Editing Aomori Prefecture (section)

==History==
{{See also|Historic Sites of Aomori Prefecture}}

===Jōmon period===
[[File:Odai Yamamoto I potsherds.jpg|thumb|Potsherds from the Odai Yamamoto I site]]
The oldest evidence of pottery in Japan was found at the [[Odai Yamamoto I site]] in the town of [[Sotogahama]] in the northwestern part of the prefecture. The relics found there suggest that the [[Jōmon period]] began about 15,000 years ago.<ref name="Jomon">{{cite web |title=Historic Site, Odai-Yamamoto Site |url=https://jomon-japan.jp/en/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/leaflet_13odaiyamamoto_2019.pdf |work=Jomon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaido and Northern Tohoku |year=2019 |access-date=30 June 2020 |archive-date=30 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630063157/https://jomon-japan.jp/en/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/leaflet_13odaiyamamoto_2019.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> By 7,000 BCE, fishing cultures had developed along the shores of the prefecture which were three metres higher than the present day shoreline.<ref>{{cite web |title=Choshichiyachi Shell Midden |url=https://jomon-japan.jp/en/jomon-sites/choshichiyachi/ |work=Jomon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaido and Northern Tohoku |access-date=30 June 2020}}</ref> Around 3,900 BCE, the settlement at the [[Sannai-Maruyama Site]] in the present-day city of [[Aomori (city)|Aomori]] began.<ref>{{cite web |author=Junko Habu |date=September 2008 |title=Growth and decline in complex hunter-gatherer societies: a case study from the Jomon period Sannai Maruyama site, Japan |url=https://anthropology.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Habu%20Growth%20%26%20Decline.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225215821/https://anthropology.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Habu%20Growth%20%26%20Decline.pdf |archive-date=2014-12-25 |access-date=30 June 2020 |work=[[Antiquity (journal)|Antiquity]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]}}</ref> The settlement shows evidence of the wide interaction between the site's inhabitants and people from across Jōmon period Japan, including Hokkaido and [[Kyushu]].<ref name="Jomon"/> The settlement of Sannai-Maruyama ended around 2300 BCE for unknown reasons. Its abandonment was likely due to the population's [[subsistence economy]] being unable to result in sustained growth, with its end being spurred on by the reduced amount of natural resources during the [[neoglaciation]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Junko Habu |author2=Mark Hall |title=Climate Change, Human Impacts on the Landscape, and Subsistence Specialization: Historical Ecology and Changes in Jomon Hunter-Gatherer Lifeways |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4hn139hc |isbn=9780813042428 |publisher=[[University of California, Berkeley]] |work=The Archaeology and Historical Ecology of Small Scale Economies |date=1 December 2013 |access-date=30 June 2020}}</ref> The Jōmon period continued up to 300 BCE in present-day Aomori Prefecture at the [[Kamegaoka Stone Age Site|Kamegaoka site]] in the city of [[Tsugaru, Aomori|Tsugaru]] where the ''[[Dogū#Shakōkidogū|Shakōkidogū]]'' was found.<ref name="Jomon"/>

===Yayoi period to Heian period===
{{See also|Mutsu Province}}
During the Yayoi period, the area that would become Aomori Prefecture was impacted by the migration of settlers from continental Asia to a lesser extent than the rest of Japan to the south and west of the region. The region, known then as Michinoku, was inhabited by the [[Emishi]]. It is not clear if the Emishi were the descendants of the Jōmon people, a group of the [[Ainu people]], or if both the Ainu and Emishi were descended from the Jōmon people. The northernmost tribe of the Emishi that inhabited what would become Aomori Prefecture was known as the Tsugaru.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kazuro Hanihara |title=Emishi, Ezo and Ainu: An Anthropological Perspective |journal=Japan Review |year=1990 |issue=1 |pages=35–48 |jstor=25790886}}</ref> Historic records mention a series of destructive eruptions in 917 from the volcano at [[Lake Towada]]. The eruptive activity peaked on 17 August.<ref>{{cite web |title=十和田 |trans-title=Towada |url=https://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/sendai/204_Towada/204_index.html |language=ja |publisher=Japan Meteorological Agency |access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> Throughout the [[Heian period]] the Emishi were slowly subdued by the [[Imperial Court in Kyoto]] before being incorporated into [[Mutsu Province]] by the [[Northern Fujiwara]] around 1094.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Mark J. Hudson |title=Ainu Ethnogenesis and the Northern Fujiwara |journal=Arctic Anthropology |year=1999 |volume=36 |issue=1/2 |pages=73–83 |jstor=40316506}}</ref> The Northern Fujiwara set up the port settlement [[Tosaminato]] in present-day [[Goshogawara]] to develop trade between their lands, Kyoto, and continental Asia.<ref name="Tosa">{{cite web |title=十三湊遺跡 |trans-title=Ruins of Tosaminato |url=https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/203576 |work=The Agency for Cultural Affairs |language=ja |access-date=30 June 2020}}</ref> The Northern Fujiwara were deposed in 1189 by [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]] who would go on to establish the [[Kamakura shogunate]].<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Hiraizumi |url=http://hiraizumi.or.jp/joudo/history/index.html |work=Hiraizumi, Pure Land's World |access-date=30 June 2020}}</ref>

===Kamakura period===
[[Minamoto no Yoritomo]] incorporated Mutsu Province into the holdings of the Kamakura shogunate.<ref name="Minamoto no Yoritomo captures Mutsu Province">{{cite web |last1=Minamoto |first1=Yoritomo |title=Yoritomo captures Takadate Castle in conquest of Mutsu Province |url=https://www.artic.edu/artworks/32429/lord-minamoto-yoritomo-captures-takadate-castle-in-his-conquest-of-mutsu-province-minamoto-yoritomo-ko-oshu-seibatsu-takadachi-no-shojo-o-koraku-su-and-view-of-the-coast-of-mutsu-province-oshu-kaigan-ichiran |website=www.artic.edu |year=1868 |publisher=Utagawa Kuniteru II |access-date=4 May 2022}}</ref> Nanbu Mitsuyuki was awarded vast estates in [[Nukanobu District]] after he had joined Minamoto no Yoritomo at the [[Battle of Ishibashiyama]] and the conquest of the Northern Fujiwara. Nanbu Mitsuyuki built [[Shōjujidate Castle]] in what is now [[Nanbu, Aomori]].<ref>{{cite web |title=聖寿寺館跡 |trans-title=Shōjojidate ruins |url=https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/140387 |work=Cultural Heritage Online |publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs |language=ja |access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> The eastern area of the current prefecture was dominated by horse ranches, and the Nanbu grew powerful and wealthy on the supply of [[warhorse]]s. These horse ranches were fortified stockades, numbered one through nine (Ichinohe through Kunohe), and were awarded to the six sons of Nanbu Mitsuyuki, forming the six main branches of the [[Nanbu clan]].<ref>{{cite web |title=伝説・地名 |trans-title=Legends and place names |url=https://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/kids/08_tradition.html |publisher=Aomori Prefecture Government |language=ja |date=20 May 2020 |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=November 2014 |title=第2次五戸町総合振興計画 |trans-title=Second Gonohe Town Promotion Plan |url=http://www.town.gonohe.aomori.jp/kurashi/kikakushinko/h26_shinkokeikaku_soan.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129140622/http://www.town.gonohe.aomori.jp/kurashi/kikakushinko/h26_shinkokeikaku_soan.pdf |archive-date=29 January 2018 |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=Gonohe Town Promotion Plan |publisher=Gonohe Town |language=ja}}</ref> The northwestern part of the prefecture was awarded to the [[Akita clan|Andō clan]] for their role in driving the Northern Fujiwara out of Tosaminato. The port was expanded under the rule of the Andō clan. They traded heavily with the Ainu in [[Ezo]]. However, conflict would break out between the Ainu and the Andō clan in 1268 and again in the 1320s. The conflict was put down after the Nanbu intervened at the behest of the shogunate. The conflict weakened the Kamakura shogunate in its later years, while the Andō were split into northern (Andō) and southern (Akita) divisions.<ref>{{cite web |title=陸奥・福島城(青森県・十三湊)の見どころと安藤氏の乱 |date=12 September 2017 |trans-title=Mutsu and Fukushima Castle (Aomori Prefecture, Tosaminato) highlights and the Andō Rebellion |url=https://sirotabi.com/556/#i-3 |language=ja |access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref>

===Muromachi period===
[[File:Horigoshi Castle moat.jpg|thumb|The remains of Horikoshi Castle]]
At the onset of the [[Ashikaga shogunate]], the Nanbu and Andō continued to rule the area, with the Nanbu controlling the current prefecture's southeastern section and the Andō controlling the [[Shimokita Peninsula|Shimokita]] and [[Tsugaru Peninsula|Tsugaru]] peninsulas. The Andō also were involved with controlling the fringes of Ezo, splitting their attention. In 1336, the Andō completed construction of [[Horikoshi Castle]] during the [[Northern and Southern Courts period]].<ref name="Tsugaru castle">{{cite web |year=2014 |title=津軽氏城跡 |trans-title=Tsugaru Castle ruins |url=http://www.city.hirosaki.aomori.jp/gaiyou/bunkazai/kuni/kuni29.html |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=Hirosaki City |language=ja}}</ref> During the Muromachi, the Nanbu slowly began edging the Andō out of present-day Aomori Prefecture. The Andō were pushed out of Tosaminato in 1432, retreating to Ezo, giving the Nanbu control over all their lands. The port settlement would fall into disrepair under the Nanbu.<ref name="Tosa"/>

===Sengoku period===
During the Sengoku period, the Nanbu clan collapsed into several rival factions. One faction under [[Tsugaru Tamenobu|Ōura Tamenobu]] asserted their control over the [[Hirosaki Domain]]. His clan, originally the {{nihongo|Ōura clan|大浦氏|Ōura-shi}}, was of uncertain origins. According to later Tsugaru clan records, the clan was descended from the noble [[Fujiwara clan]] and had an accent claim to ownership of the Tsugaru region on the Tsugaru Peninsula and the area surrounding Mount Iwaki in the northwestern corner of Mutsu Province; however, according to the records of their rivals, the Nanbu clan, clan progenitor Ōura Tamenobu was born as either Nanbu Tamenobu or Kuji Tamenobu, from a minor branch house of the Nanbu and was driven from the clan due to discord with his elder brother.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ravina |first=Mark |title=Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan |year=1999 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=0804728984 |page=117}}</ref> In any event, the Ōura were hereditary {{nihongo|vice-district magistrate|郡代補佐|gundai hosa}} under the Nanbu clan's local magistrate Ishikawa Takanobu; however, in 1571, Tamenobu attacked and killed Ishikawa and began taking the Nanbu clan's castles in the Tsugaru region one after another.<ref name="rd1">{{in lang|ja}} "Tokugawa Bakufu to Tozama 117 han." ''Rekishi Dokuhon''. April 1976 (Tokyo: n.p., 1976), p. 71.</ref> He captured castles at Ishikawa, Daikoji and Aburakawa, and soon gathered support of many former Nanbu retainers in the region. After pledging fealty to [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], he was confirmed as an independent warlord in 1590 and changed his name to "Tsugaru", formally establishing the [[Tsugaru clan]]. Tsugaru Tamenobu assisted Hideyoshi at the [[Siege of Odawara (1590)|Battle of Odawara]], and accompanied his retinue to [[Hizen Province|Hizen]] during the Korean Expedition. Afterwards, he sided with [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] during the [[Battle of Sekigahara]] in 1600.<ref>Edwin McClellan (1985). ''Woman in the Crested Kimono'' (New Haven: Yale University Press), p. 164.</ref>

===Edo period===
[[File:Hirosaki-castle Aomori JAPAN.jpg|thumb|right|[[Hirosaki Castle]], the [[Edo period]] seat of the [[Tsugaru clan]].]]
After the establishment of the [[Tokugawa Shogunate]], the Nanbu ruled the Shimokita Peninsula and the districts immediately to the south of it. The area to the west of the Nanbu's holdings and to the north of the lands held by the Akita clan were all controlled by the Tsugaru clan, from their capital at [[Hirosaki]]. Work on [[Hirosaki Castle]] was completed in 1611, replacing Horikoshi Castle as the Tsugaru clan's fortress.<ref name="Tsugaru castle"/> By 1631, the Tsugaru clan had solidified their control over their gains made during the Sengoku period.<ref>{{cite web |title=弘前公園の歴史 |trans-title=History of Hirosaki Park |url=https://www.hirosakipark.jp/history.html |work=Hirosaki Park |date=3 April 2012 |language=ja |access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> Mutsu Province was struck by the [[Tenmei famine]] between 1781 and 1789, due to lower than usual temperatures that were exacerbated by volcanic eruptions at [[Mount Iwaki]], near the Tsugaru clan's capital, Hirosaki, between November 1782 and June 1783.<ref>{{cite web |title=「命を救った食べ物～飢饉の歴史と生きるための食物～」 |trans-title=Food that saves life, the history of food production during famines |url=http://www2.pref.iwate.jp/~hp2088/park/kikaku/49th_inochi_tabemono.html |access-date=9 July 2020 |publisher=Iwate Prefecture Government |language=ja |archive-date=10 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710100809/http://www2.pref.iwate.jp/~hp2088/park/kikaku/49th_inochi_tabemono.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

At the beginning of the Edo period, the last pockets of Ainu people in Honshu still lived in the mountainous areas on the peninsulas of the prefecture. They interacted with the ruling clans to some extent, but they primarily lived off of fishing the waters of [[Mutsu Bay]] and the [[Tsugaru Strait]]. However, the Tsugaru clan made two big pushes to assimilate the Ainu, the first came in 1756 and the second came in 1809. Records show that the clan was successful in wiping out the Ainu culture in their holdings, though some geographic names in Aomori Prefecture still retain their original Ainu names.<ref>{{cite news |title=アイヌ語と津軽半島 |trans-title=Ainu language and the Tsugaru Peninsula |url=http://www.mutusinpou.co.jp/%E6%B4%A5%E8%BB%BD%E3%81%AE%E8%A1%97%E3%81%A8%E9%A2%A8%E6%99%AF/2014/11/34027.html |language=ja |date=24 November 2014 |access-date=2 July 2020}}</ref>

===Meiji Restoration to World War II===
{{historical populations|13=1890|14=545,026|15=1903|16=665,691|17=1913|18=764,485|19=1920|20=756,454|21=1925|22=812,977|23=1930|24=879,914|25=1935|26=967,129|27=1940|28=1,000,509|29=1945|30=1,083,250|31=1950|32=1,282,867|33=1955|34=1,382,523|35=1960|36=1,426,606|37=1965|38=1,416,591|percentages=pagr|footnote=source:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.stat.go.jp/english/index.html |title=Statistics Bureau Home Page |website=www.stat.go.jp}}</ref>|39=1970|40=1,427,520|41=1975|42=1,468,646|43=1980|44=1,523,907|45=1985|46=1,524,448|47=1990|48=1,482,873|49=1995|50=1,481,663|51=2000|52=1,475,728|53=2005|54=1,436,657|55=2010|56=1,373,339|57=2015|58=1,308,649|11=1880|12=475,413|59=2020|60=1,237,984}}

Despite the 1867 resignation of the last shogun, [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]], the [[Boshin War]] had reached northern Japan by late 1868. On 20 September 1868 the pro-Shōgunate [[Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei]] was proclaimed at [[Morioka]], the capital of the Nanbu clan who ruled [[Morioka Domain]]. The Tsugaru clan first sided with the pro-imperial forces of [[Satchō Alliance]], and attacked nearby [[Shōnai Domain]].<ref name="McClellan, p. 175">McClellan, p. 175.</ref><ref>Mark Ravina (1999), ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan'' (California: Stanford University Press), pp. 152–153.</ref> However, the Tsugaru soon switched course, and briefly became a member of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei.<ref>Onodera, p. 140.</ref> However, for reasons yet unclear, the Tsugaru backed out of the alliance and re-joined the imperial cause after a few months. The Nanbu and Tsugaru clans resumed their old rivalry and fought at the [[Battle of Noheji]].<ref name="McClellan, p. 175"/>

As a result of the minor skirmish, the Tsugaru clan was able to prove its defection from the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei and loyalty to the imperial cause. Tsugaru forces later joined the imperial army in attacking the [[Republic of Ezo]] at the [[Battle of Hakodate]], where the pro-Shōgunate forces were finally defeated.<ref>Koyasu, ''Buke kazoku meiyoden'' vol. 1, p. 6.</ref> As a result, the entire clan was able to evade the punitive measures taken by the [[Meiji government]] on other northern domains.<ref>Ravina, p. 153.</ref>

In 1868, Mutsu Province was broken up into five provinces in the aftermath of the Boshin War, with its namesake province, [[Mutsu Province (1868)|Rikuō]] occupying what would later become Aomori Prefecture and the northwestern corner of Iwate Prefecture.<ref>{{cite web |date=30 June 1994 |title=地名「三陸地方」の起源に関する地理学的ならびに社会学的問題 |trans-title=Geographical and sociological issues concerning the origin of the place name "Sanriku region" |url=http://ir.iwate-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10140/1626/1/erar-v54n1p131-144.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718165654/http://ir.iwate-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10140/1626/1/erar-v54n1p131-144.pdf |archive-date=18 July 2011 |access-date=30 June 2020 |language=ja}}</ref> On 4 September 1871, Rikuō Province was abolished and divided, establishing today's Aomori Prefecture. Its capital was briefly located in Hirosaki, but it was moved on 23 September to the centrally located port village, Aomori.<ref>{{cite web |title=青森県史の質問箱03 |trans-title=Aomori Prefecture History Question Box 03 |url=https://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/bunka/culture/shitsumon03.html |work=Aomori Prefecture Government |language=ja |date=27 August 2008 |access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref>

The prefecture's new capital, Aomori, saw rapid expansion which was due to its importance as a logistic hub in northern Japan.<ref>{{cite web |title=年表で見る青森県の歴史 |trans-title=Timeline of Aomori Prefecture |url=https://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/k-kensei/history.html |language=ja |work=Aomori Prefecture Government |date=24 June 2020 |access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> It became a town in 1889 and then a city in 1898. On 30 October 1889, an American merchant ship, the ''[[Cheseborough]]'' wrecked off the prefecture's west coast near the village [[Shariki, Aomori|Shariki]], many of the ship's crew were saved by the villagers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1889/11/08/archives/wrecked-off-the-japan-coast-nineteen-of-the-crew-of-an-american.html |title=WRECKED OFF THE JAPAN COAST. NINETEEN OF THE CREW OF AN AMERICAN SHIP LOST |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=7 November 1889 |location=New York |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> The [[Nippon Railway]], a private company, completed the [[Tōhoku Main Line]] in 1891, linking Aomori to [[Ueno Station]] in [[Tokyo]].<ref>Free, Early Japanese Railways 1853–1914: Engineering Triumphs That Transformed Meiji-era Japan, Tuttle Publishing, 2008 ({{ISBN|4805310065}})</ref> During a military exercise on 23 January 1902, 199 soldiers died after getting lost during a blizzard in the [[Hakkōda Mountains disaster]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Nitta |first=Jirō|author-link=Jirō Nitta |date=September 2007 |title=Death March on Mount Hakkōda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FiodacdDmMYC |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |isbn=978-1933330327}}</ref> On 3 May 1910, a fire broke out in the [[Yasukata]] district. Fanned by strong winds, the fire quickly devastated the whole city. The conflagration claimed 26 lives and injured a further 160 residents. It destroyed 5,246 houses and burnt 19 storage sheds and 157 warehouses.<ref>{{cite web |author=Suzuki |title=明治43年5月3日に起きた青森大火 |trans-title=The 3 May 1910 Great Fire of Aomori |url=https://www.city.aomori.aomori.jp/toshokanbunka-sports-kanko/rekishi/mailmagagine-rekishi-trivia/0157.html |publisher=City of Aomori |language=ja |date=1 April 2019 |access-date=2 October 2020 |archive-date=13 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713220456/http://www.city.aomori.aomori.jp/toshokanbunka-sports-kanko/rekishi/mailmagagine-rekishi-trivia/0157.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 23 March 1945, a mudslide destroyed a section of the town of [[Ajigasawa, Aomori|Ajigasawa]], killing 87 of its inhabitants.<ref>{{cite web |title=赤石村雪泥流災害 |trans-title=Akaishi Village snow mudflow disaster |url=https://typhoon.yahoo.co.jp/weather/calendar/311/ |access-date=1 July 2020 |language=ja}}</ref> At 10:30&nbsp;p.m. on 28 July 1945, a squadron of American [[B-29 Superfortress|B-29 bomber]]s [[Bombing of Aomori in World War II|bombed over 90% of the city of Aomori]]. The estimated civilian impact of the air raid on the city was the death of 1,767 people and the destruction of 18,045 homes.<ref>{{cite web |title=青森空襲 |trans-title=Aomori Air Raid |url=http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~un3k-mn/kusyu-aomori.htm |language=ja |date=24 November 2008 |access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> Infrastructure was destroyed across the prefecture including the [[Seikan Ferry]], naval facilities in Mutsu and Misawa, [[JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base|Hachinohe Airfield]], and the ports and railways of Aomori and Hachinohe.<ref>{{cite news |title=米戦艦機による空襲{{=}}115 |trans-title=US battleship air raid 115 |url=http://www.mutusinpou.co.jp/index.php?cat=94&paged=5 |newspaper=Mutsu Shinpō |language=ja |date=8 July 2019 |access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref>

===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.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. ARMY IN JAPAN 1945~ |url=https://www.usarj.army.mil/Portals/33/about/history/major_units_and_installations_201806.pdf |publisher=[[United States Army, Japan]] |date=June 2018 |access-date=7 July 2020}}</ref> [[Misawa Air Base]] was occupied and rebuilt by the [[United States Army Air Forces]]; the base has seen a US military presence since then.<ref>{{cite web |title=Misawa Air Force Base in Misawa, Japan |url=https://militarybases.com/overseas/japan/misawa/ |work=Military Bases.com |access-date=7 July 2020}}</ref> [[Aomori Broadcasting Corporation|Radio Aomori]] made its first broadcast in 1953.<ref name="RAB">{{cite web |title=青森県放送局情報 |trans-title=Aomori Broadcasting Station Information |url=http://www.denpa-data.com/denpadata/station-data/tohoku/aomori.htm |language=ja |date=7 September 2020 |access-date=12 October 2020}}</ref>  Four years later, the first fish [[auction]]s 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, Aomori|Minmaya]] at the tip of the Tsugaru Peninsula.<ref>{{cite news |author=Hiroshi Nakano |title=青森）津軽線が開業60年 臨時列車が運行 |trans-title=Aomori- 60 years since the Tsugaru Line opened a special train operation |url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASLBP35RMLBPUBNB001.html |newspaper=The Asahi Shimbun |language=ja |date=22 October 2018 |access-date=2 October 2020}}</ref>

In March 1985, after 23 years of labor and a financial investment of 690&nbsp;billion yen, the [[Seikan Tunnel]] finally linked the islands of [[Honshū]] and [[Hokkaido]], thereby becoming the longest tunnel of its kind in the world.<ref>{{cite news |title=30 years on, world's longest undersea tunnel faces challenges as Japan balances bullet trains with freight |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/03/14/national/30-years-worlds-longest-undersea-tunnel-faces-challenges-japan-balances-bullet-trains-freight/#.XxEOzudS-00 |newspaper=Japan Times |date=14 March 2018 |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> 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&nbsp;million passengers. It continues to operate between the cities, ferrying automobile traffic and passengers rather than trains.<ref>{{cite web |author=W.A. Pearce |title=Japanese Railway Ships |url=http://www.japaneserailwaysociety.com/jrs/members/pearce/ships/ships2.htm |work=Japanese Railway Society |access-date=2 October 2020}}</ref>

[[Aomori Public University|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Story of Aomori |url=http://www.city.aomori.aomori.jp/contents/english/01-1location.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522191658/http://www.city.aomori.aomori.jp/contents/english/01-1location.html |publisher=City of Aomori |date=2007 |access-date=7 June 2007 |archive-date=22 May 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.japannewsreview.com/society/20070603page_id=44 |title=4 North Korean defectors reach Japan after 6 days on the open sea |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202103708/http://www.japannewsreview.com/society/20070603page_id=44 |archive-date=2 February 2014 |newspaper=Japan News Review |date=3 June 2007 |access-date=19 July 2008}}</ref> In March 2011, a [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=The area is searched |url=http://infra-archive311.jp/en/?area=a02 |work=Earthquake Memorial Museum |publisher=Tohoku Regional Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism |access-date=15 June 2020}}</ref>