Misawa, Japan

Misawa is located in the flatlands on the southern shore of picturesque Lake Ogawara on the east coast of Aomori prefecture, facing the Pacific Ocean. The city has a cold maritime climate characterized by cool summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. Misawa has well-defined seasons.The area around Misawa has been occupied since prehistoric times, and was a major population center for the Emishi people. Numerous Jomon period remains have been discovered within the borders of Misawa, including within the borderes of Misawa Air Base.. During the Edo period, the area was part of Morioka Domain. After the Meiji Restoration, the area was settled by many dispossessed ex-samurai from former Aizu Domain. What is now called Misawa Air Base has been used by the military since the Meiji period, when it was used as a cavalry training center for the Imperial Army. In 1870 the Japanese Emperor established a stud farm for the household cavalry in the area that later became Misawa AB, and kept his own (Tenno Heika) cavalry there until 1931, when the Sino-Japanese conflict required their use in China. Misawa remained a training center for Japanese Cavalry until the Japanese Army constructed the first runway at Misawa for military aircraft in 1938.

Coastal areas of Misawa were again devastated by a tsunami in March 1933. AnImperial Japanese Navy Air Service base was established in 1941, and nearby Lake Ogawara was reportedly one of the lakes used by the Imperial Japanese Navy to practice for the attack on Pearl Harbor due to its shallow depth. The base was heavy bombed by the United States Navy in 1945, and subsequently occupied by the United States after the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II.

Misawa serves as a regional industrial and commercial center, with agriculture and commercial fishing playing secondary roles in the local economy. The large foreign presence at Misawa Air Base also makes a large impact on the local economy.