Aomori Prefecture has part(s) Tsugaru region
Aomori Prefecture (青森県, Aomori-ken) [a̠o̞mo̞ɾʲikẽ̞ɴ] is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, Iwate Prefecture to the southeast, Akita Prefecture to the southwest, the Sea of Japan to the west, and Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait to the north. Aomori Prefecture is the 8th-largest prefecture, with an area of 9,645.64 km2 (3,724.20 sq mi), and the 31st-most populous prefecture, with more than 1.2 million people. Approximately 45 percent of Aomori Prefecture's residents live in its two core cities, Aomori and Hachinohe, which lie on coastal plains. The majority of the prefecture is covered in forested mountain ranges, with population centers occupying valleys and plains. Aomori is the third-most populous prefecture in the Tōhoku region, after Miyagi Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture. Mount Iwaki, an active stratovolcano, is the prefecture's highest point, at almost 1,624.7 m (5,330 ft).
Humans have inhabited the prefecture for at least 15,000 years, and the oldest evidence of pottery in Japan was discovered at the Jōmon period Odai Yamamoto I site. After centuries of rule by the Nanbu and Tsugaru clans, the prefecture was formed out of the northern part of Mutsu Province during the Meiji Restoration. Though the prefecture remains dominated by primary sector industries, it also serves as a transportation hub due to its location at the northern end of Honshu.1945 to present
During the Occupation of Japan, Aomori's military bases were controlled by the US military. Hachinohe Airfield was occupied until 1950, and was called Camp Haugen. Misawa Air Base was occupied and rebuilt by the United States Army Air Forces; the base has seen a US military presence since then. Radio Aomori made its first broadcast in 1953.  Four years later, the first fish auctions were held. 1958 saw the completion of the Municipal Fish Market as well as the opening of the Citizen's Hospital. In the same year, the Tsugaru Line established a rail connection with the village of Minmaya at the tip of the Tsugaru Peninsula.In March 1985, after 23 years of labor and a financial investment of 690 billion yen, the Seikan Tunnel finally linked the islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, thereby becoming the longest tunnel of its kind in the world. Almost exactly three years later, on March 13, railroad service was inaugurated on the Tsugaru Kaikyo Line. The tunnel's opening to rail traffic saw the end of the Seikan Ferry rail service. During their 80 years of service, the Seikan rail ferries sailed between Aomori and Hakodate some 720,000 times, carrying 160 million passengers. It continues to operate between the cities, ferrying automobile traffic and passengers rather than trains.Aomori Public College opened in April 1993. In April 1995, Aomori Airport began offering regular international air service to Seoul, South Korea, and Khabarovsk, Russia; however, the flights to Khabarovsk were discontinued in 2004. In June 2007, four North Korean defectors reached Aomori Prefecture, after having been at sea for six days, marking the second known case ever where defectors have successfully reached Japan by boat. In March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the east coast of Japan. The southeastern coast of Aomori Prefecture was affected by the resulting tsunami. Buildings along harbors were damaged along with boats thrown about in the streets.Geography
Aomori Prefecture is the northernmost prefecture in the Tōhoku region, lying on the northern end of the island of Honshu. It faces Hokkaido from across the Tsugaru Strait and it borders Akita and Iwate in the south. The prefecture is flanked by the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Japan to the west with the Tsugaru Strait linking those bodies of water to the north of the prefecture. The islets of Kyūroku-jima in the Sea of Japan are the prefecture's westernmost point. Oma, at the northwestern tip of the axe-shaped Shimokita Peninsula, is the northernmost point of Honshu. The Shimokita and Tsugaru Peninsulas enclose Mutsu Bay. Between those peninsulas lies the smaller Natsudomari Peninsula, the northern end of the Ōu Mountains. The three peninsulas are prominently visible in the prefecture's symbol, a stylized map.Lake Ogawara, a brackish lake at the base of the Shimokita Peninsula, is the eleventh largest lake in Japan, the largest brackish lake in the Tōhoku area, and the prefecture's largest lake. Lake Towada, a lake that sits in a volcanic caldera, straddles Aomori's boundary with Akita. The lake is a primary feature of Towada-Hachimantai National Park and is the largest caldera lake in Honshu. Also within the park, the Oirase River flows east towards the Pacific Ocean from Lake Towada. Another feature of the park, the Hakkōda Mountains, an expansive volcanic group, rises in the lands to the south of the city of Aomori and north of Lake Towada.Shirakami-Sanchi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in the Shirakami Mountains in the western part of the prefecture. The site contains the largest surviving virgin beech forest in East Asia which is home to over 87 species of birds. Mount Iwaki, a stratovolcano and the prefecture's highest point lies to northeast of the Shirakami Mountains. The lands to the east and northeast of Mount Iwaki are an expansive floodplain that is drained by the Iwaki River. Hirosaki, the former capital of the Tsugaru clan, sits on the banks of the river.As of 31 March 2019, 12% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Towada-Hachimantai and Sanriku Fukkō National Parks; Shimokita Hantō and Tsugaru Quasi-National Parks; and Asamushi-Natsudomari, Ashino Chishōgun, Iwaki Kōgen, Kuroishi Onsenkyō, Nakuidake, Ōwani Ikarigaseki Onsenkyō, and Tsugaru Shirakami Prefectural Natural Parks; and Mount Bonju Prefectural Forest.Culture
Traditional crafts
The Tsugaru region of Aomori Prefecture is the birthplace of the traditional Tsugaru-jamisen, a virtuosic style of playing shamisen that is deeply intwined with the region's identity and history. A notable player of the style was Takahashi Chikuzan, a blind musician from Hiranai who wandered around the country and eventually gained nationwide appeal. Aomori Prefecture is also where the decorative embroidery styles, kogin-zashi and Nanbu hishizashi originated as more utilitarian techniques during the Edo period. The peasant women of the area, who created the styles, used them to make linen clothing more robust and warm during the harsh winters since cotton was unavailable to the lower class. Wooden horse figures called Yawata-uma have been made in the former holdings of the Nanbu for 700 years.Dialects
Tōhoku dialect, one of the three main dialects of Japan, is spoken in Aomori Prefecture. The most widespread variants are the Tsugaru dialect, Nanbu dialect, and Shimokita dialect. The boundary determining which of these dialects are spoken is mainly along the former border of the Tsugaru and Nanbu clans between Hiranai and Noheji, with some overlap. Speakers of the Tsugaru dialect are typically centered around Hirosaki, while those who use the Nanbu dialect are centered around Hachinohe. The Shimokita dialect is used on the Shimokita Peninsula around Mutsu and has been recognized as having enough differences to distinguish it from the Nanbu dialect. It was also used in combination with the Nanbu dialect in an early Japanese–Russian dictionary written by a man whose father came from the Shimokita Peninsula.The oldest discovered compilation of words and phrases of the Nanbu dialect was written in 1790 followed by a dictionary of the Tsugaru dialect in 1809. Special features of the Aomori dialects include an atypical intonation, voicing consonants that are typically unvoiced (e.g. [k] sounds become [g]), and the addition of voiced velar nasal sounds and corresponding kana (か゚ [ŋa],  き゚ [ŋi], く゚ [ŋu], け゚ [ŋe], and こ゚ [ŋo]).There is a negative connotation that surrounds people who speak this dialect, labeling them as lazy country folks. Due to this negativity speakers of Tōhoku dialects will often hide their accents. A study performed in 2016 indicated that people from Aomori who are 70 years and older frequently use these dialects, while use becomes less frequent the younger a person is regardless of fluency. Additionally, the study revealed that when traveling to Tokyo, older generations will continue to use their dialect, while younger generations switch to standard Japanese. On the other hand, over half of each generation surveyed preferred to use their local dialect when talking to Tokyoites in Aomori Prefecture.
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