page_title: Matsuyama
section_title: The city today
hierarchical_section_title: Matsuyama / The city today
caption_attribution_description: English: Main Bailey view from the Matsuyama Castle Tower (Ehime JAPAN) 日本語: 松山城天守から南（本丸広場）方面を眺望（愛媛県松山市） 한국어: 마쓰야마 성 천수각에서 보이는 전망(일본 에히메 현)
context_page_description: Matsuyama is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan and also Shikoku's largest city, with a population of 509,835 as of June 1, 2019. It is located on the northeastern portion of the Dōgo Plain. Its name means "pine mountain". The city was founded on December 15, 1889.
  The city is known for its hot springs, among the oldest in Japan, and is home to the Dōgo Onsen Honkan, a Meiji Period wooden public bathhouse dating from 1894. A second favorite tourist spot is Matsuyama Castle. Eight of the eighty-eight temples in the Shikoku Pilgrimage are in Matsuyama.
context_section_description: In the twentieth century, various mergers joined the castle town with neighboring Dōgo, Mitsuhama, and other townships, aided by urban sprawl, creating a seamless modern city that now ranks as the largest in Shikoku.
  As of the most recent merger, on October 1, 2018, absorbing the city of Hōjō, and town of Nakajima (from the former Onsen District), the city had an estimated population of 510,963 and a population density of 1,196 persons per km². The total (merged) area is 429.40 km².
  Matsuyama is home to several universities including Ehime University (part of the Japanese national university system) and several private colleges, including Matsuyama University and Matsuyama Shinonome College.
  Matsuyama has several important museums.  The Museum of Art, Ehime is the city's main art museum, its collections emphasizing the works of regional artists.  The Shiki Memorial Museum is a museum that focuses on the life and work of Masaoka Shiki, with special attention to his contribution to haiku. The Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum features exhibits connected with the famous novel and television series.  There is a Juzo Itami museum dedicated to the famous film director.
  Famous products (meibutsu) of Matsuyama include tarts and Botchan dango. In the 17th century, the lord of Matsuyama castle Sadayuki Matsudaira (松平定行) introduced the process of tart-making, originally brought to Japan by the Portuguese, to Matsuyama. At first it was a Castella with jam. According to legend Sadayuki made some changes, such as adding red bean paste. Now there are many kinds and makers of tarts in Matsuyama; some add yuzu paste or chestnut to the red bean paste. In addition to tarts, Botchan dango is also a famous product of Matsuyama. Botchan dango was named after the famous novel Botchan by Natsume Sōseki. It consists of three bean paste beads of three flavors, matcha, egg, and red bean paste.  Within the paste is contained mochi.
  Matsuyama is the site of a number of festivals, including the Dogo Festival, held in the spring, the Matsuyama Festival, held in August, and the Fall Festival, held in October, which features battling mikoshi.
  The city is represented in the J. League of football with its local club, Ehime FC.  The Ehime Mandarin Pirates also represent the city in the baseball Shikoku Island League Plus.
caption: Matsuyama Castle Square (Iyo)
exif: {"Image Make": "CASIO COMPUTER CO.,LTD.", "Image Model": "EX-S600", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "1.02", "Image DateTime": "2008:10:18 15:10:58", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "282", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 0, 5, 0, 1, 0, 22, 0, 22, 0, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 5, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 9, 0, 0, 0, 1, 16, 131, 0, 0, 0]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "33546", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8848", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/640", "EXIF FNumber": "27/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Portrait Mode", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:10:18 15:10:58", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:10:18 15:10:58", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "5", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "1/3", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "14/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF LightSource": "Shade", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "31/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2816", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2112", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "33422", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0/0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "38", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Portrait", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Soft", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Soft"}