Sendai is asteroid #3133 and also known as A907 TC. Sendai was discovered in 1907 by the German astronomer August Kopff at Heidelberg-Königstuhl. But the asteroid’s name was suggested by Nakano Shuichi (中野 主一), who calculated parameters of the asteroid’s orbit. The transcription Syuichi, which is an older and obsolete standard, is the better known and more often quoted transcription for Nakano Shuichi (中野 主一). Sendai is a member of the asteroid-family Flora/ Ariadne.

Sendai is named after the Japanese city Sendai (仙台) and also spelled the same way in Japanese. (While the Japanese too wonder in some other cases how the name of an asteroid with an obviously Japanese name should be spelled.) Sendai-shi (仙台市) is the second-largest city north of Tōkyō (東京). Sendai-shi (仙台市) is the administrative seat of Miyagi-ken (宮城県). I have a look on Sendai because I already had a look on Miyagi. Sendai-shi (仙台市) is nicknamed gakuto (学都) or Academic Capital because Sendai-shi (仙台市) hosts many universities in relation to its population. It is also nicknamed mori-no-miyako (杜の都) or Capital of Groves and Forests. People in Sendai (仙台) like to illuminate trees during festivals and Sendai (仙台) hosts the largest of all Tanabata (たなばた) festivals. At least before Sendai-shi (仙台市) got bombed and burned in the Second World War, the nickname mori-no-miyako (杜の都) was because the people living there had been encouraged to plant trees, so that Sendai (仙台) became an for Japan unusual green city.

The daimyō (大名) or lord Date Masamune (伊達 政宗) wasn’t happy with his stronghold Iwadeyama (岩出山), so he relocated to the Aoba (青葉) Mountain in 1600 and there to an area known as Sendai (千代) or Thousand Generations because of a temple there, which had thousand Buddha statues, known as the sentai (千体). Date Masamune (伊達 政宗) built his new castle in that area and changed its spelling to Sendai (仙臺). The city Sendai (仙臺) grew around this castle. The name denotes an immortal hermit and shall have been chosen for the sake of making the area prosper for ever. The spelling Sendai (仙臺) somehow became the spelling Sendai (仙台), although this uses the simplified Chinese characters introduced by the Chinese Communists. Date Masamune (伊達 政宗) actually wanted tight connections with Catholics and had success in establishing diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1613, but then his plans got frustrated because the shōgun (将軍) banned Christendom from all of Japan.

Many craftsmen in Sendai-shi (仙台市) make tools and artwork of wood because of the many trees there. Sendai-shi (仙台市) is also known as the origin of Japanese-style barbecue and some other food trends like cold Chinese noodles. A rather uncommon nickname for Sendai-shi (仙台市) is “Heidelberg of the East”, but this nickname shall be the reason why the name Sendai was chosen for the asteroid #3133.

Sendai of course is a place name asteroid hinting to the large city in Miyagi (宮城) Prefecture. Sendai also hints to working with wood and to appreciating education. Sendai finally indicates that something is meant to stay.