Matsusaka, Mie
Matsusaka (松阪市, Matsusaka-shi) is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan.
As of August 2015, the city had an estimated population of 165,166 and a population density of 265 persons per km2. The total area was 623.64 square kilometres (240.79 sq mi). The city is famous for Matsusaka beef.
Geography
Matsusaka is located in east-central Kii Peninsula, in central Mie Prefecture. It stretches the width of Mie Prefecture, and is bordered by Ise Bay on the Pacific Ocean to the east, and Nara Prefecture to the west. Parts of the City are within the limits of the Yoshino-Kumano National Park.
Neighboring municipalities
The city of Tsu, to the north.
The town of Meiwa, to the east.
The town of Taki, to the south.
The town of Ōdai, to the south.
The village of Kawakami, Nara to the southwest.
The village of Higashi-Yoshino, Nara to the west.
The village of Mitsue, Nara to the west.
History
Matsusaka developed as a commercial center during the Sengoku period, and Oda Nobukatsu, the younger son of Oda Nobunaga built a castle in the area in 1580. The area came under the control of Gamo Ujisato shortly thereafter, and the Gamo began construction of a castle in the Yoiho forest (四五百森, Yoiho no mori) and named the site "Matsusaka," meaning "slope (坂) covered with pines (松)" in 1588.
