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

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

in the

Chūbu region The , Central region, or is a region in the middle of Honshū, Japan's main island. In a wide, classical definition, it encompasses nine prefectures (''ken''): Aichi, Fukui, Gifu, Ishikawa, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama, and ...

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 n ...

. , the city had 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 usi ...

of 61,647 in 26,559 households, 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 RosenberPopu ...

of 2,457 persons per km². The total area of the city is .

Geography

Tsushima is located in far western Aichi Prefecture, on the alluvial plain of the

Kiso Three Rivers The refers to the three major rivers that make up the alluvial plain area of the Nōbi Plain of Japan. The three rivers are the Kiso River, the Ibi River and the Nagara River. Given their location, they are sometimes referred to as the Nōbi Th ...

Climate

The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Tsushima is 15.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1710 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.9 °C with occasional

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

s , and lowest in January, at around 4.4 °C with occasional snow. The

East Asian rainy season The East Asian rainy season (), also called the plum rain, is caused by precipitation along a persistent stationary front known as the Meiyu front for nearly two months during the late spring and early summer in East Asia between mainland Chi ...

occurs in June.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,Tsushima population statistics
/ref> the population of Tsushima has been relatively steady over the past 30 years.

Surrounding municipalities

;

* Aisai *

Kanie is a town located in Ama District, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 37,082 in 16,647 households, and a population density of 3,344 persons per km². The total area of the town was . Etymology The origin ...

Ama Ama or AMA may refer to: Ama Languages * Ama language (New Guinea) * Ama language (Sudan) People * Ama (Ama Kōhei), former ring name for sumo wrestler Harumafuji Kōhei * Mary Ama, a New Zealand artist * Shola Ama, a British singer * Ām ...

History

Middle Ages

Tsushima developed as a ''monzen-machi'' catering to the pilgrimage traffic to the well-known

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The ''honden''Also called (本殿, meanin ...

of Tsushima Jinja from the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by ...

Early modern period

During the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

, the area was controlled by the

Oda clan The is a Japanese samurai family who were daimyo and an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, sever ...

and subsequently in 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 character ...

was part of the holdings of the

Owari-Tokugawa family The is a branch of the Tokugawa clan, and it is the seniormost house of the ''Gosanke'' ("three honourable houses of the Tokugawa").Owari Domain The was a feudal domain of Japan in the Edo period. Located in what is now the western part of Aichi Prefecture, it encompassed parts of Owari, Mino, and Shinano provinces. Its headquarters were at Nagoya Castle. At its peak, it was rated ...

Late modern period

During the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, the area was organized into several villages under Ama District, Aichi Prefecture, including the village of Tsushima in 1871 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. During the Meiji period, the area was a center for textile production. Tsushima was elevated to town status on October 1, 1889, and to city status on March 1, 1947.

Contemporary history

Tsushima was hit by the

Ise-Wan Typhoon Typhoon Vera, also known as the , was an exceptionally intense tropical cyclone that struck Japan in September 1959, becoming the strongest and deadliest typhoon on record to make landfall on the country as a Category 5 equivalent storm. Th ...

in 1959 which caused widespread damage and flooding.

Government

Tsushima has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

city legislature of 18 members. The city contributes one member to the Aichi Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Aichi District 9 of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paral ...

External relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

International

;Sister cities *

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

（

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

） **since

November November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars, the fourth and last of four months to have a length of 30 days and the fifth and last of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. Nov ...

5, 1981

National

;Disaster Alliance city * Kōnan（

） **since September 1, 2004 * Fujioka（

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuku ...

Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Sl ...

） **since September 1, 2004 * Kasukabe（

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

） **since September 1, 2004

Education

Schools

Tsushima has eight public elementary schools and four public junior high schools operated by the city government, and three public high schools operated by the Aichi Prefectural Board of Education. There are also one high school operated by the city government.

Transportation

Meitetsu Tsushima Station 2021-06 ac (2)

Railways

Conventional lines

;

Meitetsu *

Tsushima Line The is an Japanese railway line which connects Sukaguchi Station in Kiyosu, Aichi with Tsushima Station in Tsushima, Aichi. It is owned and operated by the private railway operator Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu). Manaca is accepted at all statio ...

：- – (Shobata) - (Fujinami) - - * Bisai Line：- -

Roads

Expressways

* Higashi-Meihan Expressway

Japan National Route

Local attractions

Tsushima Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Tsushima, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is the head shrine of a nationwide shrine network of shrines dedicated to the , Centered primarily in the Tōkai region, this network has approximately 3,000 shrines and is the tenth- ...

* The Japan Mosque of the Ahmadiyyas, largest mosque (by capacity) in Japan. Tsushimajinja4.JPG, Tsushima Shrine Tushimatennousai1.JPG, Tenno Matsuri Tsushimahuji.JPG, Wisteria Festival Tennogawa1.JPG, Tennōgawa Park Tsushima.JPG, Temple town Hottakehouse.JPG, Hottake House

Culture

Festival

* Tenno Matsuri, a festival with a history of over two hundred years. The highlight of this two-day event is the evening festival in which a dozen boats, each decorated with nearly 400 paper lanterns, float down the Tenno River.

Notable people from Tsushima

* Yone Noguchi (1875–1947), poet * Mitsuharu Kaneko (1895–1975), poet *

Kiyoshi Takayama is a yakuza best known as the second-in-command (''wakagashira'') of the 6th-generation Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan, and the president of its ruling affiliate, Kodo-kai, based in Nagoya. Takayama has been consider ...

(b. 1947),

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

tycoon * Kanematsu Sugiura (1892-1979), cancer researcher

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Aichi Prefecture