Katsuura, Chiba
Encyclopedia
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 southern part of Chiba Prefecture
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...

, 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...

. Katsuura city is famous for Katsuura Fishing Port, which features one of the top three largest morning markets in Japan. As of February 2010, the city has an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 20,570 and the density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 218 persons per km². The total area is 94.20 km².

Geography

Katsuura is located on the east coast of southern Chiba Prefecture in the approximate center of the Bōsō Peninsula
Boso Peninsula
thumb|Locationthumb|Landsat image with high-resolution data from Space Shuttle is a peninsula in Chiba prefecture on Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean....

. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 to the east, and enjoys a temperate martime climate, with short, cool winters and hot, humid summers due to the effects of the Kuroshio Current
Kuroshio Current
The Kuroshio is a north-flowing ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean. It is similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic and is part of the North Pacific ocean gyre...

 offshore. Cape Hachiman
Cape Hachiman (Katsuura, Chiba)
is a cape on the Pacific Ocean, in the city of Katsuura, in the southeast area of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. There are two Cape Hachimans located in close proximity to one another: Cape Hachiman in Katsuura, and Cape Hachiman a few kilometers to the north in Isumi City...

 juts prominently into the Pacific Ocean and is features lush sub-tropical vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...

. The area is noted for its rolling, sandy hills. Parts of the city are within the Minami Bōsō Quasi-National Park
Minami Bōsō Quasi-National Park
is a quasi-national park in the Kantō region of Honshū in Japan. It is rated a protected landscape according to the IUCN. The park includes numerous widely separated portions of the coastal areas of southern Bōsō Peninsula, ranging from Cape Futtsu on Tokyo Bay to the west, to Cape Inubō facing...

.

Surrounding municipalities

  • Kamogawa
    Kamogawa, Chiba
    is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 35,257 and a population density of 184 persons per km². The total area was 191.30 km²...

  • Isumi
    Isumi, Chiba
    is a city in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of March 1, 2010, the city has a population of 41,014 in an area of 157.50 km².Tōkyō Station is reached from Isumi by express train in 1 hour and 10 minutes via Ōhara Station on the JR East Sotobō Line.-Geography:...

  • Ōtaki
    Otaki, Chiba
    is a town located in Isumi District, Chiba, Japan, occupying the center of the Bōsō Peninsula. The town is known for its association with Edo period general Honda Tadakatsu and its prominent castle. As of 2010, the town had an estimated population of 10,794 and a population density of 83.1 persons...

  • Onjuku
    Onjuku, Chiba
    is a town located in Isumi District, Chiba, Japan. As of 2010, the town has an estimated population of 7,823 and a density of 314 persons per km². The total area is 24.92 km²...


History

The area around Katsuura was part of Isumi District
Isumi District, Chiba
is a district located in Chiba, Japan. As of 2010, the district has an estimated population of 18,593 and a density of 120 persons per km². The total area was 154.76 km². The district formerly included all of the city of Katsuura, most of the city of Isumi and a portion of the town of Mutsuzawa...

 of former Kazusa Province
Kazusa Province
was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture. It lies on in the middle of the Bōsō Peninsula , whose name takes its first kanji from the name of Awa Province and its second from Kazusa and Shimōsa Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was or .Kazusa is classified as one of the...

. During the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, most of the area was tenryō under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 and administered by hatamoto
Hatamoto
A was a samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as gokenin. However, in the Edo period, hatamoto were the upper vassals of the Tokugawa...

retainers. Katsuura Village was founded on April 1, 1889. The name is said to be originated from a location of the same name in the Kii Peninsula
Kii Peninsula
The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. The area south of the “Central Tectonic Line” is called Nankii , and includes the most poleward living coral reefs in the world due to the presence of the warm Kuroshio Current, though these are threatened by global warming and human...

. It was elevated to town status on March 12, 1890. On April 1, 1937, it expanded through annexation of neighboring Toyohama Village. On February 11, 1955, it expanded further through merger with the neighboring town of Okitsu and the villages of Ueno and Sono. Katsuura was elevated to city status on October 1, 1958.

Economy

The economy of Katsuura is dominated by tourism, including watersports, golfing and other leisure activities. Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions...

 and small scale agriculture remain important sectors of the local economy.
Industries include food processing and sake brewing.

Railroad

  • East Japan Railway Company
    East Japan Railway Company
    is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....

     (JR East) - Sotobō Line
    • - - -

Primary and Secondary

There are 7 elementary schools, 3 junior high schools, and one high school. In addition Katsuura city is the home of The Museum of the Sea (海の博物館).

Sister city relations

- Nishitokyo, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 , Japan - Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
is a town located in Higashimuro District, Wakayama, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 18,795 and a density of 102.45 persons per km². The total area is 183.45 km²....

 - Katsuura, Tokushima

External links

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