Shimoda, Shizuoka

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Downtown Shimoda

Bust of Matthew Perry

Shimoda (下田市; -shi) is a city and port in Shizuoka, Japan, which played an important part in the opening of Japan to the outside world in the 1850s.

1 History
2 Demographics
3 Tourism
4 External links

In the 1850s Japan was in political crisis over the issue of what relations, if any, it should have with foreign powers. For a few years, Shimoda was central to this debate.

The port was opened to American trade under the conditions of the Convention of Kanagawa, negotiated by Commodore Matthew Perry and signed on March 31, 1854. The first American Consulate in Japan was opened at the Gyokusen-ji under Consul General Townsend Harris. Harris negotiated the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the two countries, which was signed at the Ryōsen-ji in 1858.

Japan's relations with Russia were also negotiated in Shimoda, and in 1855 the Treaty of Shimoda was signed in the Chōraku-ji in 1855.

Shimoda was also the site of Yoshida Shōin's unsuccessful attempt to board Perry's 'black ships' in 1854.

Monuments at the Gyokusen-ji claim that it is "the spot where the first cow in Japan was slaughtered for human consumption", and where the habit of humans drinking cow's milk started in Japan.

In 2003 the city had an estimated population of 27,256 and a population density of 260.40 persons per square kilometer. The total area is 104.67 square kilometres.

Apart from its role in the opening of Japan, Shimoda is famous for its onsens (hot springs) and beaches. Tadadohama, Ohama and Iritahama beaches attract a lot of tourists in summer and are popular surfing spots year round, and Iritahama has been voted most beautiful Japanese beach a number of years.

Shimoda is also a setting for a much of Yasunari Kawabata's famous short story The Dancing Girl of Izu.