Kurihara District, Miyagi

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Kurihara District (栗原郡) was a district in Japan belonging to Mutsu Province or the Miyagi Prefecture. Established 8th century AD as Korehari or Koreharu District (伊治郡) and abolished in 2005, the territory is identical to the city of Kurihara today.

Kurihara was established as Korehari in the 700s as a frontier district of the Mutsu Province. At that time Korehari is the north limit of the Japanese dominance at the pacific side of the region. Ancient Japan had continued conquest wars against Emishi. One time in 780 the district head and a Emishi officer in Japanese army, Korehari no Azamaro, revolted at the Korehari Castle and killed the governor of the Tohoku area. Much later Korehari had its name changed to Kurihara.

The district occupyed the northwest part of the Sendai Plain. The population had enjoyed the fertile land for rice cultivation. The history of Kurihara was realtivly peaceful, any great warload did not appeared from Kurihara. Date clan had ruled it from Sendai during the Edo period. After the Meiji restoration Kurihara was belonged to the Miyagi prefecture.

When the municipalities of the district consolidated to the Kurihara city in 2005, Kurihara district disappeared from maps.