Kuwana 桑名市 |
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City | |||
Kiso Three Rivers and Ise Bay from Mount Tado
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Location of Kuwana in Mie Prefecture |
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Coordinates: 35°4′N 136°41′E / 35.067°N 136.683°ECoordinates: 35°4′N 136°41′E / 35.067°N 136.683°E | |||
Country | Japan | ||
Region | Kansai | ||
Prefecture | Mie Prefecture | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 136.61 km2 (52.75 sq mi) | ||
Population (November 2012) | |||
• Total | 140,796 | ||
• Density | 1,030/km2 (2,700/sq mi) | ||
Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) | ||
- Tree | Flowering Dogwood | ||
- Flower | Japanese iris | ||
Phone number | 0594-24-1136 | ||
Address | 2-37 Chūōchō, Kuwana-shi, Mie-ken 511-8601 | ||
Website | www |
Kuwana (桑名市 Kuwana-shi?) is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan.
As of November 2012, the city has an estimated population of 140,796 and a population density of 1,030 persons per km². The total area is 136.61 km².
Kuwana is located in northern Mie Prefecture, facing the Pacific Ocean. It is located at the mouth of Kiso Three Rivers dividing Mie and Aichi Prefectures, the city has functioned as a regional center of fishing, industry, business, and culture.
During the late Heian period and Muromachi period, the area of modern Kuwana was known as Juraku-no-tsu (十楽の津?) and was a major seaport on the east coast of Japan, controlled by a guild of merchants. The poet Socho described it in 1515 as a major city with over a thousand houses, temples and inns. During the Sengoku period, the area came under the control of the warlord Oda Nobunaga. The Sieges of Nagashima took place in 1571, 1573 and 1574, finally resulting in the destruction of the Ikkō-ikki by Nobunaga’s forces.
After Nobunaga’s death, the area came under the control of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who initially installed Nobunaga’s younger son Oda Nobukatsu as ruler as all of Ise Province. However, following the Battle of Odawara, Hideyoshi demoted Oda Nobukatsu, divided Ise Province into several domains, was assigned to Ujiie Yukihiro as a 22,000 koku domain in 1595. Ujiie Yukihiro sided with the pro-Toyotomi armies in the Battle of Sekigahara and was dispossessed by Tokugawa Ieyasu.