Matsusaka, Mie

Matsusaka 松阪市
—  City  —
Flag
Location of Matsusaka in Mie
Matsusaka
Coordinates: 34°35′N 136°32′E / 34.583°N 136.533°E / 34.583; 136.533Coordinates: 34°35′N 136°32′E / 34.583°N 136.533°E / 34.583; 136.533
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Prefecture	Mie
Government
- Mayor	Mitsushige Yamanaka
Area
- Total	623.80 km2 (240.9 sq mi)
Population (November 2006)
- Total	171,065
- Density	274.23/km2 (710.3/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	Pine
Phone number	[phone]
Address	1340-1 Tonomachi, Matsusaka-shi, Mie-ken 515-8515
Website	City of Matsusaka

Matsusaka (松阪市, Matsusaka-shi^?), sometimes called Matsuzaka, is a city located in central Mie Prefecture, on the island of Honshū, Japan. The city is famous for its beef.

History

Founding

Matsusaka was founded in 1588 in Ise Province or Seishū (勢州^?) by Gamo Ujisato. Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent Gamo to Ise's Matsugashima, a fief of 120,000 koku, in 1584. In 1588, Gamo began construction of a castle in the Yoiho forest (四五百森, yoiho no mori^?) and named the site "Matsusaka," meaning "slope (阪) covered with pines (松)".

Significant Events

• February 1, 1933 - Matsusaka City is founded.
• January 1, 2005 - Matsusaka absorbed the towns of Mikumo and Ureshino, both from Ichishi District, and the towns of Iinan and Iitaka, both from Iinan District, to form a new expanded city of Matsusaka.

Famous people

• Mitsui Takatoshi (三井高利) (1622 - 1694) - founder of the Mitsui zaibatsu.
• Motoori Norinaga (本居宣長) (1730 - 1801) - scholar of the Edo period whose teachings were based on the kokugaku, the rejection all foreign, particularly Chinese, influence on Japanese culture.
• Kana Nishino (西野カナ) (1989-) - J-pop/R&B singer

Neighbors

Matsusaka is bordered by:

• The city of Tsu, to the north.
• Ise Bay, to the northeast.
• The town of Meiwa, to the east.
• The town of Taki, to the south.
• The town of Ōdai, to the south.
• The village of Kawakami, Nara to the southwest.
• The village of Higashi-Yoshino, Nara to the west.
• The village of Mitsue, Nara to the west.

External links

• Matsusaka travel guide from Wikitravel
• Matsusaka city guide from the Mie Guidebook at Mie JETs