Matsusaka, Mie

Matsusaka (松阪市, Matsusaka-shi) is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan.

Matsusaka

松阪市
City
Traditional street in central Matsusaka
Flag
Emblem
Location of Matsusaka in Mie Prefecture
Matsusaka
 
Coordinates: 34°34′40.6″N 136°31′39.3″E
CountryJapan
RegionKansai
PrefectureMie
Government
 • MayorMasato Takegami
Area
 • Total623.64 km2 (240.79 sq mi)
Population
 (August 2015)
 • Total165,166
 • Density265/km2 (690/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Symbols 
• TreePine
• FlowerLilium auratum
• BirdJapanese bush-warbler
Phone number0598-53-4311
Address1340-1 Tonomachi, Matsusaka-shi, Mie-ken 515-8515
Websitewww.city.matsusaka.mie.jp
Matsuzaka City Hall

As of August 2015, the city had an estimated population of 165,166 and a population density of 265 persons per km2. The total area was 623.64 square kilometres (240.79 sq mi). The city is famous for Matsusaka beef.

Geography

Matsusaka is located in east-central Kii Peninsula, in central Mie Prefecture. It stretches the width of Mie Prefecture, and is bordered by Ise Bay on the Pacific Ocean to the east, and Nara Prefecture to the west. Parts of the City are within the limits of the Yoshino-Kumano National Park.

Neighboring municipalities

History

Matsusaka developed as a commercial center during the Sengoku period, and Oda Nobukatsu, the younger son of Oda Nobunaga built a castle in the area in 1580. The area came under the control of Gamo Ujisato shortly thereafter, and the Gamo began construction of a castle in the Yoiho forest (四五百森, Yoiho no mori) and named the site "Matsusaka," meaning "slope (坂) covered with pines (松)" in 1588.

Matsusaka Castle was the center of the short-lived Matsusaka Domain in the early Tokugawa shogunate, but for most of the Edo period, the castle was the eastern outpost of Kishu Domain based at Wakayama Castle.

Following the Meiji restoration, the area became part of Mie Prefecture. The town of Matsusaka was created on April 1, 1889. The second kanji character of Matsusaka was changed to 阪 from 坂 in those days. On March 26, 1893, 1318 houses in the town were destroyed in a fire. The modern city of Matsusaka was established on February 1, 1933. The city suffered only light damage in World War II, when an air raid killed four people on February 4, 1945. About 700 houses in the city were destroyed by a fire on December 16, 1951. On October 15, 1956 a major railway accident occurred at Rokken Station on the outskirts of the city, killing 42 people. On August 1, 1982, Typhoon Bess left nine people dead in its wake. The city officially celebrated its 500th anniversary in 1988.

On January 1, 2005, the city expanded to its present borders, with the absorption the towns of Mikumo and Ureshino (both from Ichishi District), and the towns of Iinan and Iitaka (both from Iinan District).

Transportation

Railway

Highway

Seaports
  • Port of Matsusaka

Education
  • Mie Chukyo University
  • Matsusaka has 36 elementary schools, one private and 12 public middle schools, one private and four public high schools.

Sister city relations

Local attractions

Notable people
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gollark: So very messy.
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gollark: If anyone wants 3Gs or whatever I guess I might raffle some off, though they may not really be valuable enough to raffle.

References
  1. "International Exchange". List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2015.

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