city, Saga ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan, in the Tsukushi Plain, on the Chikugo River. It was a post town for centuries, connecting northern Kyushu and the Nagasaki area until the Edo (Tokugawa) period (1603–1867). Modern Tosu is a railway junction for the Kagoshima and Nagasaki lines. Because of its location, Tosu began to develop as an industrial city, major industries being food processing, grain milling, and production of tobacco, medicines, bicycles, construction materials, and chemicals for agricultural and industrial use. Pop. (2006 est.) 65,507.