The is a cluster of landmarks in Iwate Prefecture, Japan connected with the writings of Meiji period author Kenji Miyazawa in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. These locations were collectively designated a Place of Scenic Beauty in 2005.
Ihatov is a quasi-Esperanto name of a fictional land derived from the word "Iwate" as a toponym created by author Kenji Miyazawa. In the authorâÂÂs works Ihatov is a utopia which ranges from small islands in vast oceans and includes deserts and continents; however, it shares a number of things on common with Iwate, including a tendency towards natural disasters, and a resilient population.
The Place of Scenic Beauty designation spanned six locations in the municipalities of Hanamaki (Miyazawa's birthplace), à Âshà «, Shizukuishi, Sumita, Hanamaki Tà Âno and Takizawa, to which a seventh location was added in 2006. Each of the locations appears in one or more of Miyazawa's poems.