CHOSHI

city, in Chiba Prefecture (ken), Honshu, Japan. Choshi is situated at the mouth of the Tone-gawa (Tone River), near Inubo-saki (Cape Inubo). In the late 17th century it was a commercial port on the sea route between Edo (now Tokyo) and northern Japan. With the decline of sea transport and coastal fishing in the late 19th century, however, its main activities shifted to offshore fishing. Choshi is now one of eastern Japan's main bases for deep-sea fishing, and it has a developing industry for processing marine products. The city is also well known in Japan for its production of soy sauce, an industry that dates back to the early 17th century. Choshi serves as a tourist base for such scenic spots as Inubo-saki and Byobuga-ura (Byobuga Lake). Pop. (1980) 89,416.