Editing Aomori Prefecture

{{Short description|Prefecture of Japan}}
{{About|the Japanese prefecture|the capital city of the prefecture|Aomori}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                     = Aomori Prefecture
| native_name              = {{nobold|{{lang|ja|青森県}}}}
| settlement_type          = [[Prefectures of Japan|Prefecture]]
| translit_lang1           = Japanese
| translit_lang1_type      = [[Japanese language|Japanese]]
| translit_lang1_info      = {{lang|ja|青森県}}
| translit_lang1_type1     = [[Romanization of Japanese|Rōmaji]]
| translit_lang1_info1     = {{lang|ja-Latn|Aomori-ken}}
|image_skyline             = {{Multiple image
| border = infobox
| total_width = 290
| image_style = border:1;
| perrow = 1/2/2
| image1 = An apple branch with Mount Iwaki in the background.jpg
| caption1 = [[Mount Iwaki]] and apple blossom
| image2 = Sanmon of Bodaiji temple with Mount Osore in the background.jpg
| caption2 = [[Mount Osore]]
| image3 = Aomori Nebuta Festival Float August 2006.jpg
| caption3 = [[Aomori Nebuta Matsuri|Nebuta]]
| image4 = Oirase-keiryu.jpg
| caption4 = [[Oirase River]]
| image5 = Furofushi-spa.jpg
| caption5 = Furofushi Onsen
}}
| image_flag               = Flag of Aomori Prefecture.svg
| flag_size                = 80px
| image_blank_emblem       = Emblem of Aomori Prefecture.svg
| blank_emblem_size        = 80px
| blank_emblem_type        = Symbol
| image_map                = Map of Japan with highlight on 02 Aomori prefecture.svg
| coordinates              = {{Coord|40|49|29|N|140|44|26|E|type:adm1st_region:JP-02|display=inline, title}}
| subdivision_type         = Country
| subdivision_name         = [[Japan]]
| subdivision_type1        = [[List of regions of Japan|Region]]
| subdivision_name1        = [[Tōhoku region|Tōhoku]]
| subdivision_type2        = [[List of islands of Japan|Island]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[Honshu]]
| established_title        = Establishment as part of [[Mutsu Province]]
| established_date         = Around 1094
| established_title1       = Established as part of [[Mutsu Province (1868)|Rikuō Province]]
| established_date1        = 7 December 1868
| established_title2       = Establishment of Aomori Prefecture
| established_date2        = 4 September 1871
| seat_type                = [[List of capitals in Japan|Capital]]
| seat                     = [[Aomori (city)|Aomori]]
| parts_type               = Subdivisions
| parts_style              = coll
| p1                       = [[Districts of Japan|Districts]]: 8
| p2                       = [[Municipalities of Japan|Municipalities]]: 40
| leader_title             = [[List of Governors of Aomori Prefecture|Governor]]
| leader_name              = [[Sōichirō Miyashita]]
| area_total_km2           = 9,645.64
| area_water_percent       = 1.2
| area_rank                = [[List of Japanese prefectures by area|8th]]
| elevation_max_point      = [[Mount Iwaki]]
| elevation_max_ft         = 5,330
| elevation_max_m          = 1624.7
| elevation_m              = 
| elevation_min_point      = Pacific Ocean
| elevation_min_ft         = 0
| elevation_min_m          = 0
| population_demonym       = Aomorian
| population_footnotes     = 
| population_total         = 1,188,043
| population_as_of         = 1 July 2023
| population_rank          = [[List of Japanese prefectures by population|31st]]
| population_density_km2   = auto
| demographics_type2              = GDP
| demographics2_footnotes         = <ref>{{Cite web |title=2020年度国民経済計算（2015年基準・2008SNA） : 経済社会総合研究所 - 内閣府 |url=https://www.esri.cao.go.jp/jp/sna/data/data_list/kakuhou/files/2020/2020_kaku_top.html |access-date=2023-05-18 |website=内閣府ホームページ |language=ja}}</ref>
| demographics2_title1            = Total
| demographics2_info1   = [[JP¥]] 4,533 billion<br />[[US$]] 41.6 billion (2019)
| iso_code                 = JP-02
| blank_name_sec1          = Longitude
| blank_info_sec1          = 139°30{{prime}} E to 141°41{{prime}} E
| blank1_name_sec1         = Latitude
| blank1_info_sec1         = 40°12{{prime}} N to 41°33{{prime}} N<ref>{{cite web |title=場所・気候 |trans-title=Place and climate |url=https://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/kids/02_climate.html |language=ja |publisher=Aomori Prefefcture Government |date=20 May 2020 |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref>
| website                  = {{URL|http://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/}}
| module                   = {{Infobox place symbols| embedded=yes
| region   = Aomori Prefecture
| region_type = prefecture
| country  = Japan
| anthem   = {{Nihongo|Hymn of Aomori Prefecture|青森県賛歌|Aomori-ken sanka}}
| song     = {{Nihongo|Message of the Blue Forest|青い森のメッセージ|Aoimori no messēji}}
| bird     = [[Bewick's swan]] (''Cygnus bewickii'')
| fish     = [[Olive flounder|Japanese halibut]] (''Paralichthys olivaceus'')
| flower   = [[Apple]] [[blossom]] (''Malus domestica'')
| tree     = [[Thujopsis|Hiba]] (''Thujopsis dolabrata'')
}}
| population_blank1_title  = Dialects
| population_blank1        = [[Nanbu dialect|Nanbu]]・[[Tsugaru dialect|Tsugaru]]・[[Shimokita dialect|Shimokita]]
| anthem                   = [[:ja:青森県賛歌|Aomori-ken sanka]]
}}

{{Nihongo|'''Aomori Prefecture'''|青森県|Aomori-ken|{{IPA|ja|a.oꜜ.mo.ɾʲi, a.o.mo.ɾʲiꜜ.keɴ}}<ref>{{cite book|script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典|publisher=NHK Publishing|editor=NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute|date=24 May 2016|lang=ja}}</ref>}} is a [[Prefectures of Japan|prefecture of Japan]] in the [[Tōhoku region]].<ref name="Aomori Prefecture basic information">{{cite web |last1=Prefecture |first1=Aomori |title=Aomori Prefecture, Japan |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Aomori-Japan |website=www.britannica.com |publisher=The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=4 May 2022}}</ref> The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of [[Aomori (city)|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 [[List of Japanese prefectures by area|8th-largest prefecture]], with an area of {{cvt|9,645.64|sqkm|sqmi|sp=us}}, and the [[List of Japanese prefectures by population|31st-most populous prefecture]], with more than 1.18&nbsp;million people. Approximately 45 percent of Aomori Prefecture's residents live in its two [[Core cities of Japan|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 {{cvt|1624.7|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}}.

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 clan|Nanbu]] and [[Tsugaru clan]]s, the prefecture was formed out of the northern part of [[Mutsu Province]] during the [[Meiji Restoration]]. Though the prefecture remains dominated by [[Primary sector of the economy|primary sector]] industries, it also serves as a transportation hub due to its location at the northern end of Honshu.

==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>

==Geography==
[[File:Aomori Prefecture Photo NASA MODIS 2003.jpg|thumb|Aomori Prefecture and the surrounding area as seen from space]]

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 Prefecture|Akita]] and [[Iwate Prefecture|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=場所・気候 |trans-title=Place/climate |url=https://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/kids/02_climate.html |language=ja |publisher=Aomori Prefecture Government |date=20 May 2020 |access-date=28 September 2020}}</ref> [[Oma, Aomori|Oma]], at the northwestern tip of the axe-shaped [[Shimokita Peninsula]], is the northernmost point of Honshu. The [[Shimokita Peninsula|Shimokita]] and [[Tsugaru Peninsula]]s 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.<ref name="Takaaki">{{cite book |author=Takaaki Nihei |title=The Regional Geography of Japan |publisher=The Hokkaido University Press |date=2018 |isbn=978-4-8329-0373-9 |pages=13–19 |location=Sapporo}}</ref>

[[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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lake Ogawara Brackish Water Clam |url=https://gi-act.maff.go.jp/en/register/entry/52.html |work=Information Website on Japan's Geographical Indications |publisher=[[Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan)|Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries]] |date=21 February 2020 |access-date=16 October 2020 |archive-date=16 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116065346/https://gi-act.maff.go.jp/en/register/entry/52.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Explore Towada-Hachimantai National Park |url=https://www.japan.travel/national-parks/parks/towada-hachimantai/explore/ |publisher=Japan National Tourism Organization |date=3 October 2020 |access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Takaaki"/>

[[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.<ref name="Takaaki"/>

As of 31 March 2019, 12% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as [[List of national parks of Japan#History|Natural Parks]], namely the Towada-Hachimantai and [[Sanriku Fukkō National Park|Sanriku Fukkō]] National Parks; [[Shimokita Hanto Quasi-National Park|Shimokita Hantō]] and [[Tsugaru Quasi-National Park|Tsugaru]] Quasi-National Parks; and [[Asamushi-Natsudomari Prefectural Natural Park|Asamushi-Natsudomari]], [[Ashino Chishōgun Prefectural Natural Park|Ashino Chishōgun]], [[Iwaki Kōgen Prefectural Natural Park|Iwaki Kōgen]], [[Kuroishi Onsenkyō Prefectural Natural Park|Kuroishi Onsenkyō]], [[Nakuidake Prefectural Natural Park|Nakuidake]], [[Ōwani Ikarigaseki Onsenkyō Prefectural Natural Park|Ōwani Ikarigaseki Onsenkyō]], and [[Tsugaru Shirakami Prefectural Natural Park|Tsugaru Shirakami]] Prefectural Natural Parks; and [[Mount Bonju Prefectural Forest]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.env.go.jp/park/doc/data/natural/naturalpark_4.pdf |script-title=ja:自然公園都道府県別面積総括 |trans-title=General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture |language=ja |publisher=[[Ministry of the Environment (Japan)|Ministry of the Environment]] |access-date=16 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/nature/nature/s-kouen_kouen.html |script-title=ja:青森県内の自然公園 |trans-title=Natural Parks in Aomori Prefecture |language=ja |publisher=Aomori Prefecture |date=31 March 2017 |access-date=16 August 2019 |archive-date=16 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816195556/http://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/nature/nature/s-kouen_kouen.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Cities, towns, and villages===
{{See also|List of populated places in Aomori Prefecture by population}}
{{main|List of mergers in Aomori Prefecture}}

{{Largest cities
| country = Aomori Prefecture
| stat_ref = Source:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.citypopulation.de/php/japan-aomori.php |title=Aomori (Japan): Prefecture, Cities, Towns and Villages – Population Statistics, Charts and Map |website=citypopulation.de |access-date=29 June 2020}}</ref>
| list_by_pop =
| kind = cities
| city_1 = Aomori
| pop_1 = 275,192
| img_1 = Aomori bay.jpg
| city_2 = Hachinohe
| pop_2 = 223,415
| img_2 = 内丸１.jpg
| city_3 = Hirosaki, Aomori{{!}}Hirosaki
| pop_3 = 168,466
| img_3 = JR弘前駅前（青森県弘前市）.jpg
| city_4 = Towada, Aomori{{!}}Towada
| pop_4 = 60,378
| img_4 = Towada Art Center.jpg
| city_5 = Mutsu, Aomori{{!}}Mutsu
| pop_5 = 54,103
| img_5 =
| city_6 = Goshogawara
| pop_6 = 51,415
| img_6 =
| city_7 = Misawa, Aomori{{!}}Misawa
| pop_7 = 39,152
| img_7 =
| city_8 = Kuroishi, Aomori{{!}}Kuroishi
| pop_8 = 31,946
| img_8 =
| city_9 = Tsugaru, Aomori{{!}}Tsugaru
| pop_9 = 30,934
| img_9 =
| city_10 = Hirakawa, Aomori{{!}}Hirakawa
| pop_10 = 30,567
| img_10 =
}}

===Climate===
The climate of Aomori Prefecture is relatively cool for the most part. It has four distinct seasons with an average temperature of {{cvt|10|C}}. Variations in climate exist between the eastern (Pacific Ocean side) and the western (Sea of Japan side) parts of the prefecture. This is in part due to the [[Ōu Mountains]] that run north to south in the middle of the prefecture, dividing the two regions. The western side is subject to heavy monsoons and little sunshine which results in heavy snowfall during the winter. The eastern side is subject to low clouds brought in by northeasterly winds during the summer months, known locally as Yamase winds, from June through August, with temperatures staying relatively low. However, there are instances of Yamase winds making summers so cold that food production is hindered. The lowest recorded temperature during the winter is {{cvt|-9.3|C}}, and the highest recorded temperature during the summer is {{cvt|33.1|C}}.<ref name="Takaaki"/><ref>{{cite journal|first=Hiroshi |last=Takai |title=Characteristics of the Yamase Winds over Oceans around Japan Observed by the Scatterometer-Derived Ocean Surface Vector Winds |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jmsj/84/2/84_2_365/_pdf/-char/en |journal=Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan |pages=365–373 |volume=84 | issue=2|year=2006 |doi=10.2151/jmsj.84.365 |bibcode=2006JMeSJ..84..365T |access-date=16 October 2022|doi-access=free }}</ref>

====Temperature comparison====
{{sort under}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sort-under" style="text-align: center; font-size: 85%;"
|+ Monthly average highs and lows for various cities and towns in Aomori Prefecture in Fahrenheit and Celsius
|-
! City
! data-sort-type="number" | {{Tooltip|Jan|January}}
! data-sort-type="number" | {{Tooltip|Feb|February}}
! data-sort-type="number" | {{Tooltip|Mar|March}}
! data-sort-type="number" | {{Tooltip|Apr|April}}
! data-sort-type="number" | May
! data-sort-type="number" | {{Tooltip|Jun|June}}
! data-sort-type="number" | {{Tooltip|Jul|July}}
! data-sort-type="number" | {{Tooltip|Aug|August}}
! data-sort-type="number" | {{Tooltip|Sep|September}}
! data-sort-type="number" | {{Tooltip|Oct|October}}
! data-sort-type="number" | {{Tooltip|Nov|November}}
! data-sort-type="number" | {{Tooltip|Dec|December}}
|-
| [[Aomori]]<!-- forecast office --><ref>{{cite web | url=https://weatherspark.com/y/144076/Average-Weather-in-Aomorishi-Japan-Year-Round | title=Aomorishi Climate, Weather by Month, Average Temperature (Japan) - Weather Spark |publisher=Weatherspark|access-date= 3 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/index.php?prec_no=31&block_no=47575&year=&month=&day=&view=|script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）| publisher = [[Japan Meteorological Agency]] |language=Japanese| access-date = 3 October 2022}}</ref>
| {{convert|1.8|/|-3.5|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|2.7|/|-3.3|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|6.8|/|-0.8|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|13.7|/|4.1|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|18.8|/|9.4|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|22.1|/|14.1|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|26.0|/|18.6|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|27.8|/|20.0|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|24.5|/|15.8|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|18.3|/|9.1|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|11.2|/|3.4|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|4.5|/|-1.4|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
|-
| [[Hachinohe]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://weatherspark.com/y/144123/Average-Weather-in-Hachinohe-Japan-Year-Round | title=Hachinohe Climate, Weather by Month, Average Temperature (Japan) |publisher= Weather Spark| access-date = 3 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/monthly_s3_en.php?block_no=47581&view=2|title=Monthly mean daily maximum temperature - Hachinohe|publisher= Japan Meteorological Agency | access-date = 3 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_s.php?prec_no=31&block_no=47581&year=&month=13&day=&view=p1 |title=Extreme for Hachinohe|publisher=Japan Meteorological Agency|language=Japanese| access-date = 3 October 2022}}</ref>
| {{convert|2.8|/|-3.9|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|3.6|/|-3.7|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|7.6|/|-0.9|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|13.8|/|4.0|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|18.7|/|9.2|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|21.1|/|13.3|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|24.9|/|17.7|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|26.5|/|19.5|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|23.6|/|15.7|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|18.2|/|9.0|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|11.9|/|3.0|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|5.4|/|-1.6|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
|-
| [[Mutsu, Aomori|Mutsu]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://weatherspark.com/y/144127/Average-Weather-in-Mutsu-Japan-Year-Round | title=Mutsu Climate, Weather by Month, Average Temperature (Japan) |publisher= Weather Spark| access-date = 3 October 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_s.php?prec_no=31&block_no=47576&year=&month=13&day=&view=h0 |script-title=ja:観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）| publisher = Japan Meteorological Agency|language=Japanese | access-date = 3 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_sfc_ym.php?prec_no=31&block_no=47576&year=&month=12&day=&view=h0 |script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）| publisher = Japan Meteorological Agency|language=Japanese| access-date = 3 October 2022}}</ref>
| {{convert|1.8|/|-4.9|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|2.4|/|-4.9|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|6.3|/|-2.0|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|12.7|/|2.8|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|17.8|/|7.8|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|20.8|/|12.2|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|24.1|/|16.9|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|25.8|/|18.4|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|23.2|/|14.2|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|17.6|/|7.2|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|10.9|/|2.1|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|4.4|/|-2.5|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
|-
| [[Fukaura]]<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_s.php?prec_no=31&block_no=47574&year=&month=&day=&view=h0 |script-title=ja:観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）| publisher = Japan Meteorological Agency|language=Japanese| access-date = 3 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_sfc_ym.php?prec_no=31&block_no=47574&year=&month=&day=&view=h0 |script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）| publisher = Japan Meteorological Agency|language=Japanese| access-date = 3 October 2022}}</ref>
| {{convert|2.3|/|-2.4|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|3.0|/|-2.2|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
| {{convert|6.7|/|0.1|C|disp=br()|abbr=values}}
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| [[Sukayu Onsen]]<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_a.php?prec_no=31&block_no=1079&year=&month=&day=&view=|script-title=ja:観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）| publisher = Japan Meteorological Agency|language=Japanese| access-date = 3 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_amd_ym.php?prec_no=31&block_no=1079&year=&month=&day=&view=|script-title=ja:気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）| publisher = Japan Meteorological Agency|language=Japanese| access-date = 3 October 2022}}</ref>
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==Demographics==
[[File:Aomori prefecture population pyramid in 2020.svg|thumb|273x273px|Aomori prefecture population pyramid in 2020]]
A person living in or from Aomori Prefecture is referred to as an Aomorian.<ref>{{cite book |first=Nanette |last=Gottlieb |title=Language in Public Spaces in Japan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9pjJAwAAQBAJ&q=Aomorian&pg=PA96 |page=96 |publisher=Routledge |location=London|isbn=978-0415818391 |date=2012 |access-date= 3 October 2022}}</ref> As of 2017, the prefecture had a total population of 1.28&nbsp;million residents, accounting for just over 1 percent of Japan's total population.<ref name="economy"/> In 2018, Aomori Prefecture saw the second largest decrease in the number of Japanese citizens out of any prefecture in the country. Only neighboring Akita Prefecture lost more citizens than Aomori.<ref>{{cite news |author=Jiji |title=Japan's population continues to slide even as foreign resident numbers increase |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/07/10/national/japanese-population-falls-10th-straight-year/#.XwUinudS-00 |newspaper=Japan Times |date=10 July 2019 |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref>

In 2017, 23,529 people moved out of Aomori, while 17,454 people moved to the prefecture.<ref name="economy"/> In 2018, about 590,000 of the prefecture's residents were men and 670,000 were women, 10.8 percent of the population was below the age of 15, 56.6 percent of residents were between the ages of 15 and 64, and 32.6 percent was above the age of 64. In the same year the prefecture had a density of 130.9 people per square kilometre. In 2015, about 3,425 foreign-born immigrants lived in Aomori, making up just 0.26 percent of the prefecture's population, the lowest of any prefecture.<ref>{{cite web |title=System of Social and Demographic Statistic |url=https://www.e-stat.go.jp/en/stat-search/files?page=1&layout=datalist&toukei=00200502&tstat=000001137306&cycle=0&year=20200&month=0&tclass1=000001137307 |publisher=Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications |date=21 February 2020 |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Apple orchard and Mt. Iwaki, autumn 2018.jpg|thumb|Apple orchards in the foothills of [[Mount Iwaki]]]]
Like much of the [[Tōhoku Region]], Aomori Prefecture remains dominated by [[Primary sector of the economy|primary sector]] industries, such as farming, forestry and fishing. The prefecture's forestry industry is centered around the cultivation and harvesting of [[Thujopsis|hiba]], a [[cypress]] tree utilized in construction of wooden structures across the country.<ref>{{cite web |title=「青森ヒバ」とは |trans-title=What is "Aomori hiba"? |url=https://www.rinya.maff.go.jp/tohoku/syo/aomorizimusyo/aomorihibatoha.html |publisher=Tōhoku Regional Forest Office |language=ja |date=December 2019 |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref> In 2015, its economy had a GDP of 4,541.2&nbsp;billion yen which made up about 0.83 percent of Japan's economy.<ref name="economy">{{cite web |title=Economic Overview of Tohoku Region |url=https://www.tohoku.meti.go.jp/s_kokusai/pdf/en2021.pdf |publisher=Tohoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry |year=2021 |access-date=3 October 2022}}</ref> Aomori Prefecture generates the largest amount of wind energy out of the prefectures of Japan, with large wind farms located on the Shimokita Peninsula. The peninsula is also home to the inactive [[Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant]] that is owned by [[Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited]], a company headquartered in the village of Rokkasho that is involved in the production of [[nuclear fuel]], as well as the [[nuclear reprocessing|reprocessing]], storage, and disposal of [[nuclear waste]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd - Company Profile |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/JPNFZ:JP |newspaper=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=26 April 2021 |accessdate=16 October 2022}}</ref> The city of Hachinohe is home to the [[Pacific Metals|Pacific Metals Company]], a manufacturer of [[ferronickel]] products.<ref name="Takaaki"/>

===Agriculture===
Aomori Prefecture is a leading agricultural region in Japan. It is Japan's largest producer of apples, accounting for 59 percent of Japan's total apple production in 2018.<ref name="best">{{cite web |title=世界一と日本一 |trans-title=The Best in the World and Japan |url=https://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/kids/07_best.html |language=ja |publisher=Aomori Prefecture Government |date=20 May 2020 |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref> The cultivation of apples in the prefecture began in 1875 when the prefecture was given three varieties of western origin to grow. The apples are consumed within Japan and exported to the United States, China, Taiwan, and Thailand.<ref name="Takaaki"/> Aomori is also ranked highly in the nation's production of [[redcurrant]], [[burdock]], and [[garlic]], accounting for 81, 37, and 66 percent, respectively, of the country's production.<ref name="best"/>

Aomori also boasts being the home to Hakkōda cattle, a rare, region-specific breed of [[Japanese Shorthorn]].<ref>[http://www.city.aomori.aomori.jp/contents/english/01-1location.html Aomori City Homepage – The Story of Aomori]. Retrieved 7 June 2007  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522193705/http://www.city.aomori.aomori.jp/contents/english/localfoods.html |date=May 22, 2011 }}</ref> The town of [[Gonohe, Aomori|Gonohe]] has a long history as a breeding center for horses of exceptional quality, popular among the [[samurai]]. With the decline of the samurai, Gonohe's horses continued to be bred for their meat. The lean horse meat is coveted as a delicacy, especially when served in its raw form, known as {{nihongo| ''[[basashi]]'' |馬刺し|}}. The Aomori coast along Mutsu Bay is a large source of scallops, but they are particularly a specialty of the town [[Hiranai, Aomori|Hiranai]] where the calm water around Natsudomari Peninsula makes a good home for them.<ref>{{cite web |last=青森県平内町 |title=水産業 – 青森県平内町 |url=http://www.town.hiranai.aomori.jp/index.cfm/10,0,61,161,html |access-date=28 March 2018 |website=town.hiranai.aomori.jp |language=ja |archive-date=8 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208122407/http://www.town.hiranai.aomori.jp/index.cfm/10,0,61,161,html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Tourism===
[[File:Oirase keiryuu.JPG|thumb|The cascades of the [[Oirase River]] in the prefecture's [[Towada-Hachimantai National Park]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Towada-Hachimantai National Park |url=https://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/towada/guide/view.html |publisher=Japanese Ministry of the Environment |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref>]]
Tourism has been a growing sector of Aomori Prefecture's economy. It was among the top five prefectures of Japan in terms of growth in foreign tourists between 2012 and 2017.<ref>{{cite news |title=Japan's tourism boom is spreading economic benefits to rural areas|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/06/05/national/japans-tourism-boom-spreading-economic-benefits-rural-areas-report/#.XwPuGedS-03|publisher=Japan Times |date=5 June 2018 |access-date=20 October 2022}}</ref> This influx of foreign tourists has led to the construction of more hotels in Aomori.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tourism boom spreads economic benefits to rural Japan |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Tourism-boom-spreads-economic-benefits-to-rural-Japan |newspaper=The Nikkei |date=5 June 2018 |access-date=20 October 2022 |archive-date=6 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606021311/https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Tourism-boom-spreads-economic-benefits-to-rural-Japan |url-status=dead }}</ref> Major draws to the prefecture are its [[list of Historic Sites of Japan (Aomori)|historic sites]], museums, and national parks. Several of the prefecture's [[Jōmon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaido, Northern Tōhoku, and other regions|Jōmon period historic sites]] were nominated in January 2009 to become [[World Heritage Site]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jōmon Archaeological Sites in Hokkaido, Northern Tōhoku, and other regions |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5398/ |publisher=UNESCO |date=2020 |access-date=16 October 2020}}</ref> If approved, the archaeological sites would join [[Shirakami-Sanchi]] as the prefecture's second World Heritage Site. Tourist access to Shirakami-Sanchi is heavily restricted to tourists due to its delicate ecosystem, though several water features, trails, and roads can be accessed by its visitors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shirakami-Sanchi |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/663 |publisher=UNESCO |accessdate=26 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=World Heritage Site, Shirakami Sanchi |url=https://www.en-aomori.com/scenery-014.html |publisher=Aomori Prefecture |date=2021 |accessdate=26 April 2021}}</ref> About 35.2&nbsp;million domestic travellers visited Aomori Prefecture in 2016, while about 95,000 foreign tourists visited in 2017.<ref name="economy"/>

===Military===
Aomori Prefecture and the Tsugaru Strait are of strategic value to both Japan and the United States, as the strait serves as an access point for the [[United States Navy]] into the Sea of Japan where they can put pressure on Russia, China, and North Korea.<ref>{{cite news |title=Japan left key straits open for U.S. nukes |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/06/22/national/japan-left-key-straits-open-for-u-s-nukes/#.XwZsnudS-00 |newspaper=Japan Times |date=22 June 2009 |access-date=9 July 2020}}</ref> The prefecture also hosts [[Misawa Air Base]], the only combined, joint U.S. service installation in the western Pacific servicing [[United States Army|Army]], [[United States Navy|Navy]], and [[United States Air Force|Air Force]], as well as the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to Naval Air Facility Misawa |url=https://www.cnic.navy.mil/Regions/cnrj/installations/naf_misawa/ |publisher=US Navy |access-date=9 July 2020}}</ref> The JSDF maintains bases across the prefecture including, [[JMSDF Ōminato Base]], [[JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Japan Maritime Self Defence Force Nihon Kaijyo Jieitai |url=https://fas.org/irp/world/japan/jmsdf.htm |publisher=Federation of American Scientists |access-date=9 July 2020}}</ref> and {{ill|JGSDF Camp Aomori|ja|青森駐屯地}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=第9師団 |trans-title=9th Division |url=https://www.mod.go.jp/gsdf/neae/9d/ |language=ja |access-date=9 July 2020}}</ref>

==Culture==
===Traditional crafts===
[[File:Tsugaru lacquerware (Tsugarunuri).jpg|thumb|Tsugaru lacquerware (Tsugarunuri)]]
The Tsugaru region of Aomori Prefecture is the birthplace of the traditional ''[[Tsugaru-jamisen]]'', a virtuosic style of playing ''[[shamisen]]'' that is deeply entwined 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.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Henry Johnson |title=Tsugaru Shamisen: From Region to Nation (and beyond) and Back Again |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4098489 |publisher=University of Texas Press |journal=Asian Music |volume=37 |number=1 |pages=75–100 |date=2006 |doi=10.1353/amu.2006.0005 |jstor=4098489 |s2cid=162073739 |access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="Chikuzan">{{cite web |title=Profile |url=http://chikuzan.org/profile.html |publisher=Takahashi Chikuzan Official Site |language=ja |date=27 April 2011 |access-date=14 October 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kogin-zashi Embroidery |url=https://japan-brand.jnto.go.jp/crafts/textiles/3212/ |access-date=15 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Nanbu Hishizashi |url=https://visithachinohe.com/en/places/nanbuhisisasi/ |publisher=Visit Hachinohe |date=2019 |access-date=23 October 2020}}</ref> Wooden horse figures called ''Yawata-uma'' have been made in the former holdings of the Nanbu for 700 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Folk Crafts of Hachinohe |url=https://visithachinohe.com/en/stories/bussan/ |publisher=Visit Hachinohe |date=2019 |access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref>

===Cuisine===
[[File:家庭で作った、けの汁.jpg|thumb|''Ke'' porridge]]
The Aomori area has given rise to several soups: ''ke porridge'' or Keno-jiru, which consists of ''[[miso]] soup'' with diced root vegetables and wild plants such as [[butterbur]] and [[bracken]] with [[tofu]] from the Tsugaru area; ''ichigoni'', a sea urchin roe and abalone soup in which the sea urchin roe looks like strawberries, known as ''ichigo'' in Japanese, from the town of [[Hashikami, Aomori|Hashikami]]; ''hittsumi'' a roux with chicken and vegetables from the Nanbu area; ''Hachinohe senbei soup'' a hearty soup with ''Nanbu senbei'' loaded with vegetables and chicken; ''jappa-jiru'' a vegetable soup with cod roe from Aomori; and ''keiran'' a red bean dumpling soy sauce soup served during special occasions on the Shimokita Peninsula. Another dish that was created in the area surrounding [[Mutsu Bay]] is ''kaiya'' in the Tsugaru area or ''kayaki'' on the Shimokita Peninsula, it is a boiled miso and egg dish mixed with fish or scallop meat on a large scallop shell that serves as both the cookware and serveware.<ref>{{cite web |title=青森県の文化（郷土料理） |trans-title=Culture of Aomori Prefecture (local cuisine) |url=https://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/k-kensei/culture_ryouri.html |publisher=Aomori Prefecture Government |language=ja |date=1 July 2012 |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref> In 2006, the production of aged [[black garlic]] began in Aomori Prefecture. The prefecture has since become the largest producer of the [[superfood]] in Japan.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jin-ichi Sasaki |title=What is Black Garlic? |url=http://www.96229jp.com/en/whats.html |publisher=Aomori Black Garlic Association |date=2021 |accessdate=24 February 2021}}</ref>

===Festivals===
{{Main|List of festivals in Aomori Prefecture}}
[[File:Tachineputa～2007 "Mebukiurasaburu".JPG|thumb|140px|[[Aomori Nebuta Matsuri|Neputa]] in [[Goshogawara|Goshogawara City]]]]
Aomori Prefecture boasts a variety of festivals year round offering a unique look into northern Japan, and hosts the [[Aomori Nebuta Matsuri]], one of the {{ill|Three Great Festivals of Tōhoku|ja|東北三大祭り}}.<ref>{{cite news |title=東北三大祭り中止/雌伏の時を経て来年こそ |trans-title=Cancellation of the Three Great Festivals of Tōhoku, next year's fate is undecided |url=https://www.kahoku.co.jp/editorial/20200416_01.html |language=ja |newspaper=Kahoku Shimpō |date=16 April 2020 |access-date=7 July 2020 |archive-date=8 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708065315/https://www.kahoku.co.jp/editorial/20200416_01.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> During late April ''[[hanami]]'' festivals are held across the prefecture, with the most prominent of the festivals being located on the grounds of Hirosaki Castle.<ref>{{cite web |title=HANAMI (CHERRY BLOSSOM VIEWING) |url=https://www.japanspecialist.co.uk/travel-tips/hanami-cherry-blossom-viewing/ |publisher=[[JTB Corporation]] |access-date=17 July 2020 |archive-date=21 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921103022/https://www.japanspecialist.co.uk/travel-tips/hanami-cherry-blossom-viewing/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Visit Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture, one of the best spots for cherry blossoms in Japan |url=https://japan-magazine.jnto.go.jp/en/1502_hirosaki.html |publisher=Japan National Tourism Organization |date=January 2015 |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> Summer and autumn hold many distinct festivals with bright lights, floats, dancing and music.<ref>{{cite web |title=Aomori's festivals make the short summer of northland more excited |url=https://www.en-aomori.com/20170719_fesmovie.html |publisher=APTINET AOMORI Prefectural Government |date=19 July 2017 |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> Winter is centered on snow festivals where attendees can view ice sculptures and enjoy local cuisine inside an ice hut.<ref>{{cite web |title=Winter Festival in Aomori, 2016 |url=https://www.en-aomori.com/20160112_winterfes.html |publisher=APTINET AOMORI Prefectural Government |date=12 January 2016 |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref>

===Arts and literature===
Aomori Prefecture has produced several writers and artists. [[Osamu Dazai]], the writer of Japan's second most popular novel ''[[No Longer Human]]'',<ref>{{cite news |title=太宰「人間失格」、人気漫画家の表紙にしたら売れて売れて |trans-title=Dazai's ''No Longer Human'' gets sold due to popular cartoon |url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/culture/news/20070817i514.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826234611/http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/culture/news/20070817i514.htm |newspaper=Yomiuri Shimbun |date=18 August 2007 |archive-date=26 August 2007 |access-date=15 October 2020}}</ref> is one of the prefecture's best-known writers.<ref name="Dazai">{{Cite book |title=The saga of Dazai Osamu: a critical study with translations |last1=Lyons |first1=Phyllis I |last2=Dazai |first2=Osamu |date=1985 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=0804711976 |location=Stanford, Calif. |pages=8, 21 |language=en |oclc=11210872}}</ref> [[Shunsuke Kikuchi]], a composer for series such as ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' and ''[[Doraemon]]'', was born in the city of Hirosaki.<ref name="Kikuchi">{{cite news |title=作曲家・菊池俊輔さん、誤嚥性肺炎で死去 89歳 『ドラえもんのうた』『仮面ライダー』など手掛ける |trans-title=Composer Shunsuke Kikuchi died of pneumonia at the age of 89, he worked on "Doraemon no Uta" and "Kamen Rider" |url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/11af2561f75755a64c936bae2556755d6160512f |newspaper=[[Yahoo! Japan#Yahoo! Japan News|Yahoo! Japan News]] |language=ja |date=28 April 2021 |accessdate=1 May 2021 |archive-date=29 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429201801/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/11af2561f75755a64c936bae2556755d6160512f |url-status=dead }}</ref> The creator of the supernatural manga series ''[[Shaman King]]'', [[Hiroyuki Takei]], is from the village of Yomogita in northwestern Aomori.<ref>{{cite news |title=漫画シャーマンキング展、青森で8日から |trans-title=''Shaman King'' manga exhibition to be held starting on the 8th |url=https://www.toonippo.co.jp/articles/-/391887 |newspaper=The Tō-Ō Nippō Press |language=ja |date=7 August 2020 |access-date=15 October 2020 |archive-date=16 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016092120/https://www.toonippo.co.jp/articles/-/391887 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The comedian [[Daimaō Kosaka]], known widely for his viral single "[[PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen)]]", was born in Aomori Prefecture.<ref name="PPAP">{{cite web |first=Patrick |last=St. Michel |title='PPAP' goes the world: How Pikotaro became a viral smash |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2016/11/04/music/ppap-goes-world-pikotaro-became-viral-smash/ |newspaper=The Japan Times |date=4 November 2016 |access-date=6 October 2020}}</ref> ''[[Sōsaku-hanga]]'' artist [[Shikō Munakata]] was born in Aomori.<ref name="Munakata">{{cite web |title=Munakata Shiko's Career |url=http://munakatashiko-museum.jp/career_e.html |publisher=Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum of Art |date=2010 |access-date=6 October 2020 |archive-date=23 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223160315/http://munakatashiko-museum.jp/career_e.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Much of his art was inspired by the prefecture's natural qualities and rural culture.<ref>{{cite news |last=Whatley |first=Katherine |title=Layers of artistic heritage in Aomori Prefecture |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2018/04/12/travel/layers-artistic-heritage-aomori-prefecture/ |newspaper=The Japan Times |date=12 April 2018 |access-date=15 October 2020}}</ref>

===Sports===
The two largest cities of the prefecture, Aomori and Hachinohe, both host professional sports teams. Both cities have professional soccer clubs in the [[Japan Professional Football League]]: Aomori's [[ReinMeer Aomori]] and Hachinohe's [[Vanraure Hachinohe]]. Other professional sports teams in the two cities include the [[Aomori Wat's]], a basketball team from Aomori in the [[B.League]] and the [[Tohoku Free Blades]], an ice hockey team from Hachinohe that competes in the [[Asia League Ice Hockey|Asia League]].<ref>{{cite web |title=地元のスポーツチームを応援しよう！ |trans-title=Let's support our local sports teams! |url=https://www.city.aomori.aomori.jp/chiikisupo-tsu/bunka-sports-kanko/sports/20150311.html |publisher=City of Aomori |language=ja |access-date=14 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=八戸スポーツ振興協議会 |trans-title=Hachinohe Sports Promotion Council |url=https://www.city.hachinohe.aomori.jp/soshikikarasagasu/sportsshinkoka/6135.html |publisher=City of Hachinohe |language=ja |access-date=14 October 2020}}</ref>

Aomori Prefecture hosted the [[2003 Asian Winter Games]] from 1 February to 8 February 2003.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Asian Games |url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1073233/history-of-oca |work=Inside the Games |date=12 December 2018 |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> Approximately 1,200 athletes from 29 Asian countries participated in the games. Five venues across the prefecture held 51 different events.<ref>{{cite web |title=青森アジア競技大会2003 |trans-title=2003 Aomori Asian Winter Games |url=https://www.joc.or.jp/games/asia/2003/ |language=ja |publisher=Japanese Olympic Committee |date=October 2020 |access-date=6 October 2020}}</ref> Aomori Prefecture is also slated to host the 80th [[National Sports Festival of Japan]] in 2025,<ref>{{cite web |title=第80回国民スポーツ大会 |trans-title=80th National Sports Festival |url=https://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/soshiki/kikaku/kokuspo/2025_80th_kokuspo.html |publisher=Aomori Prefecture Government |language=ja |date=2 July 2020 |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> though it is likely the event will be postponed for a year due to the impact of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Japan|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite news |title=青森国民スポーツ大会、1年延期か 県が了承方針 |trans-title=Planned postponement of the Aomori National Sports Festival for one year pending prefectural approval |url=https://www.kahoku.co.jp/tohokunews/202009/20200904_23027.html |newspaper=[[Kahoku Shimpō]] |language=ja |date=4 September 2020 |access-date=14 October 2020 |archive-date=29 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929061456/https://www.kahoku.co.jp/tohokunews/202009/20200904_23027.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The prefecture has produced some professional athletes. [[Yoshisada Yonezuka]] from the town of Nakadomari was a martial arts instructor for [[USA Judo]].<ref name="Yonezuka">{{cite web |title=スポーツ大国の群像 |trans-title=Group of sports powerhouses |url=http://www2.town.nakadomari.aomori.jp/hakubutsukan/kikakuten/h12-fa/sports.htm |publisher=Town of Nakadomari |language=ja |date=2000 |access-date=6 October 2020}}</ref> He coached the team in the [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988]] and [[1992 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Yoshida Yonezuka |url=https://obits.nj.com/obituaries/starledger/obituary.aspx?n=yoshisada-yonezuka&pid=172872921&fhid=17060 |newspaper=[[The Star-Ledger]] |date=20 October 2014 |access-date=14 October 2020}}</ref>

====Major professional teams====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Club
!Sport
!League
!Stadium and city
|-
|[[Aomori Wat's]]
|[[Basketball]]
|[[B.League]] (East Second Division)
|[[Maeda Arena]], Aomori<ref>{{cite news |title=青森ワッツ、ホーム開幕節は連敗 B2リーグ |trans-title=Aomori Wat's loses consecutive home games in B2 League |url=https://sportsbull.jp/p/856636/ |newspaper=Mainichi Shimbun |language=ja |date=13 October 2020 |access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-date=16 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016050625/https://sportsbull.jp/p/856636/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
|[[ReinMeer Aomori]]
|[[Association football]]
|[[Japan Football League]] ([[Japan Football League|JFL]])
|[[Maeda Arena]], Aomori<ref>{{cite web |title=クラブ案内 |trans-title=Club information |url=https://reinmeer-aomori.jp/about-reinmeer/ |publisher=RainMeer Aomori |date=2020 |language=ja |access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref>
|-
|[[Tohoku Free Blades]]
|[[Ice hockey]]
|[[Asia League Ice Hockey]]
|[[Flat Hachinohe|Flat Arena]], Hachinohe<ref>{{cite web |title=チーム概要 |trans-title=Team overview |url=https://www.tohokufreeblades.com/team/about |publisher=Tohoku Free Blades |language=ja |date=2020 |access-date=14 October 2020}}</ref>
|-
|[[Vanraure Hachinohe]]
|Association football
|[[Japan Professional Football League]] ([[J3 League]])
|Prifoods Stadium, Hachinohe<ref>{{cite web |title=ヴァンラーレ八戸 |trans-title=Vanraure Hachinohe |url=https://www.jleague.jp/club/hachinohe/day/ |publisher=J.League |language=ja |date=October 2020 |access-date=14 October 2020}}</ref>
|}

====Minor professional and amateur teams====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Club
!Sport
!League
!Stadium and city
|-
|[[Blancdieu Hirosaki FC]]
|Association football
|[[Tohoku Soccer League]] (Division 1)
|Hirosaki Sports Park, Hirosaki<ref>{{cite web |title=クラブ概要 |trans-title=Club overview |url=https://www.blancdieu-hirosaki.com/clubgaiyou/ |publisher=Blancdieu Hirosaki FC |date=2020 |language=ja |access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref>
|-
|{{ill|Hachinohe Reds|ja|八戸レッズ}}
|Ice hockey
|Japan Women's Ice Hockey League
|Tanabu Ice Hockey Arena, Hachinohe<ref>{{cite web |title=Hachinohe Reds homepage |url=http://www.hachinohe-reds.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126033051/http://www.hachinohe-reds.com/ |publisher=Hachinohe Reds |language=ja |archive-date=26 January 2019 |access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref>
|-
|{{ill|Hirosaki Areds|ja|弘前アレッズ}}
|Baseball
|Japan Amateur Baseball Association
|Hirosaki<ref name="Areds">{{cite news |title=弘前アレッズが青森県社会人野球選抜と対戦－ネットを使った生中継も |trans-title=Hirosaki Areds to play against selection of Aomori baseball teams to be livestreamed |url=https://hirosaki.keizai.biz/headline/70/ |publisher=Minkei Local News Network |language=ja |date=30 June 2014 |access-date=12 October 2020}}</ref>
|-
|{{ill|King Blizzard|ja|キングブリザード}}
|Baseball
|Japan Amateur Baseball Association
|Goshogawara<ref name="Areds"/>
|}

====Other teams====
The [[Aomori Curling Club]] was a curling club of the [[List of curling clubs in Japan|Japan Curling Association]] from the city of Aomori that represented Japan in the [[2006 Winter Olympics]] and the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] and several [[World Curling Championships]]. The club was disbanded in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=チーム青森を応援していただいた皆様へを掲載 |trans-title=To everyone who supported Team Aomori |url=http://teamaomori.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302035009/http://teamaomori.com/ |language=ja |archive-date=2 March 2013 |access-date=2 July 2020}}</ref>

==Transportation==
[[File:Aomoribay bridge.jpg|thumb|The [[Aomori Bay Bridge]] and the Memorial Ship ''Hakkoda-Maru'' seen from [[Aomori Bay]]]]
Aomori Prefecture has {{cvt|20,606.8|km|mi|sp=us}} of roads, highways, and streets, along with {{cvt|227|km|mi|sp=us}} of [[Expressways of Japan|expressways]].<ref>{{cite web |title=都道府県別道路現況 |trans-title=Current road conditions by prefecture |url=https://www.mlit.go.jp/road/ir/ir-data/tokei-nen/2017/xls/d_genkyou04.xls |format=XLS |publisher=Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism |language=ja |date=2017 |access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="Expressways">{{cite web |title=高速道路ネットワーク整備計画 |trans-title=Highway network development plan |url=http://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/soshiki/kendo/doro/files/15kousoku.pdf |publisher=Aomori Prefectural Government |language=ja |date=27 June 2008 |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012072306/http://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/soshiki/kendo/doro/files/15kousoku.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Four major expressways pass through the prefecture: the [[Tōhoku Expressway]], which runs south–north through center of the prefecture; the incomplete [[Tsugaru Expressway]], running east–west in the southwestern portion of the prefecture; the partially-complete [[Hachinohe-Kuji Expressway]] that travels south–north along the prefecture's eastern coast to Hachinohe; and the partially-complete [[Shimokita Expressway]] that travels south–north along Shimokita Peninsula from the town of Noheji to the city of Mutsu.<ref name="Expressways"/>

Several auxiliary routes of the Tōhoku Expressway also serve the prefecture. The [[Aomori Expressway]] and [[Hachinohe Expressway]], [[spur route]]s into the eastern part of the city Aomori and central Hachinohe. A spur of the Hachinohe Expressway continues northwest across the eastern side of the prefecture towards the prefecture's capital. It is made up of several named routes: the [[Momoishi Toll Road]], the [[Daini-Michinoku Toll Road]], the [[Kamikita Expressway]], and the [[Michinoku Toll Road]].<ref name="highways">{{cite web |title=青森県の主要幹線道路 |trans-title=Main highways of Aomori Prefecture |url=https://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/soshiki/kendo/doro/files/2020syuyoukansendoro.pdf |publisher=Aomori Prefectural Government |language=ja |date=31 January 2020 |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104173426/https://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/soshiki/kendo/doro/files/2020syuyoukansendoro.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Several [[National highways of Japan|national highways]] pass through the prefecture. National routes [[Japan National Route 4|4]], [[Japan National Route 7|7]], and [[Japan National Route 45|45]] are primary routes that link the prefectural capital to the capitals of other prefectures across Japan. Additional national routes in Aomori Prefecture include routes [[Japan National Route 101|101]], [[Japan National Route 102|102]], [[Japan National Route 103|103]], [[Japan National Route 104|104]], [[Japan National Route 279|279]], [[Japan National Route 280|280]], [[Japan National Route 282|282]], [[Japan National Route 338|338]], [[Japan National Route 339|339]], [[Japan National Route 340|340]], [[Japan National Route 394|394]], and [[Japan National Route 454|454]]. Two of the prefecture's national highways also continue north across the Tsugaru Strait to Hokkaido: National Route 279, which is carried to [[Hakodate]] by the [[Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry]]; and National Route 280, which was previously carried by ferry to the town of [[Fukushima, Hokkaido]], though the route is still signed from Fukushima to Hakodate.<ref>{{cite web |title=一般国道の路線別, 都道府県別道路現況 |trans-title=Current status of national highways by route number and prefecture |url=https://www.mlit.go.jp/road/ir/ir-data/tokei-nen/2016/pdf/d_genkyou26.pdf |publisher=Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism |language=ja |date=2016 |access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=大名が通る松前街道 |trans-title=The daimyo passes along the Matsumae-kaidō |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/2018/05/51246.html |publisher=The Mutsu Shimpō |language=ja |date=21 May 2018 |access-date=7 October 2020}}</ref>

[[File:U16 E5series Hayate at Hachinohe station 13 2014-03-12.jpg|thumb|The [[E5 Series Shinkansen]] at [[Hachinohe Station]] on the high-speed [[Tōhoku Shinkansen]] line.]]
Railways have played an important role in Aomori Prefecture's transportation network and development since the Meiji period. [[Aomori Station]], [[Shin-Aomori Station]], [[Hachinohe Station]], [[Hirosaki Station]], and [[Shichinohe-Towada Station]] are major rail stations operating in Aomori Prefecture.<ref>{{cite web |title=Aomori |url=https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/destinations/aomori/index.html?src=gnavi |publisher=JR East |date=December 2017 |access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref> The [[East Japan Railway Company]] (JR East), operates several rail lines in the prefecture: the [[Tōhoku Shinkansen]], the [[Tōhoku Main Line]], the [[Ōu Main Line]], the [[Ōminato Line]], the [[Gonō Line]], the [[Hachinohe Line]], and the [[Tsugaru Line]]. Other notable rail operators in the prefecture are the [[Hokkaido Railway Company]] (JR Hokkaido), that runs the [[Hokkaido Shinkansen]] through the [[Seikan Tunnel]] to and from Hokkaido, the [[Aoimori Railway]] that operates passenger services on the Tōhoku Main Line,<ref name="highways"/> and the northernmost privately owned railway in Japan, the [[Tsugaru Railway]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tsugaru Railway |url=http://www.city.goshogawara.lg.jp/tourism/en/view/tsutetsu.html |publisher=Goshogawara City |date=22 December 2020 |accessdate=24 February 2021}}</ref>

Maritime transport in Aomori Prefecture operates primarily from the ports of Aomori, Mutsuogawara, and Hachinohe, though smaller ports are found throughout the prefecture.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Aomori Port Office |url=http://www.pa.thr.mlit.go.jp/aomori/english/do.html |publisher=Aomori Port Office |date=June 2020 |access-date=14 October 2020 |archive-date=16 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116065455/http://www.pa.thr.mlit.go.jp/aomori/english/do.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ports at Aomori and Hachinohe both serve cruise ships<ref>{{cite web |title=List of ports in Japan |url=https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/cruise/list/index.html |publisher=Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism |date=3 June 2020 |access-date=14 October 2020}}</ref> and ferry lines. Additionally, a ferry line operates between [[Ōma]] and Hakodate.<ref>{{cite web |title=航路のご案内 |trans-title=Route information |url=http://www.aomori-ferry.or.jp/kouro.html |publisher=Aomori Ferry Public Corporation |date=2012 |access-date=14 October 2020 |archive-date=17 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017051333/http://www.aomori-ferry.or.jp/kouro.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Prior to the opening of the Seikan Tunnel, rail ferries operated by the [[Japanese National Railways]] linked Aomori Station and [[Hakodate Station]] as the primary connection between Hokkaido and the rest of Japan. A museum dedicated to the historic rail ferries operates near Aomori Station in a former rail ferryboat, the ''Hakkoda Maru''.<ref>{{cite web |author=Daniel Adams |title=Memorial Ship Hakkoda-Maru: A Vessel of Aomori's Past and Culture |url=https://taiken.co/single/memorial-ship-hakkoda-maru-a-vessel-of-aomoris-past-and-culture/ |publisher=Taiken Japan |date=10 December 2018 |access-date=14 October 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031071755/https://taiken.co/single/memorial-ship-hakkoda-maru-a-vessel-of-aomoris-past-and-culture/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

There are two commercial airports located within Aomori Prefecture, [[Aomori Airport]] and [[Misawa Airport]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Access to Airports and Main Station |url=https://www.en-aomori.com/visitor_info/access.html |publisher=Aomori Prefectural Government |date=2020 |access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref> Both airports are relatively small, though Aomori Airport offers regular international flights to South Korea and Taiwan, seasonal flights to China, and chartered flights to Thailand, in addition to domestic flights to several cities.<ref>{{cite web |title=出発便：青森空港発 |trans-title=Departures from Aomori Airport |language=ja |url=https://www.aomori-airport.co.jp/flight/departures |work=Aomori Airport |access-date=15 June 2020 |archive-date=16 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516072714/https://www.aomori-airport.co.jp/flight/departures |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Education==
Aomori Prefecture's national university is [[Hirosaki University]], which was formed by the combination of several colleges and higher education schools in 1949 in accordance with the National School Establishment Law of 1949.<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=https://www.hirosaki-u.ac.jp/en/about/history.html |publisher=Hirosaki University |date=2020 |access-date=9 October 2020}}</ref> The prefecture has two other public universities, [[Aomori Public University]] and the [[Aomori University of Health and Welfare]]. Several private universities are also located in Aomori Prefecture. Among them are [[Aomori University]], [[Hachinohe Gakuin University]], [[Hachinohe Institute of Technology]], [[Hirosaki Gakuin University]], [[Hirosaki University of Health and Welfare]], [[Tohoku Women's College]], and the Towada Campus of [[Kitasato University]].<ref>{{cite web |title=青森県の大学 偏差値 一覧 |trans-title=List of universities and colleges in Aomori Prefecture with deviation values |url=https://www.univ-library.com/aomori.html |publisher=Art College Ranking List |language=ja |date=2019 |access-date=9 October 2020}}</ref>

The Aomori Prefecture Board of Education oversees various aspects of the prefecture's educational system including the management of libraries, the [[Aomori Prefectural Museum]], and various educational support offices and centers. In all the prefecture allocated 130.3 billion yen towards education in 2018. In 2017 the prefecture's public school system was teaching 133,507 [[Primary education|primary]] and [[Secondary education|secondary]] students, a sharp decrease from a total of 173,537 students ten years earlier. Overall the prefecture has 94 kindergartens (1 of which is a national school and 3 that are public), 289 elementary schools (1 of which is a national school and 288 that are run by municipal governments), 161 middle schools (1 of which is a national school, another which is run by the prefecture, 4 that are private, and 155 that are run by municipal governments), and 95 high schools.<ref>{{cite web |title=Education in Aomori Prefecture (2018) |url=http://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/soshiki/kyoiku/e-seisaku/files/30aomori_kyouiku.pdf |publisher=Aomori Prefecture Board of Education |date=2018 |access-date=9 October 2020}}</ref>

==Symbols and names==
During the [[Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search]] conducted in [[Flagstaff, Arizona]] for [[main-belt asteroid]]s that have a risk of coming close to Earth,<ref>{{cite web |title=About LONEOS |url=https://asteroid.lowell.edu/asteroid/loneos/loneos1.html |publisher=LONEOS |date=23 July 2004 |access-date=6 October 2020}}</ref> observers discovered [[List of minor planets: 19001–20000#19701–19800|19701 Aomori]], an asteroid which they named after Aomori Prefecture. 19701 Aomori was given its name on 9 May 2012 after the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami]] to pay respect towards the damaged communities along the prefecture's southeastern coast.<ref>{{cite web |title=19701 Aomori (1999 SH19) |url=https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=19701#content |publisher=[[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref>

===Prefectural symbols===
Since 1961, the prefectural symbol of Aomori is a green stylized map of the prefecture on a white background, showing the crown of [[Honshū]]: the [[Tsugaru Peninsula|Tsugaru]], [[Natsudomari Peninsula|Natsudomari]] and [[Shimokita Peninsula]]s. The green is representative of development while the white symbolizes the vastness of the world.<ref name="Symbols">{{cite web |title=シンボル |trans-title=Symbol |url=https://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/kids/01_symbol.html |language=ja |date=20 May 2020 |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref>

The prefectural bird has been [[Bewick's swan]] since 1964, the species migrates to the area during the winter. In 1966, the prefecture designated the [[Thujopsis|hiba]] (''Thujopsis dolabrata'') as its prefectural tree. The apple blossom was designated as the prefectural flower in 1971 to pay homage to the prefecture's apple production. In 1987, the [[Olive flounder|Japanese halibut]] was designated as the prefectural fish.<ref name="Symbols"/>

==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.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Izumi |last1=Yuuki |first2=Oda |last2=Masayasu |title=青森県における方言の地域産と世代差 |trans-title=Regional and Generational Differences of Dialects in Aomori Prefecture |location=Tokyo |journal=Regional Views |doi=10.14866/ajg.2016s.0_100068 |number=29 |date=March 2016 |volume=2016s |publisher=[[Komazawa University]] |language=ja |page=33}}</ref> Speakers of the Tsugaru dialect are typically centered around Hirosaki, while those who use the Nanbu dialect are centered around Hachinohe.<ref>{{cite book |first=Hirayama |last=Tetsuo |title=青森県のことば |trans-title=The Language of Aomori |location=Tokyo |date=2003 |publisher=Meiji Shoin |language=ja |page=2 |isbn=4625623030}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Tetsuo|2003|p=49}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.toonippo.co.jp/tenchijin/ten2011/ten20110201.html |title=天地人 |trans-title=Heaven, Earth, and Man |language=ja |newspaper=The Tō-Ō Nippō Press |date=1 February 2011 |access-date=2 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110320192231/http://www.toonippo.co.jp/tenchijin/ten2011/ten20110201.html |archive-date=20 March 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{harvnb|Tetsuo|2003|p=11}}</ref> Special features of the Aomori dialects include an atypical [[intonation (linguistics)|intonation]],<ref>{{harvnb|Tetsuo|2003|p=20}}</ref> [[voice (phonetics)|voicing]] consonants that are typically unvoiced (e.g. [k] sounds become [g]),<ref>{{harvnb|Yuuki|Masayasu|2016|pp=26–27}}</ref> 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]).<ref>{{harvnb|Tetsuo|2003|p=14}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |title=All You Need to Know About Japan's Weirdest Dialect, Tohoku-ben |url=https://www.tofugu.com/2011/07/25/all-you-need-to-know-about-japans-weirdest-dialect-tohoku-ben/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107031400/https://www.tofugu.com/2011/07/25/all-you-need-to-know-about-japans-weirdest-dialect-tohoku-ben/ |date=25 July 2011 |archive-date=7 November 2011 |access-date=2 October 2020 |website=Tofugu}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Yuuki|Masayasu|2016|pp=26–28}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Yuuki|Masayasu|2016|p=29}}</ref>

==Media==
The largest newspaper by readership in Aomori Prefecture is ''[[The Tōō Nippō Press]]'' with a daily readership of 245,000, 56% of the total share of the newspaper market in the prefecture.<ref>{{cite web |title=Company listing |url=https://www.toonippo.co.jp/list/company/list/english/ |work=The Tōō Nippō Press |access-date=20 May 2020 |archive-date=14 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814015231/https://www.toonippo.co.jp/list/company/list/english/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The newspaper also runs a radio news station which is broadcast by the [[Aomori Broadcasting Corporation]] (RAB).<ref>{{cite web |title=Media |url=http://www.rab-service.co.jp/media.html |publisher=Aomori Broadcasting Corporation |language=ja |access-date=12 October 2020}}</ref> Other local newspapers are Hachinohe's ''The Daily Tōhoku Shimbun'',<ref>{{cite web |title=会社概要 |trans-title=Company profile |url=https://www.daily-tohoku.company/guide-overview |publisher=The Daily Tōhoku Shimbun |language=ja |access-date=12 October 2020}}</ref> Hirosaki's ''[[Mutsu Shimpo]]'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Information |url=http://www.mutusinpou.co.jp/company/company.html |publisher=The Mutsu Shimpo |language=ja |date=2020 |access-date=12 October 2020}}</ref> and Kuroishi's ''Tsugaru Shinpō''.<ref>{{cite web |title=会社概要 |trans-title=Company profile |url=http://www.shinpou.jp/gaiyou.htm |language=ja |access-date=12 October 2020 |archive-date=10 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810224400/http://www.shinpou.jp/gaiyou.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Four television stations are broadcast in Aomori Prefecture. RAB is a television and radio broadcaster based in the capital that is affiliated with the [[Japan Radio Network]], [[National Radio Network (Japan)|National Radio Network]], and [[Nippon News Network]]. RAB uses the call signs JOGR-DTV for digital television broadcasts and JOGE, JOGO, and JOGR for radio broadcasts in Hirosaki, Hachinohe, and Aomori, respectively. [[Japan News Network]]'s affiliate, [[Aomori Television]] began broadcasting with the call sign JOAI on 1 December 1969. [[Asahi Broadcasting Aomori]]. [[NHK]] broadcasts radio, television, and digital television from NHK Aomori with the call signs JOTC and JOTG. NHK radio services began on 17 April 1941, while television broadcasts commenced on 22 March 1959.<ref name="RAB"/>

[[Hani Motoko]], a native of Hachinohe, is considered to be Japan's first female journalist. She became known for her column about famous Japanese women that began publication in 1897 in the ''[[Sports Hochi|Hōchi Shimbun]]''. Motoko later started a journal, that focused on the values of middle-class women.<ref name="Motoko">{{cite journal |author=B. Winston Kahn |title=Hani Motoko and the Education of Japanese Women |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24449975 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |journal=The Historian |volume=59 |number=2 |pages=391–401 |date=1997 |jstor=24449975 |access-date=6 October 2020}}</ref>

==Notable people from Aomori Prefecture==
[[File:Osamu Dazai.jpg|80px|thumb|right|[[Osamu Dazai]]]]
[[File:Shikō Munakata.jpg|80px|thumb|right|[[Shikō Munakata]]]]
* [[Osamu Dazai]], author<ref name="Dazai"/>
* [[Miki Furukawa]], musician, and former bass guitarist and singer for the Japanese rock band [[Supercar (band)|Supercar]]<ref name="Supercar">{{cite web |title=SUPERCAR 1995-2005 |url=https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/Supercar/profile/ |publisher=[[Sony Music Entertainment Japan]] |language=ja |access-date=6 October 2020}}</ref>
* [[Nitta Hachirō]], singer of [[ryūkōka|popular]] and [[classical music]] from the early [[Shōwa (1926–1989)|Shōwa era]].<ref name="JVC">{{cite web |title=新田 八郎 Hachiro Nitta |url=https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/-/Artist/A003929.html |website=JVC Music |access-date=8 October 2022 |language=Japanese}}</ref>
* [[Miki Hanada]], nurse<ref>{{cite news |title=「命阻むもの悪」花田ミキに学ぶ |trans-title=Lessons from Miki Hanada "The evil that prevents life" |url=https://www.aomoricgu.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/t_201311121.pdf |newspaper=The Tō-Ō Nippō Press |date=12 November 2013 |access-date=6 October 2020 |archive-date=10 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010180419/https://www.aomoricgu.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/t_201311121.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Junji Ishiwatari]], musician, and former guitarist and songwriter for the Japanese rock band [[Supercar (band)|Supercar]]<ref name="Supercar"/>
* [[Shunsuke Kikuchi]], composer<ref name="Kikuchi"/>
* [[Daimaō Kosaka]], comedian known widely for his single "[[PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen)]]"<ref name="PPAP"/>
* [[Kenichi Matsuyama]], actor<ref>{{cite web |title=十和田バラ焼 6 その旨さは北へ |trans-title=Towada grilled bara |url=https://www.marugotoaomori.jp/blog/2009/01/5824.html |publisher=Aomori Prefectural Government |work=Marugoto Aomori |date=30 January 2009 |access-date=6 October 2020}}</ref>
* [[Hani Motoko]], journalist<ref name="Motoko"/>
* [[Shikō Munakata]], artist and the recipient of the 1970 [[Order of Culture]]<ref name="Munakata"/>
* [[Koji Nakamura]], musician, and former guitarist and lead singer for the Japanese rock band [[Supercar (band)|Supercar]]<ref name="Supercar"/>
* [[Yoshie Shiratori]], escape artist<ref>{{cite web |title=「THE・脱獄」とある英国人と日本人の奇想天外！味噌汁の塩分で鉄を錆びらせ |trans-title="The Prison Break" an English and Japanese curiosity! Rusting iron with miso soup |url=https://bushoojapan.com/jphistory/kingendai/2019/11/16/63345 |publisher=BUSHOO!JAPAN |language=ja |date=10 January 2020 |access-date=6 October 2020}}</ref>
* [[Takahashi Chikuzan|Chikuzan Takahashi]], musician<ref name="Chikuzan"/>
* [[Shuji Terayama]], film maker<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiewire.com/2011/12/three-reasons-for-criterion-consideration-shuji-terayamas-pastoral-to-die-for-the-country-1974-132634/|title=Three Reasons for Criterion Consideration: Shuji Terayama's Pastoral, To Die for the Country (1974)|last=Nishimura|first=Robert|date=December 6, 2011|work=IndieWire|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627015143/http://www.indiewire.com/2011/12/three-reasons-for-criterion-consideration-shuji-terayamas-pastoral-to-die-for-the-country-1974-132634/|archive-date=June 27, 2018|accessdate=27 April 2023}}</ref>
* [[Daigo Umehara]], fighting game player, one of the most successful ''[[Street Fighter]]'' players<ref>{{cite magazine |title=プロゲーマー梅原氏に直撃インタビュー |trans-title=Interview with pro-gamer Umehara |url=http://www.famitsu.com/blog/sst4/1236266_2375.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617143546/http://www.famitsu.com/blog/sst4/1236266_2375.html |magazine=[[Famitsu]] |publisher=[[Kadokawa Corporation]] |language=ja |archive-date=17 June 2010 |access-date=6 October 2020}}</ref>
* [[Yoshisada Yonezuka]], martial arts instructor<ref name="Yonezuka"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Aomori prefecture}}
{{Wikivoyage|Aomori prefecture}}
*[http://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/ Aomori Prefecture Official Website] {{in lang|ja}}
*[http://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/foreigners/index.html Aomori Prefecture Official Website] {{in lang|en}}

{{clear}}

{{Aomori}}
{{Regions and administrative divisions of Japan}}
{{Asian Games Host Cities}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Aomori Prefecture| ]]
[[Category:Tōhoku region]]
[[Category:Prefectures of Japan]]
[[Category:1871 establishments in Japan]]