Matsuyama, Ehime

Matsuyama 松山市
Core city
From top left:Dōgo Onsen Honkan, Stone monument of Shiki Masaoka, Matsuyama Castle, Botchan train, The gate of Ishite-ji, Iyotetsu Matsuyama-shi Station, Gintengai Street
Flag
Location of Matsuyama in Ehime Prefecture
Matsuyama Location in Japan
Coordinates: 33°50′N 132°46′E / 33.833°N 132.767°E / 33.833; 132.767Coordinates: 33°50′N 132°46′E / 33.833°N 132.767°E / 33.833; 132.767
Country	Japan
Region	Shikoku
Prefecture	Ehime Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Katsuhito Noshi (since December 2010)
Area
• Total	428.86 km2 (165.58 sq mi)
Population (December 1, 2014)
• Total	516,459
Symbols
• Flower	Camellia
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City hall address	4-7-2 Nibanchō, Matsuyama-shi, Ehime-ken 790-8571
Website	www.city.matsuyama.ehime.jp/lang/en

Matsuyama (松山市, Matsuyama-shi^?, Japanese: [màtsùꜜyàmà]) is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan and also Shikoku's largest city, with a population of 516,459 as of December 1, 2014. It is located on the northeastern portion of the Dōgo Plain. Its name means "pine mountain". The city was founded on December 15, 1889.

The city is known for its hot springs (onsen), among the oldest in Japan, and is home to the Dōgo Onsen Honkan, a Meiji Period wooden public bathhouse dating from 1894. A second favorite tourist spot is Matsuyama Castle. Eight of the eighty-eight temples in the Shikoku Pilgrimage are in Matsuyama.

Matsuyama was in medieval times part of the Iyo-Matsuyama Domain, a fiefdom of Iyo Province consisting mainly of a castle town, supporting Matsuyama Castle. There was a nearby village at Dōgo Onsen to the east and a port somewhat farther to the west at Mitsuhama providing a link to the Japanese mainland (Honshū) and Kyūshū.

Dōgo Onsen was already famous in the Asuka period, as Shotoku Taishi visited the spa in the year 596. It is also mentioned in passing in The Tale of Genji. The site of the former Yuzuki Castle is nearby.