaki, Takkon, Massaki, Ikawa and Hikoroichi merged with Ōfunato on 1 April 1952, forming the city of Ōfunato. The city became internationally famous when it was hit by a tsunami caused by the Valdivia earthquake in Chile 22 May 1960. On 15 November 2001, the town of Sanriku (from Kesen District) was merged into Ōfunato.

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Downtown area of Ōfunato following the 2011 tsunami

Ōfunato hit the headlines again when it was heavily damaged in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[8] The wave was estimated to have reached 23.6 meters in height.[9] Funneled in by the narrow bay, the tsunami continued inland for 3 kilometres.[10] The town's theatre was one of very few buildings left standing (and remarkably, was undamaged) and gave shelter to about 250 survivors.[11][12] Provisional counts listed 3,498 houses out of 15,138 houses in the town destroyed by the tsunami and 305 lives were confirmed lost.[13][14] At least six of the town's 58 designated evacuation sites were inundated by the tsunami.[15] Ofunato was featured in the British documentary "Japan's Tsunami Caught on Camera" which was broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.

Government

Ōfunato has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 25 members. Ōfunato contributes one seat to the Iwate Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Iwate 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

The local economy is largely based on commercial fishing, with cement production and wood processing as secondary industries.

Education
  • Kitasato University – Sanriku campus
  • Ōfunato has 11 public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Iwate Prefectural Board of Education. The city also has one private high school.

Transportation

Railway

Sanriku Railway Company – Sanriku Railway Rias Line

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) – Ōfunato Line (services suspended indefinitely and replaced by a BRT)

Highway

Port
  • Port of Ōfunato

Local attractions

International relations

Noted people from Ōfunato

References
  1. Ōfunato City official statistics (in Japanese)
  2. 詳細データ 岩手県紫波町. 市町村の姿 グラフと統計でみる農林水産業 (in Japanese). Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  3. "100 Soundscapes of Japan". Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  4. Ōfunato climate data
  5. 大船渡 平年値（年・月ごとの値） 主な要素. Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  6. 観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）. Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  7. Ōfunato population statistics
  8. Ofunato devastated by tsunami BBC report, 12 March 2011
  9. "23.6-meter-high tsunami triggered by March 11 quake: survey" Kyodo News, 23 March 2011
  10. "A thousand bodies a day will be recovered every day now". The Age. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  11. Synopsis of a Channel 4 TV news bulletin on 15 March 2011
  12. Tritten, Travis, J., and T. D. Flack, "U.S. rescue teams find devastation in northern city of Ofunato", Stars and Stripes, 15 March 2011, retrieved 16 March 2011.
  13. NOAA tsunami data table
  14. Gilhooly, Rob, "Survivors strive to start picking up the pieces", Japan Times, 27 March 2011, p. 7.
  15. Kyodo News, "Tsunami hit more than 100 designated evacuation sites Archived 14 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine", Japan Times, 14 April 2011, p. 1.
  16. "碁石海岸". Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  17. "International Exchange". List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Retrieved 21 November 2015.

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