Hamamatsu

Japan

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Article History

Hamamatsu, city, southwestern Shizuoka ken (prefecture), central Honshu, Japan. It lies on the Pacific Ocean coast at the mouth of the Tenryū River, roughly midway between Tokyo and Kyōto.

Hamamatsu was a post station on the Tōkaidō (“Eastern Sea Road”)—the main historic land route between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyōto—during the Edo (Tokugawa) period (1603–1868). Now a leading industrial centre with strong economic ties to Nagoya, it is noted for the manufacture of pianos and other musical instruments, motorcycles, and consumer goods and for cotton dyeing and weaving. Hamamatsu is the marketing centre for western Shizuoka, serving the areas of Lake Hamana and the lower Tenryū River. Long a transportation hub, it is served by the Tōkaidō Shinkansen (bullet train) line and the Shinano and Tōkaidō highways. In 2005 the city of Hamakita and several other surrounding municipalities were merged administratively into Hamamatsu city. Pop. (2010) 800,866; (2015) 797,980.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.