is a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 125,389 in 49,024 households, and a population density of 95.74 persons per km<sup>2</sup>. The total area of the city is . Tsuruoka is the biggest city in TÃ Âhoku region in terms of land area.
Today's Tsuruoka is the result of the fusion of several neighborhoods around the center of the city such as Atsumi, Asahi, Fujishima, Kushibiki, and Haguro in 1953.
Tsuruoka is located on the coast of Yamagata Prefecture bordering the Sea of Japan and has some locally popular beaches such as Yunohama and Sanze. All three of the Three Mountains of Dewa are at least partially within the city limits.
Two main rivers run through Tsuruoka, the Akagawa River (赤å·Â, literally "Red River"), and the Mogami River.
Tsuruoka has a Humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. Precipitation is significant throughout the year but is heaviest from August to October. The average annual temperature in Tsuruoka is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The region is known for its heavy snowfalls during the winter, and people living in Sekigawa and Atsumi's neighborhoods can expect up to 2 meters of snow which after removal creates very particular snow walls standing high along the road. The first snows usually come in late November but the real peak is generally around January. The red leaves appear generally at the end of October and end in mid-November.
Per Japanese census data, the population of Tsuruoka has declined in recent decades.
The area of present-day Tsuruoka was part of ancient Dewa Province. In the Edo period, it served as the capital of the Shà Ânai Domain. It was a minor port for the kitamaebune coastal trade.
After the start of the Meiji period, the area organized as Tsuruoka Town under Nishitagawa District, Yamagata Prefecture in 1878. It was elevated to city status on October 1, 1924, becoming Japan's 100th city. In 1955, the city expanded by annexing the town of Kamo and nine neighboring villages. The town of Oyama was annexed by Tsuruoka in 1963.
On October 1, 2005, the towns of Fujishima, Haguro and Kushibiki, and the village of Asahi (all from Higashitagawa District), and the town of Atsumi (from Nishitagawa District) were merged into Tsuruoka.
Tsuruoka has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 24 members. The city contributes five members to the Yamagata Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Yamagata District 3 of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.
Tsuruoka has a mixed economy based on light manufacturing, commercial services, agriculture, and commercial fishing.
Tsuruoka has 26 public elementary schools and 11 public middle schools operated by the city government and six public high schools operated by the Yamagata Prefectural Board of Education. There are also two private high schools. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped.
East Japan Railway Company - Uetsu Main Line
Tsuruoka is mostly known for its "Three Mountains of Dewa", which refers to Mt. Haguro, the smallest mount that culminates at only 436m high; Mt. Gassan, the highest mount at 1984m; and Mt. Yudono, at 1500m.
Those three mounts are considered the core of the Shugendô practice. Shugendô (ä¿®é¨ÂéÂÂ, lit. The way of the ascetic practice) is often perceived as a form of syncretism of Shintô and Buddhism. The Yamabushi (å±±ä¼Â, lit. "the men who sleep in the Mountain"), or men who practice shugendô, believe in Buddha but also believe that a god resides in all things that exist in nature. Yamabushi wear checkered vests and blow trumpet shells to communicate with their peers and to keep the bad spirits away. They aim to protect the mountain and to live a sinless life connected to nature.
The pilgrimage of all three mountains is done in that way The three mountains symbolically represent death and rebirth. By going down and up the 2466 stone stairs of Mt. Haguro, people can experience a symbolic "death" and "rebirth," after which they can gain access to the world of the dead represented by Mt. Gassan and its foggy landscapes; lastly, they can purify their body and soul in Mt. Yudono's natural hot springs.
Shôjin ryôri (ç²¾é²æÂÂçÂÂ, lit. "food for spiritual elevation"), a vegan food traditionally consumed by Yamabushi, uses no animal product but sansai å±±è ("Mountain vegetables") instead, as well as local rice, handmade gomadôfu (sesame-flavoured tôfu), bamboo shoots, vinegared chrysanthemum flowers and mushrooms. There exist many different types of shôjin ryôri depending on the shukubo (temples that also welcome travellers for the night) that is serving it, but it usually consists of many small dishes accompanied with miso soup and white rice.
Mt. Haguro hosts The Five-Storied Pagoda (gojûnotô äºÂéÂÂå¡Â), one of Japan's National Treasures. The pagoda's central pillar protects it from earthquakes, which inspired Tokyo's Skytree's architecture. Also in the grounds of Mt. Haguro is the Jiji-sugi çºæ ("Grandpa cedar"), a 30m high cedar that is more than 1000 years old.
In 2014 Tsuruoka was registered as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. It's more than 50 species of "ancestral food" (zairai sakumotsu å¨æÂ¥ä½Âç©) that exist and have remained intact for several centuries now are one of the reasons why the city has received this title. Among these there are: minden nasu æ°Âç°ãªã (a round eggplant with a long and thin hat), ãÂÂãÂÂã¨ãÂÂãÂÂã (spiciness-reducer potato), 温海ãÂÂ㶠(Atsumi turnip, a red turnip that grows on steep slopes), ootaki carrot 大æ»ÂãÂÂã³ã¸ã³, etc. The presence of such heritage foods is not the only reason why Tsuruoka has been registered as a Creative City of Gastronomy. Its particular way to cook these ingredients was even more persuasive. Tsuruoka's best known specialties are kandarajiru å¯Âé±Âæ± (a soup containing black cod fished during the winter â the period when it is supposed to be tastiest), gomadôfu ãÂÂã¾è±Âè  (sesame-flavoured tôfu), tochimochi ã¨ã¡ãÂÂã¡ (chestnut flavoured pounded rice cake), kitsunemen ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂé¢ (fox mask shaped brown sugar biscuit), etc.
The city is also known for its large variety of soups (it is said that the harsh winters is the reason why there are so many types), apart from kandarajiru, there is takenokojiru ã¿ã±ãÂÂã³池(Mt Gassan bamboo shoot soup), imoni èÂÂç ® (potato soup), nattôjiru ç´Âè±Âæ± (nattô based soup), môsô jiru (another type of bamboo soup).
Tsuruoka is known for (ã ã ã¡ãÂÂè±Â), a species of soybean, which have been called "the king of edamame"; they are also used for other products such as nattà  and in manjà «. There are two theories as to the origin of the name: one is that it derives from , the Shonai dialect word for "father" â is the dialectical word for "mother", while the other is that the beans came from Date, Fukushima, and were originally called , which became and then .
are served in many ways: sweet, salty, spicy, bitter, sour, just boiled, crushed, grilled, and in sauces.
Dadakko (ã ã ã£åÂÂ), are small cakes which contain a sweet paste. Dadappai (ã ã ã£ãÂÂã¤) are small pasted inside a puff pastry. There are also flavored ice creams, cookies, biscuits, and creams.
Tsuruoka and the whole region of Shônai benefit from a large variety of fishes and seafood coming from the Sea of Japan. Among all the local seafoods are: Cherry salmon, Japanese seabream, blue crab, littlemouth flounder, flatfish, black rockfish, tonguefish, flying squid, oyster, sea robin, sandfish, Japanese codfish, and others. The huge variety of fresh local fish and seafood in Tsuruoka had contributed to the local sushi shops' good reputation, but it has also helped constitute a very particular kind of "family gastronomy," where fish hold a very important place.
The rice cultivated in Tsuruoka and more generally in the Shonai region has been recognized for its strong umami taste. In 2010, researchers from Keiô University's Institute for Advanced Biosciences æ ¶æÂÂ義塾大å¦å Â端çÂÂå½ç§Âå¦ç Â究æ demonstrated that Tsuyahime, the local rice variety, contained 1.5x more umami taste than the common other variety of rice thanks to the studies of metabolomes.
The city is surrounded by plains, forests and mountains. Thus, wood and grass were widely used in all kinds of crafts. As for architecture, thatch-roofed houses (kayabukiyane ãÂÂãÂÂã¶ãÂÂå±Âæ ¹) are one of the symbols of the city. Some of them remained in good condition through centuries now, as for example, the Tasôminka å¤Â層æ°Â家 (the many-layered house), a traditional farm house from the Meiji period, and the house on display at the Chidô Museum è´éÂÂÃ¥ÂÂç©館.
Concerning clothing, shinaori ãÂÂãªç¹ÂãÂÂ, is a traditional weaving style from tree bark that is still practiced these days. The items created with this solid and firm thread are very resistant and waterproof.
Tsuruoka is twinned with: