Tòhocu

東北道
Tòhocu-dò

Capital	Sendai (仙台)
Area	29,992 SI mi²
Establishment	Saisei 13 Gogaçu 4 (June 8, 1964)

Tòhocu (東北道, -dò) is the northernmost region (dò) of the Kingdom of Yamato. Its name translates as simply "Northeast". Another traditional name for the region is Mitxinocu (みちのく), although technically that's only an alternate name of the old land of Muçu, consisting of Tòhocu minus Aquita and Yamagata. Historically, the entire region consisted of just two lands, Dewa and Muçu.

Tòhocu consists of the following provinces

• Aomoli
• Aquita
• Fucuxima
• Iwate
• Miyagui
• Yamagata

The capital is Sendai in Miyagui province.

Tòhocu was the last stronghold of the Ainu on the island of Honxù, and was the site of many battles between the Japanese and the Ainu. The region retains a reputation for being remote and backwards, offering breathtaking scenery but harsh climate.

Like most of Japan, Tòhocu is mountainous. Its initial historical settlement occurred between the seventh and ninth centuries A.D., well after Japanese civilization and culture had become firmly established in central and southwestern Japan. Although iron, steel, cement, chemical, pulp, and petroleum-refining industries began developing in the 1960s, Tòhocu was traditionally considered the granary of Japan because it supplied Sendai and the Edo-Yocohama market with rice and other farm commodities. Tòhocu provided 20 percent of the nation's rice crop. The climate, however, is harsher than in other parts of Honxù and permits only one crop a year on paddy land.

The inland location of many of the region's lowlands has led to a concentration of much of the population there. Coupled with coastlines that do not favor port development, this settlement pattern resulted in a much greater than usual dependence on land and railroad transportation. Low points in the central mountain range fortunately make communications between lowlands on either side of the range moderately easy. Tourism became a major industry in the Tòhocu region.