is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in

Oshima Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. As of 2004, it had a population of 456,621 and an area of 3,715.38 km2. Hakodate Airport is located in the City of Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port lo ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The former home of the Matsumae Han, it has an

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

, Matsumae Castle, the only one in Hokkaido, and Ryūun-in. The total area of the town is .

History

*1900: Fukuyama town was founded. *1940: Fukuyama changed its name to Matsumae. *1953: Matsumae Line opened. *1954: Matsumae town, Oshima village, Osawa village, and Kojima village were merged to form Matsumae town. *1988: Matsumae Line was abolished.

Geography

The town is located on the southern end of the Matsumae Peninsula. In addition the town governs the two islands in the

Tsugaru Strait The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles ...

, Oshima and Kojima. Along with Kaminokuni, Hokkaido, and Fukushima, Hokkaido, Matsumae shares a border with Mount Daisengen, and contains the newest and shortest climbing route to the summit of the mountain.

Climate

Demographics

As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 7,843 and a density of 26.7 persons per km².

Culture and lifestyle

Surrounding Matsumae Castle is Matsumae Park, which features over 10,000 cherry trees of over 250 varieties, and is ranked among the top cherry blossom viewing spots in the country.

Education

High school

* Hokkaido Matsumae High School (the southernmost high school in Hokkaido)

Sister cities

* Omihachiman, Shiga (since 1984) * Masaki, Ehime (since 1990) *

Date, Fukushima is a Cities of Japan, city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 59,625 in 22,843 households and a population density of 220 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Date occupies the easter ...

(since 2011)

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsumae, Hokkaido Towns in Hokkaido