, sometimes called Matsuzaka, is a city

Cities of Japan

||A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of...

 located in central Mie Prefecture

Mie Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan which is part of the Kansai regions on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Tsu.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, Mie prefecture was known as Ise Province and Iga Province....

, on the island of Honshū

Honshu

is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The city is famous for its beef

Matsusaka beef

is black-haired wagyū , aka "Kuroge Washu" or "Japanese Black", originating in the Matsusaka region of Mie, Japan. It is one of the most famous beef types within Japan and internationally, with a high fat-to-meat ratio...

.

Founding

Matsusaka was founded in 1588 in Ise Province

Ise Province

or was a province of Japan including most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces.The ancient provincial capital was at Suzuka...

 or by Gamo Ujisato

Gamo Ujisato

was a Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. The heir and son of Gamō Katahide, lord of Hino Castle in Ōmi Province, he later held Matsusaka and finally Aizuwakamatsu Castle in Mutsu Province...

. Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...

 sent Gamo to Ise's Matsugashima, a fief of 120,000 koku, in 1584. In 1588, Gamo began construction of a castle in the and named the site "Matsusaka," meaning "slope (阪) covered with pines (松)".

Significant Events

• February 1, 1933 - Matsusaka City is founded.
• January 1, 2005 - Matsusaka absorbed the towns of Mikumo
  Mikumo, Mie
  was a town located in Ichishi District, Mie, Japan.On January 1, 2005 Mikumo, along the town of Ureshino, also from Ichishi District, and the towns of Iinan and Iitaka, both from Iinan District, was merged into the expanded city of Matsusaka and no longer exists as an independent municipality.As of...
  
   and Ureshino
  Ureshino, Mie
  was a town located in Ichishi District, Mie, Japan.On January 1, 2005 Ureshino, along the town of Mikumo, also from Ichishi District, and the towns of Iinan and Iitaka, both from Iinan District, was merged into the expanded city of Matsusaka and no longer exists as an independent municipality.As of...
  
  , both from Ichishi District
  Ichishi District, Mie
  Ichishi was a district located in Mie, Japan.As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 70,117 and a density of 150.14 persons per km²...
  
  , and the towns of Iinan
  Iinan, Mie
  Iinan was a town located in Iinan District, Mie, Japan.On January 1, 2005 Iinan, along the towns of Mikumo and Ureshino, both from Ichishi District, and the town of Iitaka, also from Iinan District, was merged into the expanded city of Matsusaka and no longer exists as an independent...
  
   and Iitaka
  Iitaka, Mie
  Iitaka was a town located in Iinan District, Mie, Japan.On January 1, 2005 Matsu, along the towns of Mikumo and Ureshino, both from Ichishi District, and the town of Iinan, also from Iinan District, was merged into the expanded city of Matsusaka and no longer exists as an independent...
  
  , both from Iinan District
  Iinan District, Mie
  Iinan was a district located in Mie Prefecture. The district had an estimated population of 11,235 and the total area was 317.27 km². - Timeline :...
  
  , to form a new expanded city of Matsusaka.

Famous people

• Mitsui Takatoshi
  Mitsui Takatoshi
  , founder of the Mitsui conglomerate. The second son of Mitsui Sokubei, a grocer and pawnbroker of Matsusaka , in Mie, he showed a remarkably precocious talent for business from an early age, and, moving to Edo at 14 years of age, where he was later joined by his brothers Toshigutsu, and...
  
   (三井高利) (1622 - 1694) - founder of the Mitsui
  Mitsui
  is one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.-History:Founded by Mitsui Takatoshi , who was the fourth son of a shopkeeper in Matsusaka, in what is now today's Mie prefecture...
  
   zaibatsu.
• Motoori Norinaga
  Motoori Norinaga
  was a Japanese scholar of Kokugaku active during the Edo period. He is probably the best known and most prominent of all scholars in this tradition.-Life:...
  
   (本居宣長) (1730 - 1801) - scholar of the Edo period whose teachings were based on the kokugaku
  Kokugaku
  Kokugaku was a National revival, or, school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period...
  
  , the rejection all foreign, particularly Chinese, influence on Japanese culture.
• Kana Nishino
  Kana Nishino
  is a J-Pop singer and lyricist signed with SME Records' Newcome Inc. She debuted on February 20, 2008, with the single "I". CNN said that she was the favorite singer of teenage girls in Shibuya, Tokyo.- Life and career :...
  
   (西野カナ) (1989-) - J-pop
  J-pop
  , an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
  
  /R&B singer

Neighbors

Matsusaka is bordered by:

• The city of Tsu
  Tsu, Mie
  is the capital of Mie Prefecture, Japan. The city of Tsu is located on Ise Bay, east of the city. Tsu is bounded to the north by Suzuka and Kameyama; to the west by Iga, Nabari, and Nara Prefecture; and to the south by Matsuzaka city.-History:...
  
  , to the north.
• Ise Bay
  Ise Bay
  Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso River between Mie and Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of 19.5 metres and a maximum depth of 30 metres toward the centre. The mouth of the bay is 9 kilometres wide and is connected to the smaller Mikawa Bay by two channels:...
  
  , to the northeast.
• The town of Meiwa
  Meiwa, Mie
  is a town located in the Taki District, of central Mie Prefecture, on the island of Honshū, Japan.In 1958, the town of Sanwa and the village of Saimei merged to form the town of Meiwa.-History:...
  
  , to the east.
• The town of Taki
  Taki, Mie
  is a town in Taki District, Mie, Japan.On January 1, 2006 the village of Seiwa, from Taki District, was merged into Taki.As of 2010 the town has an estimated population of 15,457 and a density of 150 persons per km²...
  
  , to the south.
• The town of Ōdai
  Odai, Mie
  is a town located in Taki District, central Mie, on the island of Honshū, Japan.On January 10, 2006 the village of Miyagawa, from Taki District, was merged into Ōdai....
  
  , to the south.
• The village of Kawakami, Nara
  Kawakami, Nara
  is a village located in Yoshino District, Nara, Japan.As of 2003, the village has an estimated population of 2,286 and a density of 8.49 persons per km². The total area is 269.16 km².-External links:*...
  
   to the southwest.
• The village of Higashi-Yoshino, Nara to the west.
• The village of Mitsue, Nara
  Mitsue, Nara
  is a village located in Uda District, Nara, Japan.As of 2005, the village has an estimated population of 2,459 and a density of 30.88 persons per km². The total area is 79.63 km².-Geography:...
  
  to the west.

External links

• Matsusaka city guide from the Mie Guidebook at Mie JETs