Mizusawa, Iwate


Mizusawa was a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. In February 2006, it was merged with neighboring cities to form the city of Ōshū
as well as for traditional cast metalware produced in the Kitakami valley. The total land usage is 17.1% for rice fields, 4.4% for fields, and 3.9% for residential areas, and 3.9% for residential areas, and the proportion of farmland is high.
Mizusawa was home to one of the six International Latitude Observatories, where Hisashi Kimura was chief astronomer. It is now home to National Astronomical Observatory of Japan's Mizusawa VLBI Observatory, while the original observatory has been converted into a museum honoring Kimura.

Municipal history

On April 1, 1889, the town of Mizusawa was created due to the establishment of the modern municipalities system.
On April 1, 1954, Mizusawa became a city when the town absorbed the neighboring villages of Anetai, Shinjo, Sakuragawa, Kuroishi and Haneda.
On February 20, 2006, Mizusawa, along with the city of Esashi, the towns of Isawa and Maesawa, and the village of Koromogawa, was merged to create the city of Ōshū, and no longer exists as an independent municipality.

Notable people