is the capital city of

Mie Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...

, Japan. , the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 274,879 in 127,273 households and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

of 390 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Although the second largest city in the prefecture in terms of population (behind

Yokkaichi is a Cities of Japan, city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 310,259 in 142162 households and a population density of 1500 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Yokkaichi is located ...

), its designation as the prefectural capital and its holding of a large concentration of national government offices and educational facilities make the city the administrative and educational center of Mie Prefecture.

Geography

Tsu is located in east-central

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan and is located within the Kansai region. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. The peninsula has long been a sacred place in Buddhism, Shinto, and Shugendo, and many people wou ...

, in central Mie Prefecture. It is the largest city in Mie Prefecture in terms of area and stretches the width of Mie Prefecture, and is bordered by

Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie prefecture, Mie and Aichi prefecture, Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the small ...

on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to the east, and

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

to the west. Parts of the city are within the limits of the Murō-Akame-Aoyama Quasi-National Park.

Neighboring municipalities

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

Climate

Tsu has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tsu is 15.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1931 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.0 °C. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is heaviest from May to September.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Tsu has been relatively stable over the past 40 years.

History

Origin

Tsu originally developed as a port town known as in the

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

and

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 Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

s. The port was destroyed by a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

in the 1498 Meiō Nankaidō earthquake. File:Kitabatake Akiyoshi.jpg, Kitabatake Akiyoshi File:北畠氏館跡庭園.jpg, Kitabatake Family Residence Gardens（ Kitabatake Shrine）

Edo period

The town was rebuilt as a

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

and a post station by the Tōdō clan, ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of Tsu Domain under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. During the

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 ...

, it became a popular stopping point for travelers to

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami and the grain goddess Toyouke-hime (Toyouke Omikami). Also known simply as , Ise Shrine is a shrine complex composed of many Shi ...

, about 40 km to the southeast. File:藤堂高虎像／津城 - panoramio.jpg, Tōdō Takatora File:Marunouchi, Tsu, Mie Prefecture 514-0033, Japan - panoramio (1).jpg, Tsu Castle File:Tage Jōka Ezu.png, This is a map of Tage castle or Kiriyama castle in Edo period.

Modern Tsu

Following 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, Tsu became the capital of Mie Prefecture in 1871. With the establishment of then modern municipalities on April 1, 1889, Tsu was one of the original 31 cities to be proclaimed. The city borders gradually expanded, with Tsu annexing the neighboring villages of Tatebe and Tosa in 1909, Shinmachi in 1934, Fujimi in 1936, Takachaya in 1939 and Anto, Kanbe and Kushigata in 1943. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Allied air raids on July 24 and July 28, 1945, destroyed most of the city and killed 1,239 people. In 1953, Tsu annexed the neighboring villages of Kumozu in 1953, Isshinden, Shiratsuka, Kurima, and Katada in 1954 and Toyosato in 1973. File:Tsu Shinsekai before 1945.jpg, Tsu Shinsekai before 1945 On January 1, 2006, the neighboring city of Hisai, the towns of Anō, Geinō and Kawage, and the village of Misato (all in Age District), the towns of Hakusan, Ichishi and Karasu, and the village of Misugi (all in Ichishi District) were merged into Tsu. As a result of the merger, the city became the second largest in Mie by population behind

, and the largest in Mie by area ahead of Matsusaka.

Government

Tsu 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 consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

city council of 34 members. Tsu contributes seven members to the Mie Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Mie 1st district of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

Imuraya Confectionery, a confectionery company, and ZTV, a cable television operator, are headquartered in Tsu.

Education

Colleges and universities

* Mie Prefectural College of Nursing * Mie University, the prefecture's only

national university A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...

. * Takada Junior College * Tsu City College

Primary and secondary education

*Tsu has 48 public elementary schools and 19 public middle schools operated by the city government, one public elementary school and one public middle schools affiliated with Mie University and two private middle schools, as well as one compulsory (Combined elementary and junior high) school. The city has nine public operated by the Mie Prefectural Board of Education and three private high schools. *The prefecture also operates six special education schools for the disabled.

Transportation

Railway

JR Tōkai – Kisei Main Line * - - - JR Tōkai – Meishō Line * - - - – - - - - - - - 20px

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as and officially Kinki-Nippon Railway, is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railw ...

- Nagoya Line * - - - - - - - - - 20px

Osaka Line The is a railway line in Japan owned by Kintetsu Railway, connecting Osaka and Mie Prefecture via Nara Prefecture. The line is the longest double-tracked railway of non-JR operators. Together with the Nagoya Line, this line forms the route for ...

* - - - - Ise Railway - Ise Railway Ise Line * – – -

Highway

Expressway

* 24px, link=, alt=E23 Ise Expressway

Japan National Route

* * * * * * * * ]

Sea Ports

* Port of Tsu-Matsusaka

Sister cities

* Higashishirakawa, Gifu, since June 28, 1989 *

Osasco Osasco () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil, located in the Greater São Paulo area and ranking fifth in population among São Paulo municipalities. According to the IBGE 2015, Osasco currently has the ninth highest gross do ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil, since October 18, 1976 *

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

, China, since June 11, 1984

Local attractions

Tsu is famous for its , a festival commemorating the arrival of the Joseon Tongsinsa delegation from Korea during the feudal period. There are two other cities that celebrate Tōjin Odori: Suzuka city in Mie Prefecture and Ushimado-chō in

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture ...

.http://www006.upp.so-net.ne.jp/asao/toujin.htm 唐人踊り (Tōjin Odori) The ruins of Tsu Castle have been made into a downtown city park. Kitabatake Shrine and Yūki Shrine are notable local

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

shrines.

Culture

Sports

Baseball

*Mie Takatora baseball club (JABA)

Volleyball

*Veertien Mie ( V.League)

Notable people

* Sho Gokyu, professional soccer player * Yuki Hashimoto, politician, former idol *

Mu Kanazaki is a Japanese professional footballer who plays for club Verspah Oita. He scored the two goals that won the 2016 J1 League final for Kashima Antlers over Urawa Red Diamonds. Club career On 25 March 2020, Kanazaki returned to Nagoya Grampus o ...

, professional soccer player *

Kintaro Kanemura , better known by his ring name , is a Zainichi Korean retired professional wrestler. He also wrestled under the ring name (stylized as W*ING Kanemura). He is best known for his death matches in Apache Army, Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), Ext ...

, professional wrestler * Kōji Kitao, sumo wrestler * Kotokaze Kōki, sumo wrestler *

Yoshihito Nishioka is a Japanese professional tennis player. He has won three ATP Tour singles titles and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 24 on 19 June 2023. He is currently the No. 2 Japanese player. Personal life Marriage Nishioka marr ...

, professional tennis player * Ayumi Oka, actress * Hiroshi Okuda, former president of Toyota Motors * Keisuke Okuda, professional wrestler * Edogawa Rampo, author * Chikara Sakaguchi, politician * Kōdō Sawaki, Zen Buddhist * Hidesaburō Ueno, agricultural scientist *

Saori Yoshida is a Japanese former freestyle wrestler. Starting in 1998, she won almost every major competition, including three Olympic Games, four Asian Games, and 13 world championships, and became the most decorated athlete in freestyle wrestling history ...

, Olympic wrestler

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in Mie Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Port settlements in Japan