is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in central

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 ...

. , 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 139,578 in 57,593 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 2000 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Yaizu is a noted port for

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

Geography

Yaizu is located in central Shizuoka Prefecture, on a heavily indented coastline of Suruga Bay, facing 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 ...

. The climate, tempered by the warm

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 is maritime temperature, with hot, humid summers and short cool winters.

Surrounding municipalities

*Shizuoka Prefecture ** Fujieda ** Shimada **

Suruga-ku, Shizuoka is one of three Wards of Japan, wards of Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan, located in the southern part of the city. The north east of Suruga-ku faces Aoi-ku, Shizuoka, Aoi-ku; the north west faces Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shimizu-ku; the south west faces ...

** Yoshida

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Yaizu has been increasing over the past 70 years.

Climate

The city has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and relatively mild winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa''). The average annual temperature in Yaizu is 16.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2176 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 6.3 °C.

History

Yaizu is an ancient settlement, with Yaizu Shrine claiming to have been founded in the 5th century during the

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

, and numerous

kofun are megalithic tombs or tumulus, tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century AD.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞 ...

tumuli are found within the city limits. 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 ...

, Yaizu developed as a port under Tanaka Domain, and fish from Yaizu was frequently supplied to the retired ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers 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, except during parts of the Kamak ...

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

at nearby Sunpu Castle. In the October 1, 1886, establishment of the modern municipalities system after 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 ...

, Yaizu Village was established within Mashizu District, Shizuoka prefecture. Mashizu District merged into neighboring Shida District in 1896. The following year, in 1897, author

Lafcadio Hearn was a Greek-born Irish and Japanese writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture and literature of Japan to the Western world. His writings offered unprecedented insight into Japanese culture, especially his collections of legend ...

began his residence in Yaizu. Yaizu was elevated to town status on June 28, 1901. Yaizu Fishing Cooperative was established in 1903, and started to take frozen catch from Yaizu to Tokyo's

Tsukiji fish market is a major tourist attraction for both domestic and overseas visitors in Tokyo. Located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo between the Sumida River and the upmarket Ginza shopping district, the area contains retail markets, restaurants, and associ ...

from 1908. Shipbuilding facilities, primarily for the production of fishing vessels, was established in 1924. The Yaizu Fishing Cooperative began the first

wireless communication Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided med ...

with its fishing fleet in Japan in 1925, but overfishing soon led to collapse of

bonito Bonitos are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned, predatory fish in the family Scombridae, which it shares with the mackerel, tuna, and Spanish mackerel tribes, and also the butterfly kingfish. Also called the tribe Sardini, it consists of ...

stocks in 1926, resulting in a five-year fishing moratorium. After the start of

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 ...

, the Yaizu fishing industry was again hit hard by the requisition of entire Yaizu fishing fleet (113 vessels) and crewmen by

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, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

in 1941. Only 10 vessels survived the war. Yaizu was elevated to city status on March 1, 1951. On November 1, 1953, Toyota Village merged into Yaizu City. The city name gained international prominence over the

Daigo Fukuryū Maru was a Japanese tuna fishing boat with a crew of 23 men which was contaminated by nuclear fallout from the United States Castle Bravo thermonuclear weapon test at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954. The crew suffered acute radiation syndrome (ARS) ...

Incident, in which a Yaizu-based fishing vessel was irradiated by

atomic testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to signal strength. Bec ...

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese language, Marshallese: , , ), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. The atoll is at the no ...

on March 1, 1954. The city further expanded on January 1, 1955, by annexation of the neighboring villages of Higashi Mashizu, Kogawa, Ōtomi, and Wada, and on April 1, 1957, when Hirohata Village was divided between Yaizu and Fujieda cities. Yaizu port underwent a major expansion in March 1968. The city was the site of the 2001 Japan Airlines mid-air incident on January 31, 2001. On November 1, 2008, the town of Ōigawa (from Shida District) was merged into Yaizu.

Government

Atami 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 legislature of 21 members. The city contributes three members to the Shizuoka Prefectural Assembly.

Economy

The economy of Yaizu is dominated by the

industry. Yaizu Port was first in Japan in terms of tonnage of

and

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

in 2002, and third in terms of

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

. Local industries are centered on food processing, including the production of ''

katsuobushi is simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna (''Katsuwonus pelamis'', sometimes referred to as bonito). It is also known as bonito flakes or broadly as . Shaved ''katsuobushi'' and dried kelp—''kombu''—are the main ingredients of ...

'', '' shiokara'', '' tsukudani'', and ''

kamaboko is a type of Curing (chemistry), cured , a processed seafood product common in Japanese cuisine. It was initially made in the year 1115. Production and uses is made by forming various Purée, pureed deboned whitefish (fisheries term), whit ...

'' (especially ''

narutomaki or is a type of ''kamaboko'', or cured fish '' surimi'' produced in Japan. Each cloud-shaped slice of ''naruto'' has a pink or red spiral pattern, which is meant to resemble the Naruto whirlpools in the Naruto Strait between Awaji Island ...

''). Agricultural products include

green tea Green tea is a type of tea made from the leaves and buds of the '' Camellia sinensis'' that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process that creates oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China in the late 1st millenn ...

, melons,

tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), or a closely related species, under the name ''Citrus tangerina'', or yet as a hybrid (''Citr ...

s, and tomatoes. Yaizu is also the home of the Hasegawa plastic model kit manufacturing company.Hasegawa website
Retrieved 6 September 2011. Yaizu is also home to one of

Sapporo Brewery is a Japanese brewery, beer brewing company founded in 1876. Sapporo, the oldest brand of beer in Japan, was first brewed in Sapporo, Hokkaido, in 1876 by Seibei Nakagawa. The world headquarters of Sapporo Breweries is in Ebisu, Shibuya, Ebisu, ...

's Largest factories, as well as the company's new product development division.

Transportation

Railway

Central Japan Railway Company is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and occasionally as JR Tokai (). The term ''Tōkai'' refers to the southern portion of Central Japan, ...

Tōkaidō Main Line The Tōkaidō Main Line () is one of the most important railway corridors in Japan, connecting the major cities of Tokyo and Kobe via Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. The line, with termini at Tokyo Station, Tokyo and Kōbe St ...

** -

Highways

* Tōmei Expressway *

Education

* Shizuoka University of Welfare *Yaizu has 13 public elementary schools and ten public middle schools operated by the city government and three public high schools operated by the Shizuoka Prefectural Board of Education. The city also has one private high school. The prefectural also operates as fisheries vocational school in Yaizu.

Military facilities

* Shizuhama Air Base

Sister cities

Notable people from Yaizu

* Midorifuji Kazunari, sumo wrestler * Itsuko Hasegawa, architect * Tetsuya Ishida, artist * Kitayama Junyu, Buddhist philosopher, religious scholar * Yoshikiyo Kuboyama, professional soccer player * Tomohiro Matsunaga, Olympic silver-medalist wrestler * Taisuke Muramatsu, professional soccer player * Yonosuke Nakano, founder of the Ananaikyo religion and OISCA International * Katayama Shinji, sumo wrestler * Kitayama Shinobu, social psychologist * Masaharu Suzuki, professional soccer player

References

External links

*
Yaizu City official website
* {{Authority control Cities in Shizuoka Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Port settlements in Japan