Ōzu is a Japanese city of about 43,000 inhabitants located in the southern half of Ehime Prefecture.
History
Ōzu is a medieval castle-town located by the Hiji River. The city developed as the political centre of the Ōzu domain during the Edo period. The keep of the castle, demolished in 1888, was rebuilt with original techniques and materials in 2004. Outline − End of Kamakura period, first defensive structure on the banks of the Hiji River. − Early Azuchi–Momoyama period, completion of the current Ōzu Castle. − 1617: arrival of Katō Sadayasu from Yonago province. He became the first daimyō of the Katō clan. − Meiji and Taishō periods saw great economic expansion due to thriving silk and Japanese wax industries. A robust timber trade also occurred during this time.. − Early 1900s: Notable urban regeneration with numerous works of architecture financed by local merchants. Among them, Kōuchi Torajiro 's Garyu Villa, Matsui Kunigoro's residence or Murakami wax producer estate. − 1913: inauguration of the Hijikawa Bridge. − 1918: inauguration of the railroad line connecting Ozu with Nagahama, harbour town at Hiji River's mouth. − 1935: inauguration of the Nagahama Great Bridge, a bascule bridge at the mouth of the Hiji River. The high volume and importance of river traffic required a retractable solution for the new bridge. Post-war political reorganization - 1954: political merging of the town of Ōzu with Hirano, Awazu, Miyoshi, Kamisukai, Minamikume, Sugeta, Niiya, Yanagisawa and Ōkawa villages. - 2005: January 11 neighboring Nagahama, Hijikawa, and Kawabe municipalities merged to create the current Ōzu municipality.
Heritage
Ōzu's flourishing silk and wax industries brought great wealth and prosperity, particularly at the turn of 20th century. Refinement and cultural discernment followed suit. This resulted in a thriving urban environment of various historical layers, remnants of which are still standing: -Ōzu castle -Nyohō TempleBuddhist Temple of the Rinzai sect founded in 1669 by monk Bankei together with Katō Yasuoki, second daimyo of the Katō clan.. Its zen meditation hall displays a Siddhattha Gotama sculpture, flanked by elevated tatamis, a rather unusual setting in zazen dedicated spaces. -Ōzu Akarenga-kan built in 1901, evoking Western architecture. Municipal Important Asset. -Garyū Sansō Set of three tea pavilions within a lavish roji -tea ceremony garden- overhanging the Hiji River. Built by silk and tea trade champion Torajiro as a personal retreat. It doubled as a Noh Theatre stage and was berth of the localkaketsukuri architecture style. Completed between 1901 and 1907. -Nagahama Great Bridge completed in 1935, Inscribed as Important Cultural Property by the Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2014, it is the oldest bascule-bridge in Japan still in operation. Traces of US forces' gunfire still punctuate parts of the structure.
