Editing Numazu (section)

== History ==
Numazu is an ancient settlement, mentioned in [[Nara period]] records as the original [[kokufu|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, Shizuoka|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 (road)|Tōkaidō]] highway connecting [[Edo]] with [[Kyoto]], with [[Numazu-juku]] and [[Hara-juku (Tōkaidō)|Hara-juku]] as two of the 53 [[shukuba|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 [[Numazu Imperial Villa|imperial villa]] built for [[Emperor Meiji]] in 1893. The area become popular with other members of the [[kazoku|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 [[strategic bombing|air raid]]s in [[World War II]], and was largely destroyed by [[Bombing of Numazu in World War II|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 {{nihongo|Special City|特例市|Tokurei-shi}} by the central government with increased local autonomy. In April 2005, the village of [[Heda, Shizuoka|Heda]] (from [[Tagata District, Shizuoka|Tagata District]]) was merged into Numazu. In 2007, Numazu hosted the 29th [[WorldSkills]] International Championship.