ODATE

city, Akita ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, on the Yoneshiro-gawa (Yoneshiro River). As a castle town during the Tokugawa era (16031867), it served as a market for the surrounding agricultural region. The city is now a lumbering centre and is known for the production of wood products. Iron ore was discovered in the vicinity in 1962, and the city serves as a trade centre for the copper, lead, and zinc mined along the upper Yoneshiro-gawa. Odate is the home of a breed of domestic dog known as Akita. Pop. (1980) 72,478.