A view of Yokosuka City, from Verny Park. |
The U.S. Navy base at Yokosuka. |
U.S. Navy sailors based at Yokosuka carry a traditional portable shrine through the city during an annual parade. |
Yokosuka (Japanese: 横須賀市; -shi) is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan.
It is located at the mouth of Tokyo Bay on Miura Peninsula. Developed and used as a base by the Imperial Japanese Navy up to 1945, it now is home to one of the biggest military seaports shared by the United States Navy and the Maritime Self-Defense Force of Japan.
As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 431,332 and a density of 4,286.74 persons per km². It covers an area of 100.62 km².
History
In 1853, United States naval officer Matthew Perry arrived in Tokyo Bay with his fleet of black ships and came ashore near present day Yokosuka, leading to the opening of diplomatic and trade relations between Japan and the United States.
The Yokosuka Iron Foundry was established on the site of the city in 1865, and in 1866 the French engineer Léonce Verny came to Yokosuka and spent the next ten years supervising the development of shipbuilding facilities. The city itself was incorporated in 1907.
Current prime minister Junichiro Koizumi was born in Yokosuka.
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