Quite provincial yet hospitable to travelers, and a hub of business and shopping amongst the lazy calm of the countryside, Matsuyama has much to offer in the way of curious literary and cultural assets.
With a population of ,, Matsuyama is the largest city on Shikoku, though still noticeably sleepier than cities of comparable size on the Japanese mainland.
The city is in a river basin formed by the flow of the Ishite and Shigenobu rivers, and nestled between the Ishizuchi mountain range to the south and Takanawa Mountains to the north.
JR Matsuyama Station is a short walk west. The climate of Matsuyama is overall mild and temperate β somewhat balmy in summer, with most rainfall occurring in late spring, and almost no snow in winter. This public bathhouse is thought to be the oldest in Japan, a claim reinforced by its mention in the second oldest book of Japanese history, Nihon Shoki AD. Although the area does not come off well in the Edo -phile's description, the town nevertheless celebrates the connection with a variety of events and displays.
Born to a lower class samurai family, Shiki had a modest childhood. Thanks to his education and an uncle in public office, Shiki was able to enter Tokyo Imperial University to study philosophy and politics, and later became a journalist covering the Russo-Japanese War.
