Tohoku Places

Sendai

Sendai is Tohoku's largest city, and its one million residents enjoy its big-city feel. Meanwhile, they can relax in knowing it's as safe and easy-going as a small town. Devastated by World War II, Sendai has since become a thoroughly modern and well-planned city, with wide boulevards and a surprising amount and variety of greenery. It's the economic and educational capital of the region, hosting a broad range of industries and universities. In recent decades the city has become a magnet for international students, teachers, and workers, and this has helped foster Sendai's energetic and affable atmosphere.

The city's origins can largely be traced to the story of the "one-eyed dragon," local warlord Date Masamune (1567-1636). Affectionately nicknamed for both his one working eye (he was blinded in the other during a childhood bout with smallpox) and his valor in battle, Masamune established a dynasty in Sendai that maintained its position as one of the three most powerful daimyo (feudal lord) families during the shogun period. In later life, his talents expanded: he engineered a canal linking two rivers, improving the transport of rice; and in an effort to further trade with Europe, he dispatched an emissary to Rome and The Vatican.