Tendo, Mountain resort city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan
Tendo is a city in Yamagata Prefecture in central Japan, spreading across hilly terrain with the Ou Mountains forming its eastern boundary. The area combines agricultural land with developed neighborhoods where workshops and traditional manufacturing facilities sit alongside modern buildings.
During the Edo period, the region was a feudal domain under Oda clan control from 1831 until its end in 1871. The industrial tradition of shogi piece manufacturing emerged later and shaped the city's economic identity.
Tendo is the center of wooden shogi piece production in Japan, where artisans carry on generations of craft techniques passed down through families. Visitors can observe in workshops how this traditional skill remains active in daily work.
The city is well connected by the Yamagata Shinkansen line and Tohoku-Chuo Expressway, offering good access from multiple directions. Flat areas within town are walkable, while the surrounding region is easily explored by car.
Since 1966, the city hosts an annual human shogi event where participants act as living pieces on large outdoor boards. This unusual spectacle draws visitors who want to experience an ancient game in a completely different way.
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