capital, Mie ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies along the mouth of the Ano River, facing Ise Bay. Tsu developed around a 16th-century castle and served as a post town and trade centre for cotton during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867). A modern cotton mill established in Tsu in 1898 was followed after World War II by factories producing electrical machines, glass, and appliances. During the 1960s shipbuilding facilities were expanded. Rice and wheat are produced in the surrounding area.

Tsu is an educational centre, containing Mie University (1949). The city has two large temples and a shrine. Tsu Park contains a museum, and the castle site is occupied by a library and a reconstructed (1958) castle turret. Pop. (2005) 288,538.