Tsu, Mie

Tsu 津市
City
Tsu City Hall
Flag Seal
Location of Tsu in Mie Prefecture
Tsu
Coordinates: 34°43′N 136°30′E / 34.717°N 136.500°E / 34.717; 136.500Coordinates: 34°43′N 136°30′E / 34.717°N 136.500°E / 34.717; 136.500
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Prefecture	Mie Prefecture
Government
• -Mayor	Yasuyuki Maeba (since May 2011)
Area
• Total	710.81 km2 (274.45 sq mi)
Population (September 2012)
• Total	298,980
• Density	398/km2 (1,030/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
- Tree	Zelkova serrata
- Flower	Azalea
-Bird	Japanese Bush Warbler
Phone number	059-229-3110
Address	23-1 Nishi-Marunouchi, Tsu-shi, Mie-ken 514-8611
Website	www.info.city.tsu.mie.jp

Tsu Castle from the air

Tsu (津市, Tsu-shi) is the capital city of Mie Prefecture, Japan.

As of September 2012, the city has an estimated population of 282,980 and a population density of 398 persons per km². The total area is 710.81 km².

Geography

Tsu 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 Murō-Akame-Aoyama Quasi-National Park.

Neighboring municipalities

• The city of Suzuka, to the north
• The city of Kameyama, to the north
• The city of Matsuzaka, to the south
• The city of Iga, to the west
• The city of Nabari to the west
• The village of Soni, Nara to the west
• The village of Mitsue, Nara to the west

Climate

Tsu has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heaviest from May to September.

History

Tsu originally developed as a port town known as Anotsu (安濃津) in the Nara and Heian periods. The port was destroyed by a tsunami in the 1498 Meiō Nankaidō earthquake. The town was rebuilt as a castle town and a post station by the Sudo clan, daimyo of Tsu Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate. During the Edo era, it became a popular stopping point for travelers to Ise shrine, about 40 km to the southeast.

Following the Meiji restoration, it became the capital of Mie Prefecture in 1871. With the establishment of municipalities on April 1, 1889, Tsu was one of original 31 cities to be proclaimed.

During World War II, Allied air raids on July 24 and July 28, 1945 destroyed most of the city and killed 1,239 people

On January 1, 2006, the neighboring city of Hisai, the towns of Anō, Geinō and Kawage, and the village of Misato (all from Age District), the towns of Hakusan, Ichishi and Karasu, and the village of Misugi (all from Ichishi District) were merged into Tsu. As a result of the merger, the city became the second largest in Mie by population behind Yokkaichi, and became the largest in Mie by area ahead of Matsusaka.

Economy

Imuraya Confectionery, a confectionery company,^[2] and ZTV, a cable television operator, are headquartered in Tsu.^[3]

Transportation

Rail

• JR Central – Kisei Main Line
  • Ishinden - - Akogi - Takachaya
• JR Central – Meishō Line
  • Ise-Hata - Ichishi - Isegi - Ise-Ōi – Ise-Kawaguchi - Sekinomiya - Ieki - Ise-Takehara - Ise-Kamakura - Ise-Yachi - Hitsu - Ise-Okitsu
• Kintetsu Nagoya Line
  • Chisato - Toyotsu-Ueno - Shiratsuka - Takadahonzan - Edobashi - Tsu - Tsu-shimmachi - Minamigaoka - Hisai - Momozono
• Kintetsu Osaka Line
  • Higashi-Aoyama - Sakakibara-Onsenguchi - Ōmitsu - Ise-Ishibashi - Kawai-Takaoka
• Ise Railway Ise Line
  • Ise-Ueno – Kawage – Higashi-Ishinden - Tsu

Highways

• Ise Expressway
• National Route 23
• National Route 163
• National Route 165
• National Route 306
• National Route 368
• National Route 369
• National Route 422

Seaports

• Port of Tsu-Matsusaka

Education

• Mie University, the prefecture's only national university.
• Tsu City College
• Mie Prefectural College of Nursing
• Takada Junior College

Sister city relations

• – Higashishirakawa, Gifu, since June 28, 1989
• – Shūnan, Yamaguchi, since May 8, 1990
• – Kamifurano, Hokkaido, since July 30, 1997
• – Osasco, São Paulo, Brazil, since October 18, 1976
• – Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China – since June 11, 1984

Local attractions

Tsu is famous for its Tōjin Odori (唐人踊り), a festival commemorating the arrival of the Joseon Tongsinsa delegation from Korea during the feudal period.^[4] There are two other cities that celebrate Tōjin Odori: Suzuka city in Mie Prefecture and Ushimado-chō in Okayama Prefecture.^[5]

The ruins of Tsu Castle have been made into a downtown city park.

Notable people

• Sho Gokyu – professional soccer player
• Mika Hagi – 2007 Miss Japan
• Mu Kanazaki – professional soccer player
• Kōji Kitao – sumo wrestler
• Kotokaze Kōki – sumo wrestler
• Ayumi Oka – actress
• Hiroshi Okuda – former president of Toyota Motors
• Edogawa Rampo – author
• Chikara Sakaguchi - politician
• Hidesaburō Ueno – agricultural scientist
• Saori Yoshida – Olympic wrestler

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tsu, Mie.

• Official website (Japanese)

v t e Mie Prefecture Cities Tsu (capital) Yokkaichi Ise Matsusaka Kuwana Suzuka Nabari Owase Kameyama Toba Kumano Inabe Shima Iga Kuwana District Kisosaki Inabe District Tōin Mie District Komono Asahi Kawagoe Taki District Taki Meiwa Ōdai Watarai District Tamaki Watarai Taiki Minamiise Kitamuro District Kihoku Minamimuro District Mihama Kihō