Matsudo

Matsudo is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2016, the city has an estimated population of 483,796, and a population density of 7,880 persons per km2. The total area is 61.38 square kilometres. The area around Matsudo has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and archaeologists have found remains from the Jomon period, as well as burial tumuli from the Kofun period. During the Edo period, the area was tenryo controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate, and contained a number of horse ranches providing war horses for the Shogun’s armies.

It also developed as a post station on the Mito Kaido connecting Edo with Mito. After the Meiji Restoration, Matsudo Town was created in Higashikatsushika District Chiba Prefecture in 1878. Matsudo attained city status on October 1, 1943. Led to a construction boom in Matsudo and the development of the area as a major suburb of Tokyo. Matsudo is now the third-largest city in Chiba Prefecture and a major bedroom community 11th largest city in the Greater Tokyo Area.