Tonoshō, Kagawa

This article is about the town in Kagawa Prefecture. For the town in Chiba Prefecture, see Tōnoshō, Chiba.

Tonoshō (土庄町, Tonoshō-chō) is a town and port in Shōzu District, Kagawa, Japan, with a population of 12,915.^[1] The town lies on the west coast of the island of Shōdoshima—the second-largest island in the Seto Inland Sea—and it is the main passenger access for the island.^[2] First settled around the 8th century,^[3] the town center grew into a complex maze of streets during the war-torn Muromachi period (1336–1573) to inhibit enemy forces.^[4] The town was officially incorporated in 1898,^[5] and today sesame oil, olives, sōmen noodles, fishing and tourism are important industries.^[6]

Tonoshō 土庄町
Town
Clockwise from left: historic town center, port of Tonoshō, Angel Road
Flag Seal
Location of Tonoshō (■) in Kagawa Prefecture
Tonoshō Location in Japan
Coordinates: 34°29′N 134°11′E
Country	Japan
Region	Shikoku
Prefecture	Kagawa Prefecture
District	Shōzu
Government
• Mayor	Yoshiyuki Okano
Area
• Total	74.38 km2 (28.72 sq mi)
Population  (2020)
• Total	12,915
• Density	170/km2 (450/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	559-2 Kō, Tonoshō-chō, Shōzu-gun, Kagawa-ken 761-4192
Website	www.town.tonosho.kagawa.jp (Japanese)
Symbols
Flower	Azalea
Mascot	Olive Shimachan
Tree	Ubame oak (Quercus phillyraeoides)

The town's jurisdiction totals 74.38 km²,^[3] covering historic Tonoshō and smaller settlements on western Shōdoshima, as well as Teshima, Odeshima, and other nearby islands.^[5]

The town is known as the setting of the manga and anime Teasing Master Takagi-san and is the creator's hometown.^[7] Tonoshō also participates in the regional Setouchi Triennale art festival, and several art installations are found in the area.^[8]

Demographics

Per Japanese census data,^[9] the population of Tonoshō has roughly halved over the past half-century.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1970	22,037	—
1980	21,398	−2.9%
1990	20,191	−5.6%
2000	17,711	−12.3%
2010	15,123	−14.6%
2020	12,846	−15.1%

Notable locations

Modern Tonoshō includes all of western Shodoshima, Teshima, and surrounding islands.

• Angel Road, a 500-meter-long sandbar that appears during low tide, connecting Shodoshima with a series of small islets^[10]
• Chōshi Gorge^[11]
• Dofuchi Strait, the narrowest strait in the world^[12]
• Teshima, a large island to the west

Notable people

• Sōichirō Yamamoto, a Japanese manga artist and the creator of Teasing Master Takagi-san^[7]

Gallery

• 
  Dofuchi Strait
• 
  Monkeys at Chōshi Gorge
• 
  Port of Tonoshō at night