City in Kyushu, Japan
Karatsu
(
唐津市
,
Karatsu-shi
)
is a
city
located in
Saga Prefecture
on the island of
Kyushu
,
Japan
. Its name, formed from the
Japanese
word roots 唐
kara
(China, or continental East Asia in general), and 津
tsu
(port), signifies its historical importance as an ancient trading port between Japan with China and Korea.
[1]
The central area of Karatsu, which does not include the former cities and villages of Higashimatsuura District, has a population of 78,386. As of January 1, 2020, the city had an estimated
population
of 117,663 and a
population density
of 241 persons per km
2
. The total area is 487.59 km
2
.
On January 1, 2005, the towns of
Chinzei
,
Hamatama
,
Hizen
,
Ky?ragi
,
?chi
,
Yobuko
and the village of
Kitahata
(all from
Higashimatsuura District
) were merged into Karatsu.
On January 1, 2006, the village of
Nanayama
(from
Higashimatsuura District
) was merged into Karatsu.
Geography
[
edit
]
Due to its proximity to mainland Asia, Karatsu has long been known as a stopover to
Korea
and
China
.
Adjoining municipalities
[
edit
]
Climate
[
edit
]
Climate data for Karatsu (2010?2020 normals, extremes 2010?present)
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Record high °C (°F)
|
19.5
(67.1)
|
22.8
(73.0)
|
24.9
(76.8)
|
27.1
(80.8)
|
32.2
(90.0)
|
33.5
(92.3)
|
35.8
(96.4)
|
37.0
(98.6)
|
34.3
(93.7)
|
31.6
(88.9)
|
27.0
(80.6)
|
24.8
(76.6)
|
37.0
(98.6)
|
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
|
10.0
(50.0)
|
11.2
(52.2)
|
14.8
(58.6)
|
19.1
(66.4)
|
24.0
(75.2)
|
26.0
(78.8)
|
30.2
(86.4)
|
31.7
(89.1)
|
27.4
(81.3)
|
22.8
(73.0)
|
17.8
(64.0)
|
12.0
(53.6)
|
20.6
(69.1)
|
Daily mean °C (°F)
|
6.3
(43.3)
|
7.2
(45.0)
|
10.4
(50.7)
|
14.5
(58.1)
|
19.1
(66.4)
|
22.2
(72.0)
|
26.4
(79.5)
|
27.6
(81.7)
|
23.7
(74.7)
|
19.0
(66.2)
|
13.6
(56.5)
|
8.1
(46.6)
|
16.5
(61.7)
|
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
|
2.7
(36.9)
|
3.3
(37.9)
|
6.3
(43.3)
|
10.2
(50.4)
|
14.7
(58.5)
|
19.3
(66.7)
|
23.6
(74.5)
|
24.4
(75.9)
|
20.7
(69.3)
|
15.5
(59.9)
|
9.5
(49.1)
|
4.5
(40.1)
|
12.9
(55.2)
|
Record low °C (°F)
|
?4.6
(23.7)
|
?4.3
(24.3)
|
?1.1
(30.0)
|
3.2
(37.8)
|
6.9
(44.4)
|
13.2
(55.8)
|
17.4
(63.3)
|
17.7
(63.9)
|
12.6
(54.7)
|
7.8
(46.0)
|
1.9
(35.4)
|
?1.0
(30.2)
|
?4.6
(23.7)
|
Average
precipitation
mm (inches)
|
75.4
(2.97)
|
85.4
(3.36)
|
117.0
(4.61)
|
146.3
(5.76)
|
125.5
(4.94)
|
280.0
(11.02)
|
349.0
(13.74)
|
314.1
(12.37)
|
191.3
(7.53)
|
126.7
(4.99)
|
85.7
(3.37)
|
94.6
(3.72)
|
1,979.3
(77.93)
|
Average precipitation days
(≥ 1.0 mm)
|
7.8
|
9.4
|
9.7
|
9.3
|
7.4
|
11.9
|
12.5
|
8.9
|
11.2
|
7.4
|
8.6
|
9.2
|
113.3
|
Mean monthly
sunshine hours
|
111.2
|
118.0
|
172.0
|
186.8
|
213.4
|
124.2
|
175.2
|
219.7
|
151.4
|
166.7
|
141.3
|
101.5
|
1,890.3
|
Source:
JMA
[2]
[3]
|
History
[
edit
]
Under
ritsury?
, the current city area was part of the
Hizen Province
. In 1591, on the coast of the northern part of the city (formerly the town of Chinzei),
Nagoya Castle
was constructed. The following year, it became the location from which the
Imjin War
was launched by
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
. In the middle of 1593,
Terazawa Hirotaka
created the
Karatsu Domain
and began governing it. In 1602, replacing Nagoya Castle,
Karatsu Castle
was constructed in what is now the heart of Karatsu. The tower of Karatsu Castle was built in 1966 .
- 1889-04-01 - The modern
municipal system
was established. The current city region is occupied by 1 town (Karatsu), and 19 villages (Hamasaki, Irino, Kagami, Karatsu, Kirigo, Kitahata, Kuri, Ky?ragi, Minato, Mitsushima, Nagoya, Nanayama, ?chi, ?mura, Onizuka, Sashi, Uchiage and Yobuko).
- 1896-07-28 - ?mura was renamed Tamashima.
- 1922-07-01 - Hamasaki was elevated to town status.
- 1922-11-01 - Nagoya changes the
kanji
of its name.
- 1924-01-01 - Mitsushima was incorporated into Karatsu Town.
- 1928-08-01 - Yobuko was elevated to town status.
- 1931-02-01 - Karatsu Village was incorporated into Karatsu Town.
- 1932-01-01 - Karatsu Town was elevated to city status.
- 1935-09-01 - Sashi and ?chi both were elevated to town status.
- 1941-11-03 - Sashi was incorporated into Karatsu.
- 1952-05-03 - Ky?ragi was elevated to town status.
- 1954-11-01 - Kagami, Kuri, Minato and Onizuka were all incorporated into Karatsu.
- 1956-09-30 - Hamasaki and Tamashima were merged to create the town of Hamasaki-Tamashima; and Nagoya and Uchiage were merge to create the town of Chinzei.
- 1958-11-01 - Kirigo was split and its parts were incorporated into Karatsu and Irino (respectively), and Irino was elevated to town status and was renamed Hizen.
- 1966-11-01 - Hamasaki-Tamashima was renamed Hamatama.
- 2005-01-01 - Karatsu merged with Chinzei, Hamatama, Hizen, Kitahata, Ky?ragi, ?chi and Yobuko to retain the name Karatsu.
- 2006-01-01 - Nanayama was incorporated into Karatsu.
Culture and tourism
[
edit
]
The graceful
Karatsu Castle
stands watch over this
castle
town.
Karatsu is famous for its
Karatsu Kunchi
festival
, which runs annually from November 2 to November 4 and is visited by approximately 500,000 visitors from all over Japan. The festival consists of 14
hikiyama
(floats made of many layers of paper mache) being carried around the city's narrow streets to calls of "Enya!". Some hikiyama members say "Yoisa!". This accompaniment is one of the
100 Soundscapes of Japan
. Regularly during Karatsu Kunchi, people in this town open their homes to friends and strangers to eat and drink; the primary focus is enjoying food, beer, and shochu, and having lively conversation.
In between
Karatsu Station
(唐津?) and the main bus centre (大手口バスセンタ?) is a 170-metre arcade containing many small shops that specialize in Karatsu Kunchi
omiyage
, and the Korean-influenced local pottery which are called "
Karatsu ware
" since they refer to Japanese ceramic wares of Korean origin.
[4]
The actual date of production of the 'Karatsu Yaki' is believed to have begun being produced sometime "during the first half of the 16th century in the late
Muromachi
period."
[5]
Museums in Karatsu include
Kawamura Art Museum
,
Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum
, and
Matsurokan
, and shrines,
Kagami Jinja
.
Yobuko
[
edit
]
The former town of
Yobuko
merged with Karatsu on January 1, 2005.
Yobuko is famed for its fresh squid, Ika (烏賊) (いか) in Japanese, which is offered
sashimi
style, or it can be eaten while the squid is
still alive
. Yobuko also attracts local tourists, who come to see the Yobuko Big Bridge (呼子大橋).
Yobuko has a festival known as Yobuko Tsunahiki (呼子大綱引), or the Yobuko Tug of War, which takes place annually on the first Saturday and Sunday of June. The event involves a big tug-o-war between two factions in the town, the fishermen and farmers, and local legend says that if the hills faction wins, there will be a good harvest that year; and if the sea faction wins, there will be a good fishing harvest that year.
Beaches
[
edit
]
Hamatama
is a major beach located close to central Karatsu and can be accessed by the
JR Chikuhi Line
.
Sister cities
[
edit
]
Education
[
edit
]
Prefectural senior high schools
[
edit
]
- Karatsu Commercial High School
- Karatsu Higashi High School
- Karatsu Minami High School
- Karatsu Nishi High School
- Karatsu Seisho High School
- Karatsu Technical High School
- Ky?ragi High School
Municipal junior high and elementary schools
[
edit
]
- Junior high schools: 25
- Elementary schools: 44
National vocational schools
[
edit
]
- Karatsu Maritime Polytechnical School
Schools for the handicapped
[
edit
]
- Saga Prefectural Hokubu School for the Handicapped
Transportation
[
edit
]
The closest
airports
are
Saga Airport
and
Fukuoka Airport
.
Rail
[
edit
]
Road
[
edit
]
- Expressways
:
- National highways
:
- Major
Prefectural roads
:
- Karatsu-Yobiko Route 23
- Imari-Hatagawachi-Ky?ragi Route 32
- Karatsu-Hizen Route 33
- Ky?ragi-Fuji Route 37
- ?chi-Yamauchi Route 38
- Hamatama-?chi Route 40
- Hizen-Yobiko Route 47
- Karatsu-Kitahata Route 50
- Yamamoto-Hatatsu Route 52
Notable people
[
edit
]
In popular culture
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Micropædia, Vol:6,, 15th edition, 2003. p.740
- ^
?測史上1~10位の値(年間を通じての値)
.
JMA
. Retrieved
February 27,
2022
.
- ^
?象? / 平年値(年?月ごとの値)
.
JMA
. Retrieved
February 27,
2022
.
- ^
Britannica, Micropædia, 15th edition, p.740
- ^
Britannica, Micropædia, 15th edition, p.740
External links
[
edit
]
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for
Karatsu
.
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