is a geographical region of northern Honshu

Honshu

is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

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History

The use of Michinoku as a descriptive term is first recorded in (654).

The usage and meaning of the term has evolved along with Japanese expansion northward in the 7th and 8th centuries. The ambit of the region expanded beyond what is today Miyagi Prefecture

Miyagi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...

; and it eventually encompassed all of northern Honshu.

Poetic allusion

Michinoku or the "interior road" alluded to the "end of the line" — virtually the end of the world in Heian times.
    omoi wa michinoku ni

    koi wa suruga ni kayounari

    misomezariseba nakanaka ni

    sora ni wasurete yaminamashi

My longing goes as far as Michinoku,

as my love wanders Suruga;

if it had not been love at first sight,

it would be easy to forget,
fading into the distant air.

Modern usage

Modern usage varies, referring refer either to Mutsu Province alone (which at its largest covered present-day Fukushima

Fukushima Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....

, Miyagi, Iwate

Iwate Prefecture

is the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido...

 and Aomori

Aomori Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....

 prefectures) or to both Mutsu and neighboring Dewa Province

Dewa Province

is an old province of Japan, comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. It was sometimes called .-Historical record:...

, which covered all of the Tōhoku region

Tohoku region

The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....

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