Mishima is an ancient town, which developed around the important
Shinto shrine of . Under the
Ritsuryō administration system established in the
Nara period, Mishima was made capital of
Izu Province. It was also the location of the
Kokubun-ji for Izu Province. In the
Edo period, Mishima prospered from its location on the
Tōkaidō highway connecting
Edo with
Kyoto, and
Mishima-shuku was one of the 53
post stations on that road. The area was
tenryō territory ruled by a
daikan appointed directly by the
Tokugawa shogunate. After the
Meiji Restoration, Mishima became part of the short-lived Nirayama Prefecture in 1868. This merged with the equally short-lived Ashigara Prefecture in 1871, and became part of Shizuoka Prefecture from 18 April 1876. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system of 1889, the area was reorganized as Mishima Town within Kimisawa District. In 1892,
Prince Komatsu Akihito established a villa in Mishima. Its gardens, the
Rakujūen, are a noted visitor attraction in Mishima to this day. In 1896, Kimisawa District became part of
Tagata District, Shizuoka. Mishima received its first train connection in 1898 when the predecessor of the
Izuhakone Railway established what is now
Shimo-Togari Station. The
Sunzu Line began operations from 1906. However, Mishima's fortunes revived strongly only after the
Tanna Tunnel was completed in 1934, connecting the town to the
Tōkaidō Main Line railway between Tokyo and
Shizuoka. Mishima developed rapidly afterwards, merging with neighboring Kitaue Village in 1935 and Nishikida Village in 1941. Mishima Town was elevated in status to a city on 29 April 1941. It became a stop on the
Tōkaidō Shinkansen from 1969, leading to an expansion in population, as the line made it possible to
commute to Tokyo. ==Government==