is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
located in
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
As of June 2012, the city has an estimated
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
of 58,087, and a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
of 3,350 per km². The total area is .
Geography
Zushi is located at the head of
Miura Peninsula
is a peninsula located in Kanagawa, Japan. It lies south of Yokohama and Tokyo and divides Tokyo Bay, to the east, from Sagami Bay, to the west. Cities and towns on the Miura Peninsula include Yokosuka, Miura, Hayama, Zushi, and Kamakura. ...
, facing
Sagami Bay
lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while th ...
on the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. The city is built on an
alluvial plain
An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...
formed by the and surrounded by low, steep hills.
Surrounding municipalities
*
Kamakura
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939.
Kamak ...
*
Yokosuka
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
, the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region.
The city ...
*
Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama
is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 209,565 and a density of 6,760 persons per km². The total area was . The ward symbol, established 1987, expresse ...
*
Hayama
260px, Morito Beach
is a town located in Kanagawa Prefecture, on central Honshū, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 32,961 and a population density of 1900 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Since 1894, the Japan ...
History
The area of Zushi has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and numerous
Kofun period
The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...
and
Yayoi period
The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age.
Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...
remains have been discovered. During the
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
, it came under the control of the
Miura clan Miura may refer to:
Places
*Miura, Kanagawa
*Miurakaigan Station
* Miura District, Kanagawa
* Miura Peninsula
* Ganadería Miura, the home of the Miura fighting bull line
People
* Miura (surname)
* Miura clan, Japanese descended clan of the Ta ...
, and during the
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
formed part of the outer fortifications for Kamakura. The port of
Kotsubo
Kotsubo (Red Bluff) is a small fishing village in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is half way between Zushi and the old Japanese capital of Kamakura. It is on Sagami Bay and just over one hour by train from Tokyo.
Location and scenery
T ...
is mentioned frequently in the ''
Azuma Kagami
is a Japanese historical chronicle.
The medieval text chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō (the 6th shōgun) and his return to Kyoto in 12 ...
''. The name 'Zushi' has been written in many different ways, including .
The term "zushi" itself means a street, an alley or an intersection and came to the Kantō region from
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
.
One of its first appearances is in a
Hōjō clan document as . During the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
, along with most of eastern
Sagami Province
was a province of Japan located in what is today the central and western Kanagawa Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kanagawa''" at . Sagami Province bordered the provinces of Izu, Musashi, and Suruga. It had access to the Paci ...
, the area was ''
tenryō
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
'' territory under direct control of the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
, and administered by various ''
hatamoto
A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as ''gokenin.'' However ...
''.
In the April 1, 1889, cadastral reform after the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
, Tagoe Village within
Miura District Kanagawa Prefecture was created through the merger of six local hamlets. Development of the area was encouraged by the opening of the Yokosuka Line railway on June 16, 1889. Tagoe Village changed its name to Zushi Village on April 1, 1924; however, on April 1, 1943 it was annexed by Yokusuka city. Zushi regained its status as an independent municipality on July 1, 1950, as Zushi Town. City status was gained on April 15, 1954. Zushi developed as a resort area in the 1960s, with the opening of Zushi Marina in 1967. In the mid-1990s, the city was the center of a political controversy involving the creation of a housing area for the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
at Ikego, the site of a former
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
ammunition depot, to support the expansion of nearby
Yokosuka Naval Base. When the citizens of Zushi first learned of these plans in the 1980s, they organized a movement to save the Ikego Forest. Led by the women of the town, the movement sought preservation of Ikego as a park and wildlife sanctuary. A decade of opposition by the citizens of Zushi had been effective in slowing the development. The construction was definitely forced through in 1994, when the Zushi Municipal Government finally accepted 854 housing units after winning a promise from the central government to Zushi and Kanagawa Prefecture that it would not build any more facilities in the Ikego area. However, a plan contravening this agreement was introduced in July 2003. To prevent the building of 800 additional U.S. military housing units a citizen's group called the Association to Stop the US Residential Construction and to Protect Ikego Forest launched an opposition movement in 2004.
Government and politics
*
2006 Zushi mayoral election
Economy
Zushi is a popular beach resort, and has attracted many famous writers (e.g.
Roka Tokutomi
The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國 陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...
), media personalities (e.g.
Yujiro Ishihara and
Mino Monta), musicians and politicians (e.g.
Shintaro Ishihara
was a Japanese politician and writer who was Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the radical right Japan Restoration Party, he was one of the most prominent ultranationalists in modern Japanese politics. An ultra ...
) as either a residence or location for a second home. The city is largely a
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
for Tokyo and Yokohama. It is the home of
Shonan Beach FM
Shonan Beach FM is a radio station based in Zushi in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Operated by Zushi Hayama Community Broadcasting Company, it broadcasts mainly jazz, but also features R&B and Big Band, as well as a certain amount of Hawaiian and ...
radio station (
FM and
internet radio
Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...
).
Transportation
Rail
*
JR East
The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...
–
Yokosuka Line
The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
The Yokosuka Line connects Tokyo Station with in Yokosuka, Kanagawa. Officially, the name Yokosuka Line is assigned to the 23.9 km segment between and ...
** ・
*
Keikyū Zushi Line
The is a commuter railway line in Japan owned and operated by the private railway operator Keikyu. It connects in Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama with in Zushi, all in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Service outline
Three service types operate on the Keikyu Zu ...
** ・ ・
Highways
*
National Route 134
Local attractions
![Zushi from Hosshoji](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Zushi_from_Hosshoji.jpg)
* Ganden-ji, number two of the
Bandō Sanjūsankasho
The ("The Bandō 33 Kannon Pilgrimage") is a series of 33 Buddhist temples in Eastern Japan sacred to Goddess Kannon. Bandō is the old name for what is now the Kantō region,Donald Richie used in this case because the temples are all in the Pref ...
* Hosshō-ji, Nichiren-sect temple that is supposed to lie on the spot where
Nichiren
Nichiren (16 February 1222 – 13 October 1282) was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period.
Nichiren declared that the Lotus Sutra alone contains the highest truth of Buddhist teachings suited for the Third Age of ...
was rescued from a mob by three white monkeys.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Zushi is
twinned with:
*
Ikaho, Gunma
was a town located in Kitagunma District, Gunma Prefecture, Japan.
As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 3,920 and a density of 175.63 persons per km2. The total area was 22.32 km2.
On February 20, 2006, Ikaho, along with the vill ...
, Japan (1979)
*
Nazaré, Portugal
Nazaré () is a Portugal, Portuguese town and municipality located in the Oeste Subregion, Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura Province (1936-1976), Estremadura, and in the Leiria District. The municipality has a population of 1 ...
(2004)
Notable people
*
Takeshi Aikoh
is a retired Nippon Professional Baseball player who played for the Lotte Orions and the Chunichi Dragons.
External links
*
Living people
1962 births
Baseball people from Kanagawa Prefecture
Japanese baseball players
Nippon Professional ...
– professional baseball player
*
Nobuteru Ishihara
is a Japanese politician who was Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2010 to 2012.
He was born in Zushi, Kanagawa, the son of author and former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara. He attended Keio Gijuku High School and gradu ...
– politician
*
Hirotaka Ishihara
is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Kanagawa Prefecture and graduate of Keio University, he was elected to the House of Representativ ...
– politician
*
Risako Sugaya
is a former Japanese singer and actress. She first gained recognition when she joined Hello! Project Kids and later became one of the lead vocalists of the girl group Berryz Kobo from 2004 to 2015.
Career 2002–2004: Hello! Project Kids, 4 ...
– singer
*
Kaori Yoneyama
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. Yoneyama started her career in 1999, working with the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. During the following years, she became a one-time J ...
– professional wrestler
*
Tamio Kawachi
was a Japanese actor.
Career
Kawachi was a student at Kanto Gakuin University when Yujiro Ishihara, one of his neighbors in Zushi, Kanagawa, invited him to join the Nikkatsu studio. He made his debut in '' A Slope in the Sun'' (1958) playing ...
– actor
*
Rita Taketsuru
, born Jessie Roberta Cowan, was a Scottish-Japanese businesswoman known as the wife of Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky.
Life
She was born into a doctor's family – wife of
Masataka Taketsuru
was a Japanese chemist and businessman. He is known as the founder of Japan's whisky industry and Nikka Whisky Distilling.
Born to a family that had owned a sake brewery since 1733, he traveled to Scotland in 1918 to study organic chemistry and ...
, founder of
Nikka Whisky
The is a producer of Japanese whisky and other beverages headquartered in Tokyo. It is owned by Asahi Group Holdings.
The company operates a number of distilleries and other facilities in Japan, including two Japanese whisky distilleries, the Yo ...
*
Mutsuo Takahashi
is one of the most prominent and prolific male poets, essayists, and writers of contemporary Japan, with more than three dozen collections of poetry, several works of prose, dozens of books of essays, and several major literary prizes to his name ...
– writer
References
External links
Official Website
{{Authority control
Cities in Kanagawa Prefecture
Populated coastal places in Japan
Populated places established in 1950
1950 establishments in Japan