Hashino Iron Mining & Smelting Site

Located in the mountains of Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, the Hashino Iron Mining and Smelting Site is one of the places where Japan’s modern iron manufacturing industry began. Built in the last years of Edo period, the site contains the remains of Japan’s oldest surviving Western-style blast furnaces. These furnaces were constructed in the 1850s by engineers working under the Morioka domain, led by the pioneering Western scholar Oshima Takato. Their goal was to produce high-quality iron suitable for modern artillery, at a time when Japan was preparing to defend itself against Western powers.
Oshima successfully produced iron using locally sourced magnetite, laying the groundwork for large-scale domestic iron production. Using a combination of traditional Japanese stonework and European design techniques, the blast furnaces at Hashino Iron Mining and Smelting Site became a model for future developments. This work eventually led to the establishment of the government-run Kamaishi Iron Works in the Meiji period and later contributed to the founding of Yawata Steel Works, one of Japan’s first major modern steel plants that played a key role in the country’s industrialization ,in Kyushu, Japan.
If you visit the information center prior to exploring the ruins, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of modern-day iron production, as well as the Meiji Industrial Revolution’s and Hashino Iron Mining and Smelting Site’s important roles in Japan’s industrial revolution. The surrounding forest, once a key source of charcoal, is also preserved as part of the original industrial landscape.
In 2015, Hashino Iron Mining and Smelting Site was recognized as part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing “Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining.” It remains a rare, intact example of early Japanese industrial infrastructure, and a valuable place to learn about how Japan transitioned to a modern industrial power.