History

The history of the Port of Shimizu goes back the 7th century A.D. (the Asuka period in Japan). Records still exist from that time of relief ships embarking from the port for the Kingdom of Paekche in Korea. From the 16th to the 18th century (from the Warring States period to the Edo period) the Shogunate came to view the port as an important strategic site and trading center.

The story of the Port of Shimizu as a modern harbor begins with its designation as an open port on August 4, 1899. The opening coincided with the arrival of the steam engine and industrial modernization. Starting with the export of green tea, the port began handling products of Shizuoka and neighboring areas, such as citrus fruits, canned goods, motorcyclesnd musical instruments, and expanded in size and function with the industrialization of the coastal areas. The port responded swiftly to the opening of the container era to become one of the leading exporters in the country, and also supports the economy of Shizuoka and central Japan with imports of raw materials such as timber, soy beans and bauxite, and came to play an important role in the era of high economic growth in Japan.

Chronological Table

Year	Event
600’S	Emperor Saimei orders warships built and sent to support the Kingdom of Paekche in Korea.
1585	Ieyasu Tokugawa becomes feudal lord of Suruga (Shizuoka Prefecture) and places a navy in Shimizu Port.
1603	Ieyasu Tokugawa becomes shogun to begin the Edo period.
1605	Tokugawa establishes a port at Shimizu as a vita naval transport center.
1615	The shogunate authorizes 42 shipping agencies to operate.
1717	The shogunate builds some 5,500 m2 of rice granaries at Shimizu.
1813	With 39 shipping agents, 30 lodges, plus a fish market, the port is thriving.
1853	Yokohama Port is opened after the arrival of Perry. Preparations to open the port at Shimizu are begun.
1861	British surveying ship surveys the harbor at Shimizu.
1863	The first shipment of Shizuoka tea from Shimizu to Yokohama.
1867	End of the Tokugawa Shogunate
1876	Liner service between Shimizu and Tokyo begins.
1879	17,820㎡of wharf is completed.
1879	Former US President Ulysses S. Grant visits the port.
1897	The Shimizu-Yokohama Customs Station is established.
1899	Shimizu is designated an open port.
1904	The first shipment of 200 boxes of Mandarin Oranges to America.
1906	515 pounds of green tea are shipped to Seattle aboard the Kanagawa-maru (a mail ship).
1908	Mandarin oranges are exported to Canada.
1910	The amount of green tea shipped from Shimizu exceeds that from Yokohama.
1911	Value of the port’s trade surpasses \10 million for the first time. (5th in exports and 9th in imports nationally)
1912	Lighthouse is completed at Masaki, Miho Peninsula (the oldest reinforced concrete lighthouse in Japan).
1914	The First World War begins.
1914	Reclamation of approximately 169,000 m2 of land is completed.
1914	The first exports of salt from the Port of Shimizu.
1918	Port of Shimizu’s share of national tea exports reaches 80%.
1918	Exports of soybean oil from the Port of Shimizu begin.
1919	The end of the First World War (Treaty of Versailles).
1921	Liner service between Shimizu and Korea is established.
1922	Imports of timber from Soviet coastal areas begin.
1923	The Great Kanto Earthquake. The port is inundated with refugees from Keihin.
1924	Imports of timber from America begin.
1927	The prefecture completes a 410,000m2 floating timber yard at Orido Bay in Shimizu Harbor.
1929	The 800m Hinode Pier is completed, which can serve one 20,000-ton ship and two 3,000-ton ships at the same time.
1929	Shizuoka Fishery Experiment Station exports cans of tuna packed in oil to America for the first time as a trial product.
1929	Shimizu Port and Harbor Bureau is established.
1929	The Great Depression
1930	The port begins importing Southeast Asian timber.
1930	An earthquake off the coast of Izu heavily damages the port’s wharf.
1934	Liners for Southeast Asia begin regular calls at the port (twice monthly).
1934	Direct service between Yokohama and northern Korea begins calls at Shimizu.
1935	Part of the wharf collapses in the Otani Earthquake.
1938	The first liner between Shimizu and Tianjin calls at port.
1939	The Second World War begins.
1939	Nippon Light Metals Co. starts to provide aluminum for aircraft as part of national policy.
1939	Toa Fuel Co. embarks on oil refining.
1939	Tsurumi Ceramics begins making fireproof bricks.
1939	Three new telphers for loading coal and timber are installed.
1941	Liner service between Shimizu and Aoshima begins.
1941	The Pacific War begins.
1942	Companies such as Nippon Steel Pipe and Hitachi engage in military-related business.
1945	Port facilities seriously damaged by B-29 raids, naval bombardment and strafing.
1945	The Second World War ends.
1946	The first post-war international trading ship (Sherman O. Forton) arrives carrying relief supplies.
1947	The allied powers designate the Port of Shimizu one of 12 trading ports.
1947	Reconstruction of the war-devastated port facilities begins.
1949	50th anniversary of the port’s opening
1952	Shimizu is designated a harbor of special importance (with an important role in increasing foreign trade).
1959	The coal dock is completed.
1959	Shimizu City forms a sister city relationship with Stockton, California.
1960	The Great Chile Earthquake seriously damages the port.
1962	The first 5-year development plan is implemented, an investment of \250 billion.
1963	Regular passenger service between Shimizu and Okinawa is inaugurated.
1964	Annual trade surpasses \100 trillion.
1966	Okitsu Pier No. 1 begins operation.
1968	Okitsu Pier No. 2 begins operation.
1969	The Tomei Expressway is fully opened.
1969	A 100,000-ton tanker calls at the port for the first time.
1970	Pneumatic unloader is completed at Fujimi Pier.
1970	The North American PACIFIC BANKER (14,162 t) becomes the first container ship to call at Shimizu.
1970	A gantry crane is installed at Okitsu Pier No. 2.
1970	The first full-fledged container loading is done for the HAWAIIAN MONARCH at Okitsu Pier No.
1971	The prefecture builds an inland container terminal near the Tomei Hamamatsu Interchange.
1972	Liner service to Nahotoka in the Soviet Union begins.
1972	The first call at port by a North American west coast liner.
1973	Sodeshi Pier No. 1 is completed. Gantry crane No. 2 begins operation.
1974	The first container ship from Indonesia calls at the port.
1976	An African ship, the ALPEN, calls at port for the first time.
1977	Lines to the southwest and northwest coasts of North America are established.
1982	Sodeshi Pier No. 1 container terminal is completed.
1982	The first container ship from Bangkok calls at the port.
1982	The first east coast North American liner (NEW YORK) calls at the port
1982	A South African ship calls at the port for the first time.
1983	Large-scale European container ship calls at Shimizu for the first time
1983	Taiwan and Hong Kong ships begin regular calls at Shimizu.
1984	International friendship agreement with China’s Qingdao Port.
1988	Chip unloader (400t/h) is completed at Fujimi Pier.
1990	QUEEN ELIZABETH Ⅱ calls at the port.
1991	Continuous unloader (600t/h) is completed at Fujimi Pier.
1994	A super gantry crane (Over Panamax) is installed at Sodeshi Pier No. 1.
1994	Chip unloader No. 2 (400t/h) is completed at Fujimi Pier.
1995	A super gantry crane (Over Panamax) is installed at Sodeshi Pier No. 1.
1999	The port’s 100th anniversary is observed with a grand celebration (August 4).
2002	50th anniversary of designation as a harbor of special importance (February 1).
2003	The Shin-Okitsu Pier (15m deep with a 22-row gantry crane) to open.
2004	Large X-ray scanner for containers open
2006	The 100th anniversary of national tea exports
2009	The port's 110th anniversary is publicized broadly
2017	Designated as an International Cruise Hub Port Port of Shimizu and Port of Trieste, Italy, signed a sister port cooperative agreement
2020	120th anniversary of port opening, commemorative ceremony held (4th August)