Karatsu Castle
is a
city located in
Saga Prefecture on the island of
Kyūshū,
Japan. Its name, formed by the
kanji "kara" (China), and "tsu" (port), signifies its historical importance as a link between Japan and
China. The central area of Karatsu, which does not include the former cities and villages of Higashimatsuura District, has a population of 78,386.
Geography
Due to its proximity to mainland
Asia, Karatsu has long been known as a stopover to
Korea and
China.
★
Mountains: Mt. Sakurei (887.1 m), Mt. Hachiman (763.6 m), Mt. Tonbo (535 m)
Adjoining municipalities
★
Saga Prefecture
★
★
Genkai
★
★
Imari
★
★
Saga
★
★
Takeo
★
★
Taku
★
Fukuoka Prefecture
★
★
Maebaru
★
★
NijÅ
History
Under
ritsuryÅ, 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, Terasawa 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 City. The tower of Karatsu Castle was built in 1966 .
★
1889-04-01 - The modern
municipal system is established. The current city region is occupied by 1
town, Karatsu, and 19
villages: Hamasaki, Irino, Kagami, Karatsu, Kirigo, Kitahata, Kuri, Kyūragi, Minato, Mitsushima, Nagoya, Nanayama, Ōchi, Ōmura, Onizuka, Sashi, Uchiage, and Yobuko.
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1896-07-28 - ÅŒmura is renamed Tamashima.
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1922-07-01 - Hamasaki gains town status.
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1922-11-01 - Nagoya changes the
kanji of its name.
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1924-01-01 - Mitsushima is incorporated into Karatsu Town.
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1928-08-01 - Yobuko gains town status.
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1931-02-01 - Karatsu Village is incorporated into Karatsu Town.
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1932-01-01 - Karatsu Town gains city status.
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1935-09-01 - Sashi and ÅŒchi both gain town status.
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1941-11-03 - Sashi is incorporated into Karatsu.
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1952-05-03 - Kyūragi gains town status.
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1954-11-01 - Kagami, Kuri, Minato and Onizuka are all incorporated into Karatsu.
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1956-09-30 - Hamasaki and Tamashima merge to form the town of Hamasaki-Tamashima, and Nagoya and Uchiage merge to form the town of Chinzei.
★
1958-11-01 - Kirigo is incorporated into Karatsu and Irino, and Irino gains town status and is renamed Hizen.
★
1966-11-01 - Hamasaki-Tamashima is renamed Hamatama.
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2005-01-01 - Karatsu merges with Chinzei, Hamatama, Hizen, Kitahata, Kyūragi, Ōchi and Yobuko and retains the name Karatsu City.
★
2006-01-01 - Nanayama is incorporated into Karatsu.
Culture and tourism
Karatsu Castle
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 paper mache) being carried around the city's narrow streets to chants of "Enya! Enya" or "Yoisa!", from the members of Karatsu Kunchi.
In between
Karatsu Station (å”津駅) and the main bus centre (大手å£ãƒã‚¹ã‚»ãƒ³ã‚¿ãƒ¼) is a 170 metre arcade containing many small shops that specialize in Karatsu Kunchi ''
omiyage'', and the Korean-influenced local pottery. Also, many events happen during the year around this area.
Yobuko
The former town of
Yobuko merged with Karatsu on
January 1,
2005.
Yobuko is famed for its fresh squid, ika (çƒè³Š) 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å大橋).
Yobuko has a festival known as Yobuko Tsunahiki (呼å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
Hamatama is one of the nicest beaches in
Saga Prefecture. It is located close to central Karatsu and can be accessed by the
JR Chikuhi Line.
Sister cities
★
Reihoku, Kumamoto,
Japan
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Yangzhou,
China
★
Yeosu,
South Korea
★
Seogwipo,
South Korea
Education
Prefectural Senior High schools
★ Karatsu Commercial High School
★ Karatsu Higashi High School
★ Karatsu Kita High School
★ Karatsu Minami High School
★ Karatsu Nishi High School
★ Karatsu Technical High School
★ KyÅ«ragi High School
Municipal Junior High schools and Elementary schools
★ Junior High Schools: 25
★ Elementary Schools: 44
National vocational schools
★ Karatsu Martime Polytechnical School
Schools for the handicapped
★ Saga Prefectural Hokubu School for the Handicapped
Transportation
Air
The closest
airports are
Saga Airport and
Fukuoka Airport.
Rail
★
JR Kyushu
★
★
Karatsu Line
★
★
★
Kyūragi Station -
Iwaya Station -
ÅŒchi Station -
Honmutabe Station -
Yamamoto Station -
Onizuka Station -
Karatsu Station -
Nishi-Karatsu Station
★
★
Chikuhi Line (connected with the
Fukuoka City Subway KÅ«kÅ Line)
★
★
★ (from
Fukuoka)
Hamasaki Station -
Nijinomatsubara Station -
Higashi-Karatsu Station -
Watada Station -
Karatsu Station
★
★
★ (to
Imari)
Honmutabe Station -
Hizen-Kubo Station -
Nishi-ÅŒchi Station -
Sari Station
Road
★
Expressways:
★
★
Nishi-Kyūshū Expressway
★
National highways:
★
★
Route 202
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★
Route 203
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★
Route 204
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★
Route 323
★ Major
Prefectural roads:
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★ Karatsu-Yobiko Route 23
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★ Imari-Hatagawachi-KyÅ«ragi Route 32
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★ Karatsu-Hizen Route 33
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★ KyÅ«ragi-Fuji Route 37
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★ ÅŒchi-Yamauchi Route 38
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★ Hamatama-ÅŒchi Route 40
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★ Hizen-Yobiko Route 47
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★ Karatsu-Kitahata Route 50
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★ Yamamoto-Hatatsu Route 52
External links
★
Official website in Japanese
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