250 px, ”Tenno Beach” near the Suzaki Imperial Villa , located in the Suzaki neighborhood of Shimoda city,

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

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 ...

is a residence owned by the Japanese Imperial Family, and used on infrequent intervals as an informal summer retreat.

History

The Imperial Family of Japan previously had residences in several locations within Shizuoka Prefecture: * , located in the city of

Atami is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 36,865 in 21,593 households

was built in 1888 by

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

. The modern-day Atami city hall is located on its former site. * , located in

Aoi-ku, Shizuoka is one of three wards of the city of Shizuoka in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, located in the northern part of the city. Aoi-ku borders Suruga-ku in the south and Shimizu-ku to the southeast; the west faces Shimada, Fujieda and Kawanehon a ...

was built by Emperor Meiji in 1900 and turned over to the Shizuoka city government in 1930. It was destroyed in the bombing of Shizuoka in World War II. * , located in

Numazu is a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 189,486 in 91,986 households, and a population density of 1,014 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Numazu is at the n ...

was built by Emperor Meiji in 1893, and was a favorite residence of his son, Crown Prince Yoshihito, the future

Emperor Taishō , posthumously honored as , was the 123rd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1912 until his death in 1926. His reign, known as the Taishō era, was characterized by a liberal and democratic shift in ...

. It was partially burned down during the

bombing of Numazu in World War II The was part of the strategic bombing air raids on Japan campaign waged by the United States against military and civilian targets and population centers during the Japan home islands campaign in the closing stages of the Pacific War. Backgrou ...

. It was turned over to the Numazu city government in 1969 and has been open as a public park since 1970. The Suzaki Imperial Villa was acquired by the

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...

after the Numazu Imperial Villa was given to the city of Numazu. It is located on the west bank of

Sagami Bay lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while the i ...

at the southern tip of

Izu Peninsula The is a mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan, the largest of the four main islands of Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsu ...

near where the waters of the bay mix with the

Kuroshio Current The , also known as the Black Current or is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...

offshore. The Villa was the location of a

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and ...

laboratory managed by

Emperor Shōwa , posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigning emperor as well as one of the world's longest-rei ...

, who used to visit it for some ten days in spring, summer and winter, and complemented the similar laboratory he operated at the Hayama Imperial Villa on the opposite side of the bay. Research from the laboratory has resulted in a number of technical monographs. The villa building itself is a one-story building of western architectural design and dates to 1971. The adjacent private beach is informally known as Tenno Beach, or Emperor Beach. The bay is not deep, providing safety for the Emperor's family. The beach is surrounded by beautiful rock formations, which further limits public access.

References

* Corner, E. J. H. ''His Majesty Emperor Hirohito of Japan, K. G. 29 April 1901-7 January 1989'', Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, Vol. 36, (Dec., 1990), pp. 243–272 * Kitayama Taiju. ''Brown Algae from the Suzaki Imperial Villa, Suzaki, Shimoda, Japan'', Memoirs of the National Science Museum VOL.;NO.40;PAGE.7-21(2006) Journal Code:G0688A

External links

Imperial Household Agency , Suzaki Imperial Villa
Imperial residences in Japan Buildings and structures in Shizuoka Prefecture Shimoda, Shizuoka {{japan-struct-stub ja:須崎御用邸