An early Permian (Kungurian) brachiopod fauna, consisting of 15 species in 15 genera, is described from the lower part of the Hosoo Formation of the Nakadaira area, South Kitakami Belt, northeastern Japan. The new species is Thamnosia nakadairensis. The Nakadaira fauna is a mixed Boreal—Tethyan fauna, with a close affinity to the early Permian brachiopod faunas of northwestern China (Xinjiang) and northern China (Inner Mongolia and Shanxi). The South Kitakami Belt was probably located in a transitional zone between the Boreal and Tethyan realms, developed along the eastern margin of North China (Sino—Korea) in the early Permian (Kungurian).