is a

core city In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...

located in

Nagasaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the northeast. N ...

, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital,

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in th ...

. On 1 June 2019, 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 using ...

of 247,739 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

of 581 persons per km² (1,505 persons per square mile). The total area is . The city includes a part of Saikai National Park. Located in the southern part of the city is the Dutch-styled

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

Huis Ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch ( nl, Paleis Huis ten Bosch, ; English: "House in the Woods") is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague an ...

''. The island of Ukujima is also administered as part of Sasebo city.

History

The area of present-day Sasebo was a small fishing village under the control of nearby Hirado Domain until shortly after the start of 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 ...

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 ...

Admiral

Tōgō Heihachirō Marshal-Admiral Marquis , served as a '' gensui'' or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He claimed descent from Samurai Shijo Kingo, and he was an integral part of preserving ...

, when surveying the coasts of northwestern Kyūshū for the site of a navy base, selected his location based on its protected, deep-water harbor, geographic proximity to China and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

, and the presence of nearby coal fields.

Sasebo Naval District was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and ...

, founded in 1886, became the major port for the Japanese navy in its operations in the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...

and

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

, and remained a major naval base to the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Along with the base facilities, the navy also constructed the

Sasebo Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Sasebo Naval District was established at Sasebo, Nagasaki in 1886, as the third of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the ...

, which included major shipyards and repair facilities. Sasebo City was founded on April 1, 1902. The city which had 206,000 inhabitants in 1945 suffered severe damage by

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

on June 29, 1945, during

. 48% of the city was destroyed. Sasebo was one of the original 17 targets selected for the dropping of the

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

. After the end of the war, part of the base facilities were taken over by 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 ...

, forming U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo. Some parts of the base are shared with the

Japan Self-Defense Forces The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of Military, armed f ...

, in particular the

JMSDF , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

, though the primary base of the JGSDF's

Western Army Infantry Regiment The Western Army Infantry Regiment ( ja, 西部方面普通科連隊, Seibu Hōmen Futsū-ka Rentai) is a Japanese light infantry regiment that specializes in amphibious operations. Its main purpose is to defend remote islands in Japanese territo ...

is also among the facilities there.

Mergers

*On April 1, 2005, the towns of Sechibaru and Yoshii (both from Kitamatsuura District) were merged into Sasebo. *On March 31, 2006, the towns of Kosaza and Uku (both from Kitamatsuura District) were merged into Sasebo. *On March 31, 2010, the towns of Emukae and Shikamachi (both from Kitamatsuura District) were merged into Sasebo.

Economy

Shipbuilding and associated heavy industries continue to dominate the economy of Sasebo. Adjacent to the naval base is the Sasebo Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. shipyard. The Port of Sasebo has an active fishing fleet, and many oyster and pearl farms are located on the Kujū-ku Islands. The Mikawachi district has a 400-year-old pottery manufacturing industry. Sasebo Station is the westernmost station in the JR passenger train system and is about two hours by train from Hakata Station in the city of

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center ...

(via the Midori line) and about an hour and half from Nagasaki Station in the city of

. Across the street from Sasebo Station is the Sasebo Bus Center, which provides connecting service to many local destinations.

Geography

Climate

The climate is similar to that of

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 cen ...

. Rainy season lasts from early June to mid-July, and the summer is hot and humid. During the winter, there may be light snowfall and some freezing. According to the

Japan Meteorological Agency The , abbreviated JMA, is an agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It is charged with gathering and providing results for the public in Japan that are obtained from data based on daily scientific observation an ...

(JMA), Sasebo has a humid subtropical climate (

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'') with hot summers and cool winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year, but is somewhat lower in winter.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Sasebo in 2020 is 243,223 people. Sasebo has been conducting censuses since 1920.

Transportation

The nearest airport is

Nagasaki Airport is an international airport located west of the railway station in the city of Ōmura and north northeast of the Nagasaki railway station in the city of Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The airport terminal and runway 14/32 are on ...

in the city of Ōmura. The

Kyushu Railway Company The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima S ...

(JR Kyushu) provides rail transportation on the Sasebo Line, whose terminal is at Sasebo Station. The daily Midori Express provides transportation to/from

's Hakata Station. Bus service to the

Fukuoka Airport , formerly known as Itazuke Air Base, is an international and domestic airport located east of Hakata Station in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Fukuoka Airport is the principal airport on the island of Kyushu and is the fourth busiest passenge ...

is also available from the Sasebo Bus Center. Three

national highways National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...

crisscross the city: Route 35, 204, and 498.

Mayors of Sasebo (from 1902)

Points of interest

Hirado is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The part historically named Hirado is located on Hirado Island. With recent mergers, the city's boundaries have expanded, and Hirado now occupies parts of the main island of Kyushu. The components ...

, to the north, was a foreign trade port and where William Adams is buried (

James Clavell James Clavell (born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell; 10 October 1921 – 7 September 1994) was an Australian-born British (later naturalized American) writer, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war. Clavell is best ...

based his novel ''

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'' (1975) on Adams' life) *

Huis Ten Bosch (theme park) is a theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan, which recreates the Netherlands by displaying life-sized copies of old Dutch buildings. The name ''Huis Ten Bosch'' translates into English as "House at the Woods/Forest". It is named after Huis ten ...

, inspired by a Dutch trading post in nearby Hirado *Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Museum * Kōzakihana, westernmost point on the island of Kyūshū * Kujū-ku Islands *, a large church which was built in a neogothic style in 1930, is the symbol of Sasebo. It is opposite the main railway station in Miura-cho district.Chris Taylor: ''Japan'', p. 632. Berlin 1998. Sasebo is the only Japanese city which uses the symbol of a Christian church as part of its seal/flag. * Saikai Pearl Sea Resort *

Sasebo Zoological Park and Botanical Garden The is a zoo and botanical garden located at 2172, Funakoshi-cho, Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan. It is open daily; an admission fee is charged. The zoo opened in 1961, and now contains about 330 animals and 21,000 plants. Its rainforest greenhouse ...

* Tenkaihō * Ureshino, to the south, has hot springs resorts

Cityscape

Sister city relations

Sasebo has sister-city relations with three places outside Japan and one within the country: * Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States *

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggir ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia *

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong' ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its c ...

, China * Kokonoe, Ōita

References

External links

Sasebo City official website

Sasebo Tourist Information site

Sasebo, Japan, Photo Gallery

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