Editing Sendai (section)

== History ==
=== Edo period ===
Although the Sendai area was inhabited as early as 20,000 years ago, the history of Sendai as a city begins from 1600, when the ''[[daimyō]]'' [[Date Masamune]] relocated. Masamune was not happy with his previous stronghold, [[Iwadeyama, Miyagi|Iwadeyama]], which was located in the northern portion of his territories and was difficult to access from [[Edo]] (modern-day Tokyo). Sendai was an ideal location, being in the centre of Masamune's newly defined territories, upon the major road from Edo. [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] gave Masamune permission to build a new castle in Aobayama after the [[Battle of Sekigahara]]. The previous ruler of the Sendai area had used a castle located on Aobayama. At this time Sendai was written as {{Nihongo2|千代}} ("a thousand generations" or "eternity"). Masamune changed the ''[[kanji]]'' to "{{lang|ja|仙臺}}", which later became "{{lang|ja|仙台}}" (literally: "hermit/wizard" plus "platform/plateau" or figuratively, "hermit on a platform/high ground"). The character came from a Chinese poem that praised a palace created by the [[Emperor Wen of Han China]] (reigned 180–157 BCE), comparing it to a mythical palace in the [[Kunlun Mountains]]. Tradition says that Masamune chose this ''kanji'' so that the castle would prosper as long as a mountain inhabited by an immortal hermit.

Masamune ordered the construction of [[Aoba Castle|Sendai Castle]] in December 1600 and the construction of the surrounding [[castle town]] in 1601. The grid plan roads in modern-day central Sendai are based upon his plans.

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File:Sendai castle01s3872.jpg|[[Aoba Castle]]
File:仙台城下絵図.jpg|Map of the Area around Sendai Castle
File:Sendai Zuiho-den Tor 2.jpg|[[Zuihōden]]
File:Sendai Tōshō-gū haiden.jpg|[[Sendai Tōshōgū]]
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=== Modern era ===
The first railway line between Sendai and Tokyo, now the [[Tōhoku Main Line]], opened in 1887, bringing the area within a day's travel from Tokyo for the first time in history. [[Tohoku University|Tohoku Imperial University]], the region's first university, was founded in Sendai in 1907 and became the first Japanese university to admit female students in 1913.

Sendai was incorporated as a city on 1 April 1889, with the post-[[Meiji restoration]] creation of the modern municipalities system following the [[abolition of the han system]]. At the time of incorporation, the city's area was {{convert|17.45|km2}} and its population was 86,000. The city grew, however, through seven annexations that occurred between 1928 and 1988. The city became a [[City designated by government ordinance|designated city]] on 1 April 1989; the city's population exceeded one million in 1999.

Sendai was considered to be one of Japan's greenest cities, mostly because of its great numbers of trees and plants. Sendai became known as The City of Trees before the [[Meiji Restoration]], after the feudal [[Sendai Domain]] encouraged residents to plant trees in their gardens. As a result, many houses, temples, and shrines in central Sendai had {{Nihongo|'''household forests'''|屋敷林|yashikirin}}, which were used as resources for wood and other everyday materials.

In 1925, the [[Senseki Line]] to [[Sendai Station (Miyagi)|Sendai Station]] became the first underground railway segment in Japan, preceding the opening of the [[Tokyo Metro Ginza Line]] (Asia's first subway line) by two years.

The [[2nd Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|2nd Infantry Division]] was known as the "Sendai Division" as it was based in Sendai, and recruited locally. During the Second World War it was involved in many different campaigns, but one of the most important was the [[Battle of Guadalcanal]]. During the [[bombing of Sendai during World War II]] by the United States on 10 July 1945, much of the historic center of the city was burned, with 2,755 inhabitants killed and 11,933 houses destroyed in the city.

<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" caption="Gallery" heights="130px" perrow="3">
File:Sendai map circa 1930.PNG|A city map of 1927, Japanese language edition
File:Tohoku Imperial University,1913.jpg|[[Tohoku University|Tohoku Imperial University]]
File:Basho no Tsuji circa 1930.JPG|Basho no Tsuji (1930)
File:Sendai after the 1945 air raid.JPG|[[Bombing of Sendai during World War II]]
File:Tohoku Daigaku Honbu.jpg|[[Tohoku University]] Katahira Campus
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===Postwar development===
Following World War II, the city was rebuilt, and Sendai became a vital transportation and logistics hub for the Tōhoku region with the construction of major arteries such as the [[Tōhoku Expressway]] and [[Tōhoku Shinkansen]].

In the early 1950s, the [[United States Army, Japan]] operated Camp Schimmelpfennig and Camp Sendai in the city.

Sendai has been subject to several major earthquakes in recent history, including the [[1978 Miyagi earthquake]], which was a catalyst for the development of Japan's current earthquake resistance standards, and the [[2005 Miyagi earthquake]]. Most recently, the coastal area of Sendai, including [[Sendai Airport]], was severely damaged in the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami]].<ref name="USGS"/><ref name="UKFO"/><ref name="TELG"/><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/asia/14sendai.html | work=The New York Times | first=Martin | last=Fackler | title=At Sendai City Hall, a Relief Center, Thousands Wait and Wonder What's Next | date=13 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709598|title=Japan earthquake: Tsunami hits north-east|publisher=BBC|date=11 March 2011}}</ref> The tsunami reportedly reached as far as [[Wakabayashi-ku, Sendai|Wakabayashi Ward]] Office, {{convert|8|km|sp=us}} from the coastline. Thousands were killed, and countless more were injured and/or made homeless. Sendai's port was heavily damaged and temporarily closed, reopening on 16 April 2011.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Kyodo News]]|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110417a5.html|title=Sendai port reopens for business|via=[[The Japan Times]]|date=17 April 2011|p=1}}</ref>

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File:Sendai City War Reconstruction Memorial Hall cropped.jpg|Sendai City War Reconstruction Memorial Hall
File:SH-60B helicopter flies over Sendai.jpg|An aerial view of Sendai harbour after the earthquake, 12 March 2011
File:Hinomaru-Sendai Bus OP-13 and OP-11 Rakuten Eagles Victory Parade 2013.jpg|[[Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles]] (2013)
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