Ōfunato Line

The corridor between the Iwai and Kesen districts was twice proposed by private promoters, as the Bansen Railway and then the Bansen Light Railway, but both schemes collapsed for want of capital before any track was laid. The route was finally taken up by the state: in 1918 a line from Ichinoseki to Kesennuma was authorised under the Light Railway Act, and the following year an extension to Ōfunato was added. Construction began with surveying in 1920, and the line was built out section by section from Ichinoseki over the next decade and a half.

The Ōfunato Line is the textbook example of 'ga-den in-tetsu' — politicians dragging the railway to their own districts. The stretch between Rikuchū-Kanzaki and Senmaya is so contorted that it was mocked as the 'pot-handle line'. The original plan ran straight from Kanzaki to Senmaya, but with the backing of the Iwate-born prime minister Hara Takashi and his Rikken Seiyūkai party, Satō Ryōhei — who stood from Surisawa, north of Senmaya, and won the 1920 general election — had the route diverted to pass through Surisawa and head directly for Ōfunato, bypassing Senmaya altogether. Senmaya then turned to the rival Kenseikai party, and when the Kenseikai won the 1924 general election the plan was changed once more so that the line doubled back from Surisawa down to Senmaya, producing the zig-zag that survives today. The detour cost the line its role as the shortest link between coast and interior, but it did bring the railway to the populous former Daitō area and to Geibikei gorge, a scenic limestone canyon counted among Japan's Hundred Landscapes.

Construction advanced steadily from Ichinoseki. The first segment, Ichinoseki to Surisawa (30.6 km), opened on 26 July 1925; Surisawa to Senmaya (9.2 km) followed on 15 July 1927, Senmaya to Orikabe (9.9 km) on 2 September 1928, and Orikabe to Kesennuma (12.3 km) on 31 July 1929, completing the inland section. Building then resumed along the coast: Kesennuma to Kami-Shishiori (7.5 km) opened on 19 March 1932, Kami-Shishiori to Rikuzen-Yahagi (10.0 km) on 15 February 1933, Rikuzen-Yahagi to Hosoura (17.6 km) on 15 December 1933, and Hosoura to Ōfunato (6.0 km) on 3 September 1934. The final link, Ōfunato to Sakari (2.6 km), opened on 29 September 1935, completing the through line from Ichinoseki to Sakari.

Under Japanese National Railways (JNR) the line carried express trains linking Sendai with the towns of the southern Sanriku coast, but its poor alignment, no match for the parallel roads, gradually told against it. Freight working was cut back — Ōfunato to Sakari losing its freight service on 1 March 1983 and Rikuchū-Matsukawa to Ōfunato on 1 February 1984. On 1 April 1987, with the break-up and privatisation of JNR, the whole Ichinoseki–Sakari line passed to JR East as the principal railway operator, while Japan Freight Railway (JR Freight) became the secondary operator over Ichinoseki to Rikuchū-Matsukawa. In 1992 JR East ran a public competition to name the line; with the anime Dragon Ball then on television, schoolchildren's votes settled on 'Dragon Rail', the winding alignment being likened to the dragon Shenron — reinforced by local dragon legends — and the name 'Dragon Rail Ōfunato Line' was adopted.

The Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011 brought operations to a halt across the whole line. The coastal section bore the worst of the tsunami: station buildings from Takekoma through Hosoura, and Ōfunato Station, were swept away, and three bridges were destroyed, among them the Kesen River bridge between Rikuzen-Yahagi and Takekoma, which was washed off its piers. Trains were inundated at Ōfunato and Sakari, but all passengers and crew had evacuated and were unhurt. The inland Ichinoseki–Kesennuma section, away from the coast, resumed service on 1 April 2011; it was suspended again from 7 April after an aftershock, then reopened on 18 April.

With no prospect of an early rail rebuild on the coast, the severed Kesennuma–Sakari section was converted to bus rapid transit. BRT operation over the former right-of-way began on 2 March 2013, the 'Ōfunato Line BRT', with the stretch around Shishiori-Karakuwa and Rikuzen-Takata substantially re-routed nearer the coast. JR East later put the cost of restoring the railway at some 40 billion yen and, with ridership falling, decided against it. On 12 November 2019 the company filed to abolish the Kesennuma–Sakari railway; after the proposed date was brought forward, the 43.7-kilometre coastal section was formally closed as a railway on 1 April 2020, leaving the Ōfunato Line as the 62.0-kilometre inland railway it is today, with the coastal corridor served by the BRT.

• 1918March: a line from Ichinoseki to Kesennuma is authorised by the state as the Ōfunato Line under the Light Railway Act, after two earlier private schemes (the Bansen Railway and Bansen Light Railway) had failed for lack of funds.
• 1919March: an extension of the Ōfunato Line from Kesennuma to Ōfunato is authorised.
• 192526 July: the first segment, Ichinoseki–Surisawa (30.6 km), opens, with Mataki, Rikuchū-Kanzaki, Rikuchū-Matsukawa and Surisawa stations.
• 192715 July: Surisawa–Senmaya (9.2 km) opens — the politically contested doubling-back toward Senmaya that gives the line its zig-zag.
• 19282 September: Senmaya–Orikabe (9.9 km) opens, with Konashi, Yagoshi and Orikabe stations.
• 192931 July: Orikabe–Kesennuma (12.3 km) opens, completing the inland section to Kesennuma.
• 193219 March: the coastal section begins, Kesennuma–Kami-Shishiori (7.5 km) opening.
• 193315 February Kami-Shishiori–Rikuzen-Yahagi (10.0 km) and 15 December Rikuzen-Yahagi–Hosoura (17.6 km) open, the latter adding Takekoma, Rikuzen-Takata, Wakinosawa, Otomo and Hosoura stations.
• 19343 September: Hosoura–Ōfunato (6.0 km) opens, with Shimofunato and Ōfunato stations.
• 193529 September: the final link, Ōfunato–Sakari (2.6 km), opens with Sakari Station, completing the through line from Ichinoseki to Sakari (105.7 km).
• 19831 March: freight service on the Ōfunato–Sakari section is withdrawn (Rikuchū-Matsukawa–Ōfunato follows on 1 February 1984).
• 19871 April: with the break-up and privatisation of JNR, JR East succeeds to the whole Ichinoseki–Sakari line as primary operator, and JR Freight becomes secondary operator over Ichinoseki–Rikuchū-Matsukawa.
• 1992JR East holds a public competition to name the line; helped by the Dragon Ball anime then on air, 'Dragon Rail Ōfunato Line' is adopted, the winding alignment being likened to the dragon Shenron.
• 201111 March: the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami suspends the whole line, destroying coastal stations and three bridges; the inland Ichinoseki–Kesennuma section resumes on 1 April, is re-suspended from 7 April by an aftershock, and reopens on 18 April.
• 20132 March: bus rapid transit ('Ōfunato Line BRT') begins over the severed Kesennuma–Sakari right-of-way.
• 20201 April: after a 12 November 2019 abolition filing (date brought forward), the 43.7 km Kesennuma–Sakari section is formally closed as a railway, leaving the 62.0 km inland railway; the coastal corridor is served by BRT.