Sendai

Coordinates: 38°16′5.6″N 140°52′9.9″E

Sendai ( 仙台市 , Sendai-shi, [seꜜndai] ⓘ) is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the
Tōhoku region. As of 1 August 2023, the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households,[1] and Sendai
is one of Japan's 20 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the daimyō Date Masamune. It is
nicknamed the City of Trees ( 杜の都, Mori no Miyako); there are Japanese zelkova trees lining many of the
仙台市
main thoroughfares such as Jōzenji Street ( 定禅寺通 青葉通
, Jōzenji dōri) and Aoba Street ( , Aoba dōri). Designated city
In the summer, the Sendai Tanabata Festival, the largest Tanabata festival in Japan, is held. In winter, the
trees are decorated with thousands of lights for the Pageant of Starlight ( 光のページェント , Hikari no
pējento), lasting through most of December. The city is also home to Tohoku University, consistently
ranked amongst the top institutions of higher education in Japan. On 11 March 2011, coastal areas of the
city suffered catastrophic damage from a magnitude 9.0 offshore earthquake,[2][3][4] which triggered a
destructive tsunami.[5]

History

Edo period

Although the Sendai area was inhabited as early as 20,000 years ago, the history of Sendai as a city begins
from 1600, when the daimyō Date Masamune relocated. Masamune was not happy with his previous
stronghold, Iwadeyama, which was located in the northern portion of his territories and was difficult to
access from Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Sendai was an ideal location, being in the centre of Masamune's
newly defined territories, upon the major road from Edo. Tokugawa Ieyasu gave Masamune permission to
build a new castle in Aobayama after the Battle of Sekigahara. The previous ruler of the Sendai area had
used a castle located on Aobayama. At this time Sendai was written as 千代 ("a thousand generations"),
because a temple with a thousand Buddha statues ( 千体 , sentai) used to be located in Aobayama.
Masamune changed the kanji to " 仙臺 ", which later became " 仙台 " (literally: "hermit/wizard" plus
"platform/plateau" or figuratively, "hermit on a platform/high ground"). The character came from a Chinese
poem that praised a palace created by the Emperor Wen of Han China (reigned 180–157 BCE), comparing
it to a mythical palace in the Kunlun Mountains. Tradition says that Masamune chose this kanji so that the
castle would prosper as long as a mountain inhabited by an immortal hermit.

Masamune ordered the construction of Sendai Castle in December 1600 and the construction of the
surrounding castle town in 1601. The grid plan roads in modern-day central Sendai are based upon his From top left: Sendai Skyline, Aoba Castle,
plans. Sendai Tanabata Festival in Ichibanchō,
Zuihōden, Sendai Station West Exit, Akiu Onsen,
Gallery and SENDAI Pageant of Starlight

Flag
Seal

Nickname: City of Trees

Aoba Castle Map of the Area Zuihōden
around Sendai
Castle

Sendai Tōshōgū

Modern era

The first railway line between Sendai and Tokyo, now the Tōhoku Main Line, opened in 1887, bringing
the area within a day's travel from Tokyo for the first time in history. Tohoku Imperial University, the
region's first university, was founded in Sendai in 1907 and became the first Japanese university to admit
female students in 1913.

Sendai was incorporated as a city on 1 April 1889, with the post-Meiji restoration creation of the modern
municipalities system following the abolition of the han system. At the time of incorporation, the city's area
was 17.45 square kilometres (6.74 sq mi) and its population was 86,000. The city grew, however, through
seven annexations that occurred between 1928 and 1988. The city became a designated city on 1 April Location of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture
1989; the city's population exceeded one million in 1999.

Sendai was considered to be one of Japan's greenest cities, mostly because of its great numbers of trees and
plants. Sendai became known as The City of Trees before the Meiji Restoration, after the feudal Sendai
Domain encouraged residents to plant trees in their gardens. As a result, many houses, temples, and shrines
in central Sendai had household forests ( 屋敷林 , yashikirin), which were used as resources for wood and
Sendai
other everyday materials.

In 1925, the Senseki Line to Sendai Station became the first underground railway segment in Japan,
preceding the opening of the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (Asia's first subway line) by two years.

The 2nd Infantry Division was known as the "Sendai Division" as it was based in Sendai, and recruited
locally. During the Second World War it was involved in many different campaigns, but one of the most
important was the Battle of Guadalcanal. During the bombing of Sendai during World War II by the United
States on 10 July 1945, much of the historic center of the city was burned, with 2,755 inhabitants killed and Coordinates: 38°16′5.6″N 140°52′9.9″E
11,933 houses destroyed in the city.
Country Japan
Region Tōhoku
Gallery
Prefecture Miyagi
Government
• Mayor Kazuko Kōri
Area
• Total 786.30 km2 (303.59 sq mi)
Population (August 1, 2023)
• Total 1,098,335
A city map Tohoku Imperial Basho no Tsuji （1930） • Density 1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
of 1927, University Time zone UTC+09:00 (Japan Standard
Japanese Time)
language
edition Symbols
• Tree Japanese zelkova
• Flower Japanese clover
Phone number 022-261-1111
Address 3-7-1 Kokubun-cho, Aoba-ku,
Sendai-shi, Miyagi-ken 980-
8671
Website www.city.sendai.jp (https://ww
w.city.sendai.jp/)

Bombing of Sendai during Tohoku University Sendai

World War II Katahira Campus
Japanese name
Kanji 仙台
Postwar development
Hiragana せんだい
Katakana センダイ
Following World War II, the city was rebuilt, and Sendai became a vital transportation and logistics hub for the Tōhoku Transcriptions
region with the construction of major arteries such as the Tōhoku Expressway and Tōhoku Shinkansen.
Romanization Sendai
In the early 1950s, the United States Army, Japan operated Camp Schimmelpfennig and Camp Sendai in the city.

Sendai has been subject to several major earthquakes in recent history, including the 1978 Miyagi earthquake, which was a catalyst for the development of Japan's
current earthquake resistance standards, and the 2005 Miyagi earthquake. Most recently, the coastal area of Sendai, including Sendai Airport, was severely
damaged in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[2][3][4][6][7] The tsunami reportedly reached as far as Wakabayashi Ward Office, 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) from
the coastline. Thousands were killed, and countless more were injured and/or made homeless. Sendai's port was heavily damaged and temporarily closed,
reopening on 16 April 2011.[8]

Gallery

Sendai City War An aerial view of Sendai Tohoku Rakuten

Reconstruction harbour after the Golden Eagles
Memorial Hall earthquake, 12 March 2013 （ ）
2011

Geography
Sendai is located at lat. 38°16'05" north, long. 140°52'11" east. The city's area is 788.09 km2 (304.28 sq mi), and stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Ōu
Mountains, which are the east and west borders of Miyagi Prefecture. As a result, the city's geography is quite diverse. Eastern Sendai is a plains area, the center of
the city is hilly, and western areas are mountainous. The highest point in the city is Mount Funagata which stands 1,500 metres (4,921 feet) above sea level.
Unique among Japan's large coastal cities, Sendai's city core is built on a terrace at 40–60 m (131–197 ft) elevation.

The Sendai basin area is 939 km2 (363 sq mi) (the mountainous area is 675 km2 (261 sq mi), the plain area is 245 km2 (95 sq mi) and the water body is 20 km2
(8 sq mi)). The basin consists of urban areas, paddy fields and forests. The mid and upstream areas have forests. The Natori River flows through the area and
reaches Sendai Bay after 55 km (34 mi).[9]

The Hirose River ( 広瀬川 , Hirose-gawa) flows 45 kilometres (28 miles) through Sendai. The river is well known as a symbol of Sendai, especially because it
appears in the lyrics of Aoba-jō Koi-uta ( 青葉城恋唄 ; literally, The Aoba Castle Love Song), a popular song sung by Muneyuki Satō. Aoba Castle was built close
to the river to use the river as a natural moat. The river frequently flooded until the 1950s, but dams and levees constructed in the 1960s and 1970s have made such
floods rare.

Most mountains in Sendai are dormant volcanoes, much older than the more famous Mount Zaō and Naruko volcanoes in nearby municipalities. However, many
hot springs can be found in the city, indicating hydrothermal activity. The Miyagi Oki earthquake occurs offshore Sendai once every 25 to 40 years. The 7.2
magnitude 2005 Miyagi earthquake, which occurred on August 16, 2005, had an epicenter close to the Miyagi Oki earthquake area. However, the Headquarters
for Earthquake Research Promotion concluded that it was not the Miyagi Oki earthquake, saying "...the recent event is not thought to be this earthquake. This is
because the magnitude of the earthquake was small, and the source area, which was estimated from the aftershock distribution and seismic waves, didn't cover the
whole expected source region. Although, the recent event ruptured a part of the focal region of the expected earthquake."[10] In 2011, the 9.0 magnitude 2011
Tōhoku earthquake occurred offshore Sendai, resulting in a devastating tsunami.

Wards

Sendai has five wards ("ku"), which were created when it became a designated city in 1989. The city consciously avoided names that included directions (e.g.,
北
north , center 中央
) when it chose names for the new wards.

Wards of Sendai

Place Name Map of Sendai

Pop. density
Land
Rōmaji Kanji Color Population area in
km2
per km2

blue
Aoba-ku - 青葉
1 (administrative
center) 区 296,551 302.278 981

red
2 Izumi-ku 泉区 215,048 146.61 1,470

宮城
3 Miyagino-ku
野区 yellow 196,086 58,19 3,370

orange
太白
4 Taihaku-ku
区 226,069 228.39 997

Wakabayashi- 若林
5
ku 区 light green 137,494 50.86 2,700

Cityscape
Gallery

View of Sendai from AER Sendai night skyline from Sendai Station (2021) Kokubunchō (2010) Kōtōdai Park (2007)
(2019) Mukaiyama (2012 ）
 City view from the Sendai Castle on Mount Aoba

Climate

Sendai has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), which features warm and wet summers, and cool and dry winters. Sendai summers are not as hot as Tokyo
to the south, while the winters are much milder than Sapporo to the north, but retains significant seasonal differences in temperature and rainfall. Extremes range
from −11.7 to 37.2 °C (10.9 to 99.0 °F). Of Japan's prefectural capitals, Sendai experiences the fewest days of extreme temperatures (highs outside 0–30 °C (32–
86 °F)) at 19.6 per year, compared to Tokyo's average of 49.

Winters are cool and relatively dry, with January temperatures averaging 1.5 °C (34.7 °F). Snowfall is much lower than cities on the Sea of Japan coast, such as
Niigata and Tottori. Summers are very warm and much of the year's precipitation is delivered at this time, with an August average of 24.1 °C (75.4 °F). The city is
rarely hit by typhoons, and experiences only 6 days with more than 10 centimetres (4 in) of rainfall on average. Sendai's monsoon season usually begins in late
April to early October, which is later than in most cities in Japan. During this season, cold winds from the Okhotsk air mass, called "Yamase", blow in and depress
daytime highs.[11]

Climate data for Sendai (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1926−present)

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

17.9 20.9 24.2 29.9 33.2 34.4 36.7 37.3 36.0 29.9 24.4 21.8 37.3
Record high °C (°F)
(64.2) (69.6) (75.6) (85.8) (91.8) (93.9) (98.1) (99.1) (96.8) (85.8) (75.9) (71.2) (99.1)

5.6 6.5 10.0 15.5 20.2 23.1 26.6 28.2 25.0 19.8 14.1 8.3 16.9
Average high °C (°F)
(42.1) (43.7) (50.0) (59.9) (68.4) (73.6) (79.9) (82.8) (77.0) (67.6) (57.4) (46.9) (62.4)

2.0 2.4 5.5 10.7 15.6 19.2 22.9 24.4 21.2 15.7 9.8 4.5 12.8
Daily mean °C (°F)
(35.6) (36.3) (41.9) (51.3) (60.1) (66.6) (73.2) (75.9) (70.2) (60.3) (49.6) (40.1) (55.0)

−1.3 −1.1 1.4 6.3 11.7 16.1 20.2 21.6 18.0 11.9 5.6 0.9 9.3
Average low °C (°F)
(29.7) (30.0) (34.5) (43.3) (53.1) (61.0) (68.4) (70.9) (64.4) (53.4) (42.1) (33.6) (48.7)

−11.7 −11.5 −8.9 −5.0 −0.3 5.4 9.0 12.9 5.6 −0.1 −5.0 −10.8 −11.7
Record low °C (°F)
(10.9) (11.3) (16.0) (23.0) (31.5) (41.7) (48.2) (55.2) (42.1) (31.8) (23.0) (12.6) (10.9)

42.3 33.9 74.4 90.2 110.2 143.7 178.4 157.8 192.6 150.6 58.7 44.1 1,276.7
Average precipitation mm (inches)
(1.67) (1.33) (2.93) (3.55) (4.34) (5.66) (7.02) (6.21) (7.58) (5.93) (2.31) (1.74) (50.26)

21 18 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 59
Average snowfall cm (inches)
(8.3) (7.1) (4.3) (0.4) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (3.5) (23)

Average precipitation days (≥ 0.5 mm) 7.6 7.2 9.1 9.2 10.2 12.3 15.5 12.7 13.0 9.6 7.4 7.9 121.7

Average relative humidity (%) 66 64 61 63 70 79 83 81 78 72 68 68 71

−4 −4 −2 4 10 16 20 21 18 11 4 −1 8
Average dew point °C (°F)
(25) (25) (28) (39) (50) (61) (68) (70) (64) (52) (39) (30) (46)

Mean monthly sunshine hours 149.0 154.7 178.6 193.7 191.9 143.7 126.3 144.5 128.0 147.0 143.4 136.3 1,836.9
[12]
Source 1: Japan Meteorological Agency

Source 2: Time and Date (dewpoints, 1985-2015)[13]

See or edit raw graph data.

Demographics
As of 1 March 2023, the city had an estimated population of 1,097,407 and a population density of 1,397 persons per km2 .[1] The city's total area was
786.35 km2 .

The 2000 National Census revealed that 88.5% of the city's population (892,252 people) lived in a 129.69 km2 area, which is 16.6% of the city's total area. The
population density in this area was 6,879.9 persons per km2 , more than 5 times higher than the city's average population density at that time, 1,286.6 persons per
km2 . Approximately 10,000 people in Sendai were non-Japanese citizens.

Sendai had 525,828 households in 2020. The average household had approximately 2.07 members. The average household was becoming smaller every year,
because single-member households were increasing. At this time Sendai had more people in their early 50s and in their 20s and early 30s than in other age groups.
This is a result of the first and second baby booms in Japan, and university students. The average age in Sendai is 38.4, which makes the city one of the youngest
major cities in Japan.[14]

Governance Historical population

Year Pop. ±%
Sendai's political system is similar to other cities in Japan, because the Local Autonomy Law makes all municipalities 1920 190,013 —
uniform in terms of organization and power. However, Sendai is a designated city, so it has the same jurisdiction as 1925 221,709 +16.7%
prefectures in some areas. 1930 252,017 +13.7%
Sendai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature. The Sendai 1935 278,821 +10.6%
City Assembly members are elected from 5 elective districts, which correspond to the city's 5 wards. The number of 1940 284,132 +1.9%
assembly members allocated to each ward is based upon population. As of May 2005, the city has 60 assembly members; 1945 331,570 +16.7%
17 from Aoba Ward, 11 from Miyagino, 8 from Wakabayashi, 13 from Taihaku, and 11 from Izumi. The City Assembly 1950 380,217 +14.7%
elects an Assembly Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. Sendai has two vice mayors, who are not elected by the populace. 1955 414,775 +9.1%
Miyagi contributes 24 seats to the Miyagi Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between 1960 459,876 +10.9%
the Miyagi 1st district and the Miyagi 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan. 1965 520,059 +13.1%
1970 598,950 +15.2%
List of mayors of Sendai (1889 to present) 1975 709,326 +18.4%
1980 792,036 +11.7%
1985 857,335 +8.2%
1990 918,398 +7.1%
1995 971,297 +5.8%
2000 1,008,130 +3.8%
2005 1,025,098 +1.7%
2010 1,045,903 +2.0%
2015 1,082,159 +3.5%
2020 1,096,704 +1.3%

Sendai City Hall

# Name Took office Left office # Name Took office Left office # Name Took office Left office

1- Yoji Endo 7 March Takesaburo 26- Toru Ishii 23 December 3 July

2 (遠藤庸治 )
12 April 1889
1898 8-9 Kanomata 17 July 1919 26 July 1927 28 (石井亨 ) 1984 1993

Yoshiaki Satomi
鹿又武三郎
( )
Hajimu Fujii
13 March 29- 22 August 21 August
3
(里見良顕 )
8 April 1898
1903 Ryunosuke
Yamaguchi 13 August
31 (藤井黎 ) 1993 2005
10 7 June 1930
Tomohiro
Hayakawa
山口龍之助
( )
1927 Katsuhiko
Umehara 22 August 21 August
4 2 April 1903 1 July 1907 32
(早川智寛 )
11-
Tokusaburo
Shibuya 31 August 30 August
(梅原克彦 )
2005 2009

Takayoshi 13
渋谷徳三郎
( )
1930 1942
33- Emiko Okuyama 22 August 21 August
5 Wadachi 2 July 1907 2 July 1910 34 (奥山恵美子 ) 2009 2017
(和達孚嘉 ) Takeshi
Imamura
23
14 May Kazuko Kori
14 September 22 August
6 Yoji Endo
11 December
1910
4 November
1914
今村武志
( ) 1942
1946 35
(郡和子 ) 2017
present

Eimatsu 17
Kiichi Yamada 15- Okazaki
7
(山田揆一 )
25 May 1915 24 May 1919 18
岡崎栄松
( )
17 June 1946 December
1957

Takeshi
20- Shimano 2 February 6 November
25
島野 武
( )
1958 1984

Economy
Sendai is the center of the Tōhoku region's economy, and is the base of the region's logistics and transportation. The GDP in
Greater Sendai, Sendai Metropolitan Employment Area (1.6 million people), is US$61.7 billion in 2010.[15][16] Sendai city by
itself has a nominal GDP of approximately US$50 billion as of 2015.[17] The city's economy heavily relies upon retail and
services – the two industries provide approximately two thirds of the employment and close to half of the establishments.

Sendai is frequently called a branch-office economy, because very few major companies are headquartered in the city. Various
authorities are cooperating to alleviate this problem, primarily by encouraging high-tech ventures from Tohoku University,
which is well known for its science and engineering departments. There are also incentives for startups available from the
prefectural government.[18]

Tohoku Electric Power, a major regional supplier of electric power, has its headquarters in Sendai and also operates the Shin-
Sendai Thermal Power Station located within the city. Sendai MEA

Sendai's economic growth rate has stabilized since the 2011 Japan earthquake. The growth rate was only 0.4% in 2011 after
the quake created economic turmoil in coastal areas. The year after, in 2012 the rate spiked to 10.4% after reconstruction efforts. It has since fallen to a closer trend
to what is expected of 3.7% in 2013.[19]
Tourism in 2016 attracted an estimated 2.229 million visitors to Sendai.[19]

Education
Sendai is sometimes called an "Academic City" ( 学 都 , gakuto) because the city has many universities relative to its
population.[20]

Universities located within Sendai include:

Tohoku University
Tohoku Gakuin University
Miyagi University Tohoku University Kawauchi
Miyagi Gakuin Women's University Campus
Miyagi University of Education
Tohoku Fukushi University
Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University

Schools in the city include Tohoku International School.

Transport

Airport

The city is served by Sendai Airport (located in neighboring Natori), which has international flights to several countries, and
the Port of Sendai. A rail link to Sendai began service on March 18, 2007.

Railway

JR East's Sendai Station is the main transport hub for the city. The station is served by seven JR lines and is a major station on
the Tōhoku and Akita Shinkansen lines. An underground passage connects the station to the Sendai Subway. The subway has
two lines— Namboku ("north-south") and Tōzai ("east-west") with a total of 30 stations. When completed in 2015, Yagiyama
station became the highest-elevated subway station in the country at 136.4 meters.
Sendai transport map
East Japan Railway Company (JR East)
Tōhoku Shinkansen: Sendai
Tōhoku Main Line: Minami-Sendai – Nagamachi – Sendai – Higashi-Sendai – Iwakiri
Jōban Line: Minami-Sendai – Nagamachi – Sendai
Senzan Line: Sendai – Tōshōgū – Kita-Sendai – Kitayama – Tōhokufukushidaimae – Kunimi – Kuzuoka – Rikuzen-Ochiai – Ayashi –
Rikuzen-Shirasawa – Kumagane – Sakunami – Yatsumori – Okunikkawa
Senseki Line: Aoba-dōri – Sendai – Tsutsujigaoka – Miyaginohara – Rikuzen-Haranomachi – Nigatake – Kozurushinden – Fukudamachi
– Rikuzen-Takasago – Nakanosakae
Sendai Subway (All stations)

Bus

In addition to the public bus system, a loop bus called Loople runs between tourism hotspots around the city.[21]

Highways

The Tōhoku Expressway runs north–south through western Sendai, and is connected to other highways, such as the Sendai-Nambu Road, Sendai-Tobu Road,
Sanriku Expressway (Sendai-Matsushima Road), and Sendai Hokubu Road.

Tōhoku Expressway
Sendai-Tōbu Road
Sanriku Expressway
Sendai-Nanbu Road
National Route 4
National Route 6
National Route 45
National Route 47
National Route 48
National Route 286
National Route 346
 National Route 457

Port

Ferries connecting Tomakomai and Nagoya stop at the Port of Sendai.[22]

Sendai Airport Sendai Station International Center Sendai Highway Sendai-Tōbu Road Sendai Port
Station Buscenter （
Gurutto Sendai ）

Culture

Streets

The most well-known streets in Sendai, Jozenji-Dori ( 定禅寺通り ) and Aoba-Dori ( 青葉

通り ), are both lined with Japanese zelkovas. These are symbols of "The City of Trees".
Jozenji-Dori has a promenade and a few sculptures. It is a place of relaxation. Many
events and festivals, such as the Sendai Pageant of Starlight and the Jozenji Street Jazz
Festival, take place on Jozenji-Dori and in Kōtōdai Park ( 匂当台公園 ). Aoba-Dori is the
main business road in Sendai. Other major roads in the city include Hirose-Dori (ginkgo),
and Higashi-Nibancho-Dori.
Sendai Pageant of Starlight

Festivals

The most famous festival in Sendai is Tanabata, which attracts more than 2 million visitors
every year and is the largest Tanabata Festival in Japan. It is relatively quiet compared to
other traditional Japanese festivals, because its main attractions are intricate Tanabata
Sendai Tanabata Festival decorations.

The Aoba Matsuri Festival follows more typical Japanese festival traditions, with a
mikoshi, floats, a samurai parade, and traditional dancing.[23]
Dainenji
Local people burn their New Year decorations and pray for health in the new year during the Dontosai Festival, the oldest
festival in Miyagi Prefecture.

Various contemporary festivals also take place in Sendai, such as the Jōzenji Streetjazz Festival, the Michinoku Yosakoi
Festival, and the Sendai Pageant of Starlight. The Jōzenji Streetjazz Festival is one of the largest amateur music festivals in
Japan. It began as a jazz festival in 1991, but soon began to accept applications from all genres. The Michinoku Yosakoi
festival is a dance festival, derived from the Yosakoi Festival that takes place in Kōchi. Trees in downtown Sendai are
decorated with lights during the Sendai Pageant of Starlights. The event provided the idea for the Festival of Lights annually
held in Riverside, Sendai's sister city. In 2005, the streets were lit up with one million miniature bulbs.
The Miyagi Museum of Art

Specialties and crafts

Gyūtan teishoku, a table d'hôte
of beef tongue
Sendai is the origin of several foods, including gyūtan (beef tongue, usually grilled), hiyashi chūka (cold Chinese noodles),
and robatayaki (Japanese-style barbecue). However, robatayaki was later introduced to Kushiro, which developed and
popularized the dish. As a result, many people believe Kushiro is the origin of Robatayaki. Zundamochi ( ずんだ餅 , mochi
balls with sweet, bright green edamame paste), and sasakamaboko ( 笹かまぼこ , kamaboko shaped like bamboo leaves) are
also considered to be Sendai specialties. Sendai is also known for good sashimi, sushi, and sake. This is because Sendai is
near several major fishing ports, such as Kesennuma, Ishinomaki, and Shiogama, and the fact that Miyagi Prefecture is a major
producer of rice. There are many ramen restaurants in Sendai, and the area is known for a particular spicy miso ramen. Also,
Sendai station offers the most types of ekiben of any station in Japan. In autumn, many people organise Imonikai, a sort of
picnic by the river which involves making a potato stew called Imoni.

Many crafts from Sendai were originally created under the influence of the Date family during the Edo period. Examples are
Sendai Hira, a hand woven silk fabric, Tsutsumiyaki pottery, and Yanagiu Washi paper. However, some crafts, such as umoregi zaiku (crafts created from fossil
wood) were developed by low-ranking samurai who needed side jobs to survive. Kokeshi dolls were popularized by hot spring resorts that sold them as gifts.
Some relatively recent developments include Sendai Tsuishu lacquerware and Tamamushinuri lacquerware, both of which were developed after the Meiji
Restoration.

Sendai was also known for its production of Tansu, clothing drawers made from wood with elaborate ironwork.

Sites of interest
 Sendai is home to historical sites related to the Date clan. The ruins of Sendai Castle are close to downtown on Aobayama,
which also gives a panoramic view of the city. The Zuihōden is the tomb of Date Masamune and is home to artifacts related to
the Date family. It is on a hill called Kyogamine, which is the traditional resting place for Date family members. In Aoba-ku,
the Ōsaki Hachiman-gū shaden, built in 1607 by Date Masamune, is designated a National Treasure. Mutsu Kokubun-ji
Yakushidō is the provincial temple of Mutsu Province.

Newer historical sites include the former home of Doi Bansui, a famous lyricist, and a
monument at Sendai City Museum that commemorates the Chinese writer Lu Xun.
Zuihōden Another statue of Lu Xun can be found in the Tohoku University Katahira Campus,
where Lu Xun studied medical science. Older historical sites include the Tōmizuka Tomb,
a tomb that dates back to the late 4th century or early 5th century, and the Tomizawa
Preserved Forest site, where the excavated remains of a Stone Age human settlement (Upper Palaeolithic – roughly 20,000
years ago) have been protected by a large museum structure, built in 1996. The nearby Site of Tagajō was an important early
fort and administrative centre.
Sendai Castle
Museums

Sendai City Museum displays artifacts related to the Date family and the history of Sendai. Date Masamune's famous suit of
armour and artifacts related to Hasekura Tsunenaga's visit to Rome (National Treasures of Japan) are sometimes on display.

The Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium, which opened in 2015 as a successor to the Marinepia Matsushima Aquarium, is focusing
on raising the Sanriku fish, the blue sharks. Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium

The Miyagi Museum of Art is Sendai's largest art museum. A total of 24 sculptures have been installed in public locations in
Sendai through its 'City of Sculptures' project.

The Sendai City Tomizawa Site Museum in the southern part of the city preserves a fossilized forest where the remains of human habitation from 20,000 years ago
can be seen.[24]

The Sendai City War Reconstruction Memorial Hall is dedicated to remembering the air raid of July 1945 in which most of Sendai was destroyed.[25]

Other museums include the 3M Sendai City Science Museum, Sendai Literature Museum and Tohoku University's Museum of Natural History.[26]

Natural sites

Western Sendai is home to many sites of natural beauty, many of them found around Akiu Onsen and Sakunami, which are
hot spring resorts. Sites around the Akiu area include the Akiu Great Falls, sometimes counted as one of Japan's three great
waterfalls, and the Rairai Gorge, known for its autumn colours. The Futakuchi Gorge contains waterfalls that have been
designated as natural monuments and the Banji Cliffs, an example of columnar basalt.[27]

The Sakunami area is also known for its natural environment, with cherry blossoms in the spring, and autumnal colours.
The nearby Hōmei Shijuhachi Taki Falls is the name of waterfalls found in the higher reaches of the Hirose River. The
origin of the name "Hōmei" ( 鳳鳴 , "Chinese phoenix cry") is said to come from ancient local inhabitants' claim that the
sound of the waterfalls was similar to the legendary bird's call.

The Tatsunokuchi Gorge offers a view of a petrified wood next to the Otamaya-
bashi bridge. Nishi Park and Tsutsujigaoka Park are appreciated for their cherry
blossom in the spring. The Hirose River and the Gamo tideland are home to diverse
wildlife.

Matsushima, which is one of the Three Views of Japan, is near Sendai, in

Saikachi Gawa
Matsushima.
Matsushima

Other sites

Sendai Mediatheque is a multipurpose facility that houses the city library, galleries, and film studio facilities open for use by the general public. The building was
designed by Toyo Ito and is known for its innovative architecture.[28]

The AER Building, Miyagi Prefectural Office, and SS30 Building have observation decks that offer panoramic views. The Sendai Trust Tower is the tallest
building in Tohoku and Hokkaido.

Uminomori Aquarium opened in July 2015, built near the Port of Sendai.[29]

The Sendai Daikannon is an approximately 100 m (328 ft) high Kannon statue. The statue was built during Japan's bubble economy by a now defunct company. It
was once the tallest statue in the world.

Sendai also contains a Peace Pagoda, built by Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga in 1974.

Religion

Shinto
Shinto shrines in Sendai include Miyagiken Gokoku Shrine, Tsubonuma Hachiman Shrine, Futahashira Shrine, and Sendai Tōshōgū, a memorial shrine of
Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Catholicism

The Catholic Church has been associated with Sendai since 1613, the year in which Date Masamune, daimyō of Sendai, built a galleon to send an embassy to the
Pope in Rome headed by Hasekura Tsunenaga.[30] Although the embassy was successful in its aim of establishing relations with the Holy See, Masamune's plans
were frustrated by the suppression of Christianity in Japan. The Diocese of Sendai (previously the Diocese of Hakodate) was established in 1891, only two years
after the promulgation of a new constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion in Japan, in 1889. The Bishop of Sendai currently oversees the four northern
prefectures of Miyagi, Fukushima, Iwate and Aomori, serving 11,152 Catholics in 56 parishes. Mototerakoji, the Cathedral of the diocese, is located a few blocks
north of Sendai Station.

Sports
Although the Lotte Orions briefly used Sendai as a temporary home for the franchise from
1973 to 1977, the city was largely ignored by professional sports until 1994. In that year,
the Tohoku Electric Power football team was changed into a club team, Brummel Sendai,
with the goal of eventually being promoted into the J.League. The team achieved this goal
when the J. League expanded in 1999 with the creation of a second division. The name of
the team was simultaneously changed to Vegalta Sendai. Currently the city also host semi-
professional outfit Sony Sendai FC.
Yurtec Stadium Sendai
Miyagi Baseball Stadium In 2005, the number of professional sports teams based in Sendai suddenly increased to
three. The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles was introduced as a new Pacific League
baseball franchise after widely publicized turmoil involving the merger of the Kintetsu
Buffaloes and the Orix Blue Wave developed into the first strike in Nippon Professional
Baseball. Additionally, the Japan Basketball League, which began its inaugural season in
November 2005, included the Sendai 89ers among its first six teams.

Annual sporting events include the Sendai Cup, an international football tournament for
U-18 teams, and the Sendai International Half Marathon. In 2006 of the Sendai
International half marathon, Mizuki Noguchi, who won the women's marathon gold
medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, took part in and won the race in a surprising Kamei Arena Sendai
Xebio Arena Sendai
course record.

Various sporting venues can be found in Sendai, such as Hitomebore Stadium Miyagi (venue of 2002 FIFA World Cup),
Yurtec Stadium Sendai, Miyagi Baseball Stadium, Sendai City Gymnasium, Sendai Athletic Stadium, Shellcom Sendai and Sendai Hi-Land Raceway. The city is
also known as the origin of figure skating in Japan, and both 2006 Olympic gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa and two-time Olympic gold medalist (2014, 2018)
Yuzuru Hanyu trained in Sendai during their childhood. Tohoku Fukushi University and Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School are well known for their strong sports
programs, the latter for baseball.

In 2006, Sendai hosted some games of the 2006 FIBA World Championship. Before that, the city had some experience at hosting international basketball events
such as the 1994 and 2004 editions of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup. Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling is a joshi wrestling company based in sendai.

Baseball
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (Pa.League)

Basketball
Sendai 89ers (B.League)

Football
Vegalta Sendai (J.League)
MyNavi Sendai （WE.League）
Futsal

Voscuore Sendai （F.League）

Volleyball

Ligare Sendai （V.League）

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Sendai has a long history of international relationships. Its affiliation with Riverside, California, on March 9, 1957, is the second oldest sister city partnership in
Japan.

Sendai is twinned with:[31]

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico (since October 1973)

Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain (since October 1970)
Changchun, Jilin, China (since October 1980)
Dallas, Texas, United States (since August 1997)
Gwangju, South Korea (since April 2002)
Minsk, Belarus (since April 1973)
Rennes, Brittany, France (since September 1967)
Riverside, California, United States (since March 1957)

Friendship cities

Sendai also cooperates with:[31]

Oulu, North Ostrobothnia, Finland (since November 2005)

Tainan, Taiwan (since January 2006)

International events

The Sendai International Music Competition takes place every three years, welcoming participants from around the world.

Sendai has hosted international conferences about disaster management, as is recognized as a model city for disaster risk prevention.[32]

Notable people
Akitoshi Saito, Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for Pro Wrestling Noah (Currently lives in
Nagoya, Aichi)
Hirohiko Araki, manga artist; creator of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The fictional city of Morioh that appears in
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is based on Sendai.[33]
Junichi Inagaki, singer-songwriter
Miho Arakawa, voice actress
Chris Broad, British YouTuber based in Sendai
Mika Doi, voice actress
Mimori Yusa, singer-songwriter
Yuzuru Hanyu, figure skater and two time Olympic champion (2014-2018)
Eugen Herrigel lectured at Tohoku Imperial University from 1924 until 1929[34]
Sharla Hinskens, Canadian YouTuber based in Sendai
Kanata Hongō, actor and model
Karen Iwata, member of girl-group AKB48 Yuzuru Hanyu

Monkey Majik, band, formed and based in Sendai

Hikaru Minegishi, footballer
Yūsei Oda, voice actor
Minene Sakurano, manga artist; creator of Mamotte Shugogetten
Kimi Sato, composer
Somei Satoh, composer
Satomi Satō, voice actress
Shizuka Arakawa, figure skater and Olympic Champion (2006)
Yoko Kanno, composer
Ayumi Ishida, member of girl-group Morning Musume '17
Ai Fukuhara, table tennis player
Tomokazu Harimoto, table tennis player
Shun Sato, figure skater and 2019 Junior Grand Prix Final Champion
Dash Chisako Wrestler in sendai girls pro wrestling
Sendai Sachiko former wrestler in sendai girls pro wrestling
Ai Fukuhara

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oke/jinko/suike.html). City of Sendai (in Japanese). atest-news/?view=News&id=565364382) Archived (https://web.arch
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2. US Geological Survey 9.0 assessment (https://earthquake.usgs.go news/?view=News&id=565364382) 2011-03-14 at the Wayback
v/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2011/usc0001xgp/) Machine
 4. The Telegraph 9.0 assessment "Japan earthquake: timeline of the
disaster, from tsunami to nuclear crisis" 15 March 2011 (https://ww
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d/stats/etrn/index.php?prec_no=34&block_no=47590&year=&mont
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dai.jp/chosatoke/shise/toke/jinko/documents/r0109.xlsx).
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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sendai&oldid=1175522692"
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regions – Investing in Japan – Japan External Trade Organization –
JETRO" (https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest/region/miyagi.html).
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5738/http://www.city.sendai.jp/kezai-chose/kurashi/machi/kezaikoy
o/kezai/documents/2016koukaiban.pdf) (PDF). Sendai City. 2016.
Archived from the original (http://www.city.sendai.jp/kezai-chose/kur
ashi/machi/kezaikoyo/kezai/documents/2016koukaiban.pdf) (PDF)
on February 14, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
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l) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20080506082435/http://ww
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the Wayback Machine
21. "Loople Info page" (http://loople-sendai.jp/en/).
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oro/sendai.html).
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lish/e-history.html)
24. General Information (http://www.city.sendai.jp/kyouiku/iseki/museu
m-e.html)
25. "Sendai War Memorial Museum Homepage (in Japanese)" (https://
www.hm-sendai.jp/sisetu/sensai/).
26. "Tohoku University Museum Homepage (in Japanese)" (http://www.
museum.tohoku.ac.jp/index.html).
27. Sendai Hotels & Travel Guide (http://www.gojapango.com/travel/se
ndai.htm)
28. SMT.jp, about Sendai mediatheque (http://www.smt.jp/en/smt/)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20071024222111/http://www.
smt.jp/en/smt/) 2007-10-24 at the Wayback Machine
29. "Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium" (http://www.uminomori.jp/umino/en/i
ndex.html).
30. Charles Ralph Boxer, The Christian Century in Japan, 1549–1650,
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967), p.314
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y.sendai.jp/koryu/foreignlanguage/en/friendship.html). city.sendai.jp.
Sendai. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
32. "About Disaster-Resilient and Environmentally-Friendly City" (http
s://sendai-resilience.jp/en/bosaikankyo/).
「Ｍ県Ｓ市杜王町」ジョジョの世界、仙台と一体 原画展開幕、原
33. "
作者の荒木飛呂彦氏があいさつ " (https://www.sankei.com/life/news/
170813/lif1708130019-n1.html) (in Japanese). Sankei Shimbun.
August 13, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
34. Shoji Yamada Shots in the Dark