Tome City in Miyagi Prefecture is known as “Miyagi Meiji Village” because many historic buildings from the Meiji (1868–1912) and Taisho (1912–1926) periods remain throughout the town.
The area features a fascinating mixture of Western-style and pseudo-Western-style architecture, traditional merchant houses, former samurai residences, historic sites, and other cultural landmarks. Walking through the streets of Tome offers visitors a chance to experience the atmosphere of modern Japan during its early stages of modernization.
The Educational Museum is housed in a beautiful wooden two-story school building completed in 1888. Its elegant Western-style design was unusual and modern for Japan at the time.
The building has a distinctive U-shaped layout, with wings extending south from the central section. The entrance features a unique semi-hexagonal design. Most of the interior was originally used as ordinary classrooms, with plaster-finished walls and numerous glass windows.
The building was designated a Miyagi Prefectural Important Cultural Property in 1963 and a National Important Cultural Property in 1981. Today, it is open to the public as the Educational Museum, where visitors can learn about education and everyday life in the Meiji era.
The Former Tome Police Station was completed in 1889. This two-story wooden building is characterized by white-painted horizontal siding and a hipped roof, creating an elegant Western appearance.
The building was designed by Kisaburo Yamazoe, the same architect responsible for the former school building. Its front entrance is particularly impressive, with a second-floor balcony, Ionic-style columns, and a gold-colored police emblem that reflect the Western architectural influences of the period.
Restoration work was carried out in 1986, including the reconstruction of the former detention cells. Inside the museum, visitors can see historical police uniforms, a police car, and other exhibits that introduce the development of policing in Japan during the Meiji era.
Next to the former police station stands a fire watchtower more than 20 meters high, built in 1926. It is a reminder of a time when police stations also played an important role in firefighting and disaster prevention.
The site is particularly valuable because it is the only surviving example in Miyagi Prefecture where a historic police station and fire watchtower remain together. The fire watchtower was designated a prefectural tangible cultural property in 2015.
The Mizusawa Prefectural Government Memorial Hall is a historic government building dating from the early Meiji period. Construction originally began as the Tome Prefectural Government Office, but the building was later used for a short period as the government office of Mizusawa Prefecture.
Afterward, the building served a variety of purposes, including a school, courthouse, and welfare center for senior citizens. It is now preserved and open to visitors as the Mizusawa Prefectural Government Memorial Hall.
The building provides an opportunity to learn about the changing administrative history of the region and the development of local government during Japan’s modernization.
Tome Kaikokan Museum was established after businessman Masato Watanabe, who was born in Tome, donated a collection of objects connected with the Date family.
In 2019, the museum moved to a new building designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. The building incorporates locally produced Tome slate roof tiles, giving it a distinctive appearance that connects contemporary architecture with the area’s traditional materials.
The museum houses approximately 350 cultural properties associated with the Date family. Visitors can explore exhibits related to samurai culture and discover the history of Tome through objects that have been preserved for generations.
Opened in 1996, the Traditional Performing Arts Heritage Hall, Mori Stage serves as a center for local performing arts such as Tome Noh and traditional kagura dances.
The facility was designed by Kengo Kuma and features a full-scale Noh stage. Its distinctive architecture has received recognition from the Architectural Institute of Japan.
The stage has no conventional lower wall panels, creating an open and distinctive appearance. After dark, the stage can appear to float within the surrounding landscape, creating an atmospheric setting for performances.
Takigi Noh, or torchlit Noh performances, are traditionally held around June and September, allowing visitors to experience Japanese performing arts in an especially atmospheric setting.
The Kakujoji Temple Kodai-in Mausoleum is regarded as an outstanding example of a mausoleum built in the Momoyama architectural style.
The structure was dismantled and carefully restored in 1968 before being designated an Important Cultural Property of Miyagi Prefecture. Its simple wooden construction and hōgyō-zukuri pyramidal roof create a dignified and solemn appearance.
The mausoleum offers visitors a glimpse into the religious architecture and artistic traditions that developed during Japan’s historic transition toward the early modern period.
The Great Willow of Tome is one of the town’s best-known natural landmarks and has been designated a prefectural natural monument.
The tree is a male Yuuki weeping willow believed to be more than 150 years old. It reaches approximately 25 meters in height and was once known as the “Horse-Tying Willow”, reflecting the role that horses played in everyday life in earlier times.
Today, the magnificent willow continues to stand as a symbol of Tome, watching over the historic streets of the town.
The Katsuko Takakura Museum of Art was established in 2009 to showcase works by Katsuko Takakura, a Japanese-style painter from Tome.
Her paintings portray the lives and experiences of people in the Tohoku region, including powerful works dealing with the experiences of the atomic bombing. Her art combines delicate expression with powerful emotional impact.
A visit to the museum provides an opportunity to discover the artistic achievements of a local artist while gaining a deeper understanding of the people and culture of northern Japan.
Shunrantei is a historic residence associated with the Suzuki family, who moved to the area together with Date Munenao, the first lord of the Tome Date family.
The former residence has been preserved and carefully restored. Today, it is open as an irori café, where visitors can relax around a traditional Japanese sunken hearth.
Guests can enjoy matcha green tea and Shunran tea while spending time in a historic setting. It is an ideal place to take a break while exploring Tome’s traditional townscape.
Tozan-no-Sato serves as an important visitor center for Miyagi Meiji Village. It includes a tourist information counter and a ticket office for several of the area’s attractions.
The center is also a convenient place to discover local foods and souvenirs. Popular Tome specialties include abura-fu, a wheat-based dried food often used in local dishes, and hattō, a traditional regional dish made from hand-stretched wheat dough.
Local agricultural products and regional souvenirs are also available, making Tozan-no-Sato a useful starting point for discovering both the history and cuisine of Tome.
Miyagi Meiji Village is more than a collection of old buildings. Its historic architecture and cultural sites reveal how Japanese society changed during the Meiji and Taisho periods.
Schools, government offices, police facilities, samurai-related heritage, traditional performing arts, museums, and historic residences can all be found within the area. Each site tells a different story about the people who lived and worked in Tome as Japan entered the modern era.
For visitors from outside Japan, exploring Tome provides a valuable opportunity to see a side of Japanese history that goes beyond famous temples and castles. The combination of Western-influenced Meiji architecture, traditional Japanese culture, local cuisine, and peaceful historic streets makes the town an interesting destination for cultural tourism.
Take your time walking through the town, visiting its historic buildings and museums, and sampling local specialties. A visit to Miyagi Meiji Village feels like stepping back into the atmosphere of Japan’s modernization more than a century ago.
9:00-16:30
December 28 - January 4
Adults 200-400 yen
High school students: 150 - 300 yen
Elementary/junior high school students: 100-200 yen
Tickets for all six facilities are available.
Approx. 40 min. by car from JR Kurikoma-Kogen Station (Tohoku Shinkansen Line)
Approx. 30 min. by car from Ishikoshi Station on the JR Tohoku Main Line
10 minutes by bus from Yanaizu Station on JR Kesennuma Line
Approximately 35 minutes from the Tsukidate IC on the Tohoku Expressway
Approximately 5 minutes from the Tome IC of the Sanriku Expressway
Approximately 97 minutes from Sendai Station by highway bus