Numazu is an ancient settlement, mentioned in
Nara period records as the original
provincial capital of
Suruga Province before the separation of
Izu Province from Suruga in 680 AD, and subsequent transfer of the provincial capital to the banks of the
Abe River in what is now
Shizuoka city. During the early part of the
Tokugawa shogunate, Numazu was ruled as part of
Odawara Domain, but with the construction of
Numazu Castle in 1777, it became the separate
Numazu Domain. Numazu prospered in the
Edo period from its location on the
Tōkaidō highway connecting
Edo with
Kyoto, with
Numazu-juku and
Hara-juku as two of the 53
post stations. After the
Meiji Restoration,
Numazu Station was opened on the
Tōkaidō Main Line on February 1, 1889. With the establishment of the modern municipalities system of the early
Meiji period in 1889, the area was reorganized into Numazu Town within
Suntō District, Shizuoka From its seaside location, Numazu gained a reputation as a health resort, which was further enhanced by its selection as the location of an
imperial villa built for
Emperor Meiji in 1893. The area become popular with other members of the
nobility, statesmen (including
Inoue Kaoru) and writers. Numazu town expanded in 1923 by merger with Yanagihara village, becoming Numazu City on July 1, 1923. Central Numazu was destroyed by a fire in 1926. In 1944, the city further expanded through merger with neighboring Katahama, Kanaoka, Ooka and Shizuura villages. The city was a target for American
air raids in
World War II, and was largely destroyed by
bombing on July 17, 1945. In 1955, the villages of Ashitaka, Oohira, Uchiura, and Nishiura merged with Numazu, and in 1968 Hara Town also merged with Numazu. In the year 2000, Numazu was designated a by the central government with increased local autonomy. In April 2005, the village of
Heda (from
Tagata District) was merged into Numazu. In 2007, Numazu hosted the 29th
WorldSkills International Championship. ==Government==