Humans have inhabited the prefecture for at least 15,000 years, and the oldest evidence of pottery in Japan was discovered at the Jōmon period Odai Yamamoto I site.

After centuries of rule by the Nanbu and Tsugaru clans, the prefecture was formed out of the northern part of Mutsu Province during the Meiji Restoration.

Though the prefecture remains dominated by primary sector industries, it also serves as a transportation hub due to its location at the northern end of Honshu.

The oldest evidence of pottery in Japan was found at the Odai Yamamoto I site in the town of Sotogahama in the northwestern part of the prefecture.

[6] The settlement shows evidence of the wide interaction between the site's inhabitants and people from across Jōmon period Japan, including Hokkaido and Kyushu.

Its abandonment was likely due to the population's subsistence economy being unable to result in sustained growth, with its end being spurred on by the reduced amount of natural resources during the neoglaciation.

[7] The Jōmon period continued up to 300 BCE in present-day Aomori Prefecture at the Kamegaoka site in the city of Tsugaru where the Shakōkidogū was found.

[4] During the Yayoi period, the area that would become Aomori Prefecture was impacted by the migration of settlers from continental Asia to a lesser extent than the rest of Japan to the south and west of the region.

[9] Throughout the Heian period the Emishi were slowly subdued by the Imperial Court in Kyoto before being incorporated into Mutsu Province by the Northern Fujiwara around 1094.

[10] The Northern Fujiwara set up the port settlement Tosaminato in present-day Goshogawara to develop trade between their lands, Kyoto, and continental Asia.

[13] Nanbu Mitsuyuki was awarded vast estates in Nukanobu District after he had joined Minamoto no Yoritomo at the Battle of Ishibashiyama and the conquest of the Northern Fujiwara.

[14] The eastern area of the current prefecture was dominated by horse ranches, and the Nanbu grew powerful and wealthy on the supply of warhorses.

[22] Mutsu Province was struck by the Tenmei famine between 1781 and 1789, due to lower than usual temperatures that were exacerbated by volcanic eruptions at Mount Iwaki, near the Tsugaru clan's capital, Hirosaki, between November 1782 and June 1783.

[23] At the beginning of the Edo period, the last pockets of Ainu people in Honshu still lived in the mountainous areas on the peninsulas of the prefecture.

They interacted with the ruling clans to some extent, but they primarily lived off of fishing the waters of Mutsu Bay and the Tsugaru Strait.

[26] As a result of the minor skirmish, the Tsugaru clan was able to prove its defection from the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei and loyalty to the imperial cause.

[34] The Nippon Railway, a private company, completed the Tōhoku Main Line in 1891, linking Aomori to Ueno Station in Tokyo.

During their 80 years of service, the Seikan rail ferries sailed between Aomori and Hakodate some 720,000 times, carrying 160 million passengers.

Another feature of the park, the Hakkōda Mountains, an expansive volcanic group, rises in the lands to the south of the city of Aomori and north of Lake Towada.

[76] Like much of the Tōhoku Region, Aomori Prefecture remains dominated by primary sector industries, such as farming, forestry and fishing.

The prefecture's forestry industry is centered around the cultivation and harvesting of hiba, a cypress tree utilized in construction of wooden structures across the country.

The Aomori coast along Mutsu Bay is a large source of scallops, but they are particularly a specialty of the town Hiranai where the calm water around Natsudomari Peninsula makes a good home for them.

A notable player of the style was Takahashi Chikuzan, a blind musician from Hiranai who wandered around the country and eventually gained nationwide appeal.

[92][93] Aomori Prefecture is also where the decorative embroidery styles, kogin-zashi and Nanbu hishizashi originated as more utilitarian techniques during the Edo period.

The peasant women of the area, who created the styles, used them to make linen clothing more robust and warm during the harsh winters since cotton was unavailable to the lower class.

[106] The creator of the supernatural manga series Shaman King, Hiroyuki Takei, is from the village of Yomogita in northwestern Aomori.

[114] Aomori Prefecture is also slated to host the 80th National Sports Festival of Japan in 2025,[115] though it is likely the event will be postponed for a year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

19701 Aomori was given its name on 9 May 2012 after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami to pay respect towards the damaged communities along the prefecture's southeastern coast.

[158] Other local newspapers are Hachinohe's The Daily Tōhoku Shimbun,[159] Hirosaki's Mutsu Shimpo,[160] and Kuroishi's Tsugaru Shinpō.

Japan News Network's affiliate, Aomori Television began broadcasting with the call sign JOAI on 1 December 1969.