Mogami River 最上川

Native name	Mogami-gawa (Japanese)
Location
Country	Japan
State	Yamagata
Physical characteristics

Source	Mount Azuma
• location	Yonezawa, Yamagata
• coordinates	37°45′50″N 140°10′48″E / 37.764°N 140.180°E / 37.764; 140.180
• elevation	1,780 m (5,840 ft)

Mouth	Sea of Japan
• location	Sakata, Yamagata
• coordinates	38°55′23″N 139°48′36″E / 38.923°N 139.810°E / 38.923; 139.810
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	229 km (142 mi)
Basin size	7,040 km² (2,720 sq mi)

Discharge
• average	392 m³/s (13,800 cu ft/s)

The Mogami River (最上川, Mogami-gawa) is a river in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.

Description and history

The river is 224 km long and has a watershed of 7,040 km². It is regarded as one of the three most rapid rivers of Japan (along with the Fuji River and the Kuma River).

The river rises from southern Yamagata Prefecture, flows to the north, and turns west at Shinjō, then flows into the Sea of Japan at Sakata. Water transportation once flourished on the river and carried local products such as safflowers and rice to the Kansai region.

Cultural references

The Mogami River appears as an utamakura in Japanese poetry, with the influential 17th-century poet Matsuo Bashō composing several hokku regarding the river during his travels alongside it.^[1]^[2] Some were revised as haiku in the memoir of his journeys, including this well-known poem:

五月雨をあつめて早し最上川

samidare o atsumete hayashi Mogami-gawa

gathering the rains

of the wet season — swift

the Mogami River

(trans. Shirane)

The character Yūko Aioi in Nichijou has inner monologues in haiku form, all ending with the name of the river as a complete non sequitur (as she cannot think of a full 5-7-5 haiku).^[3]

Mogami-gawa is also the name of the anthem of Yamagata Prefecture written by Emperor Hirohito. The Japanese Navy had two different cruisers named Mogami.

Images

References

External links

River systems and rivers of Japan

Rivers of Hokkaido

Sea of Japan	Ishikari River Chitose River Toyohira River Makomanai River Anano River Yūbari River Koetoi River Rumoi River Shiribeshi-Toshibetsu River Shiribetsu River Teshio River Zenibako River
Sea of Okhotsk	Abashiri River Shibetsu River Shokotsu River Tokoro River Yūbetsu River
Pacific Ocean	Akan River Kushiro River Mitsuishi River Mu River Niikappu River Saru River Shizunai River Tokachi River
Rivers of Hokkaido on Commons

Rivers of Honshu

Tōhoku region	Abukuma River Arakawa River Iwaki River Kitakami River Komagome River Koyoshi River Mabechi River Mogami River Natori River Ōhata River Oirase River Omono River Yoneshiro River
Kantō region	Arakawa River Edo River Fuji River Kanda River Kuji River Naka River Sagami River Sumida River Tama River Tone River Tsurumi River
Chūbu region	Agano River Shinano River Seki River Hime River Kurobe River Jōganji River Jinzū River Shō River Oyabe River Tedori River Kuzuryū River Fuji River Abe River Ōi River Sakawa River Tenryū River Toyo River Yahagi River Shōnai River Kiso Three Rivers Kiso River Nagara River Ibi River Kushida River Miya River Kita River Minami River
Kansai region	Choshi River Ibo River Kako River Kinokawa River Kumano River Kuzuryu River Maruyama River Muko River Yamato River Yodo River Yasu River Katsura River Kamo River Kizu River Dōton River Yura River
Chūgoku region	Asahi River Ashida River Gōnokawa River Hino River Hii River Ōta River Oze River Saba River Sendai River Takahashi River Takatsu River Tenjin River Yoshii River

Rivers of Shikoku

Aibiki River
Shimanto River
Shinmachi River
- Suketō River
- Tamiya River
- Sako River
- Sumiyoshijima River
Yoshino River
- Dōzan River

Rivers of Kyushu

Kyushu	Arie River Chikugo River Kikuchi River Kuma River Mimi River Ōno River Ōyodo River
Yaeyama Islands	Kokuba River Nakama River Urauchi River

Rivers of Japan Category
Rivers of Japan on Commons

Authority control databases

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Japan