Oma, Aomori
Encyclopedia
Towns of Japan
A town is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture , city , and village...
located in northeastern Aomori
Aomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
in Tōhoku region
Tohoku region
The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. As of 2009, the town had an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 5,950 and a density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 114 persons per km². Its total area was 52.06 km².
Geography
Ōma occupies the northwestern coastline of Shimokita PeninsulaShimokita Peninsula
The Shimokita Peninsula is the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū, stretching out towards Hokkaidō. Administratively the area is a part of Aomori Prefecture....
, facing the Tsugaru Strait
Tsugaru Strait
is a channel between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture...
. The town has a cold maritime climate characterized by cool short summers and long cold winters with strong winds. Much of the village is within the limits of the Shimokita Hanto Quasi-National Park
Shimokita Hanto Quasi-National Park
is a quasi-national park in the far northern Tohoku region of Honshū in Japan. It is rated a protected landscape according to the IUCN. The park, which covers most of Shimokita Peninsula, includes the volcanic peaks and caldera lakes of the Osorezan Mountain Range, the coastal rock formations of...
. cape is the northernmost point on Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
island.
Neighbouring municipalities
- MutsuMutsu, Aomoriis a city located in northeastern Aomori in the Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 61,205 and a density of 70.09 persons per km²...
- SaiSai, Aomoriis a village located in the Shimokita District of northeastern Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the village had an estimated population of 2,492 and a density of 18.5 persons per km². Its total area was 135.03 km².-Geography:...
- KazamauraKazamaura, Aomoriis a village located in Shimokita District, Aomori Prefecture, Japan.As of September 1, 2009, the village had an estimated population of 2,311 and a density of 33.2 persons per km²...
History
The area around Ōma was inhabited by the EmishiEmishi
The constituted a group of people who lived in northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region. They are referred to as in contemporary sources. Some Emishi tribes resisted the rule of the Japanese Emperors during the late Nara and early Heian periods...
people until the historical period. During the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
, it was controlled by the Nambu clan of Morioka Domain
Morioka Domain
The was a han or feudal domain that encompasses present-day the middle-northern part of Iwate Prefecture and eastern part of Aomori Prefecture. It is sometimes colloquially called . The domain was tozama daimyo and was governed by the Satake clan. Its income was 100,000...
. During the cadastral reform of 1889, Ōoku Village was proclaimed from the merger of Ōma hamlet with neighboring Okudo hamlet. It was renamed Ōma Town on November 3, 1942. Ōma has been a popular location setting for movies and television dramas. It was the setting for the 1983 movie starring Ken Ogata
Ken Ogata
Ken Ogata was a Japanese actor.Ogata was born in Tokyo, Japan. Ogata is well known for his roles in Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book, Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters and Shohei Imamura's The Ballad of Narayama...
. In 2000, Ōma was the setting for an NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
television series starring Tabata Tomoko. This was followed by another fictional series on TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
starring Tetsuya Watari
Tetsuya Watari
is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. He made his screen debut in 1964, in Isamu Kosugi's .He is now the president of Ishihara Promotion.He has a younger brother, Tsunehiko Watase, who is also an actor.-Filmography:-External links:* *...
in 2007.
Economy
The economy of Ōma was traditionally heavily dependent on commercial fishingCommercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions...
. The town was famous for its tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
, which was caught in the traditional manner by hand in two-person boats, and sold under the “Ōma” registered trademark. Other seafood products include sea urchin roe, konbu and squid
Squid
Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...
. The town is also the site of a nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
, the Ōma Nuclear Power Plant
Oma Nuclear Power Plant
The is a future nuclear plant in Ōma, Aomori currently undergoing preliminary ground work that will be operated by the Electric Power Development Company...
, which will be unique in its use of MOX fuel
MOX fuel
Mixed oxide fuel, commonly referred to as MOX fuel, is nuclear fuel that contains more than one oxide of fissile material. MOX fuel contains plutonium blended with natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium. MOX fuel is an alternative to the low-enriched uranium fuel used in the...
when it comes on line.
Tourist attractions
- Ōmazaki, northernmost point of Honshū
- Ōmazaki LighthouseŌmazaki LighthouseThe is a lighthouse located at the northernmost extremity of Honshū island, on Bentenjima, an island 600 meters off Cape Ōmazaki in Ōma, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is within the borders of the Shimokita Hanto Quasi-National Park....
, one of the “50 Lighthouses of Japan” - Ōma Onsen, hot spring resort
- Akaishi Beach
Noted people from Ōma
- Hiroshi IzumiHiroshi IzumiHiroshi Izumi is a Japanese judoka and mixed martial artist.He won the Men's -90kg category silver medal at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and the gold medal at the World judo championship games in Cairo, Egypt on 2005....
– silver medalist in JudoJudois a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
during 2004 Summer Olympics2004 Summer OlympicsThe 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...