SHIMADA

city, Shizuoka ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, on the lower Oi River. During the Tokugawa era (16031867) it was an important post town on the Tokaido (Eastern Sea Highway) because fording the river was both difficult and dangerous. Since the early 20th century the city has become a trade centre for timber from the forest-covered Akaishi Range upstream. Shimada contains several large paper mills and lumber and woodworking industries. Tea and oranges are cultivated on the hills north of the city. Pop. (1990) 73,809.