Sunpu

Sunpu is the historical name for the area surrounding Sunpu Castle in the old Suruga Province, now part of Shizuoka City in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It lies along the coast of Suruga Bay and was connected to the Tōkaidō road linking Kyoto with Edo (Tokyo). The name is mainly used in historical contexts.

Sunpu rose as a political and military center in the late Sengoku period when Sunpu Castle became a focal point of power in the region. Tokugawa Ieyasu, after abdicating the office of shogun in 1605, made Sunpu his retirement residence and remained there until his death in 1616. During the Edo period, the surrounding territory was organized as Sunpu Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate, and the castle town developed as an administrative and logistical hub supporting regional governance.

In the Meiji Restoration, the feudal domain system was abolished and the area was incorporated into Shizuoka Prefecture. The name Sunpu gradually fell from official usage as modern prefectural and municipal borders were established. In contemporary times, Sunpu Castle ruins, the Kunozan Toshogu Shrine honoring Ieyasu, and related historical sites are preserved as cultural landmarks within Shizuoka City, reflecting the historical significance of the Sunpu era. The legacy of Sunpu persists in historical references to the domain and its role in early Edo governance, even as the area functions as part of a modern Japanese city.