Matsusaka
松阪市

Matsusaka's location in Mie, Japan.
Matsusaka's location in Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Prefecture	Mie
Physical characteristics
Area	623.80 km2 (240.85 sq mi)
Population (as of November 2006)
Total	171,065
Density	274.23 /km² (710 /sq mi)
Location	34°35′N 136°32′E / 34.583, 136.533Coordinates: 34°35′N 136°32′E / 34.583, 136.533
Symbols
Tree	Pine
Flag
Matsusaka Government Office
Mayor	Takeshi Shimomura
Address	1340-1 Tonomachi, Matsusaka-shi, Mie-ken 515-8515
Phone number	0598-53-4311
Official 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 (伊勢国; -no kuni) or Seishu (勢州; seishū) 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 (四五百; yoiho) forest and named the site "Matsusaka" (松阪; matsusaka), with characters meaning "pine" and "hill/slope".

Significant Events

• Feb 01, 1933 - Matsusaka city is founded.
• Jan 01, 2005 - Matsusaka merges with the surrounding towns of Ureshino, Mikumo, Iinan, and Iitaka to form a new expanded Matsusaka city.

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.

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Matsusaka, Mie

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

Mie Prefecture
Cities
Iga | Inabe | Ise | Kameyama | Kumano | Kuwana | Matsusaka | Nabari | Owase | Shima | Suzuka | Toba | Tsu (capital) | Yokkaichi
Districts
Inabe | Kita-Muro | Kuwana | Mie | Minami-Muro | Taki | Watarai
See also: Towns and villages by district

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