city, Yamaguchi ken (prefecture), western Honshu, Japan. Located on a deep cove of the Inland Sea, the original fishing village first started to grow through salt manufacturing and trade. When Kudamatsu was bypassed by a trunk line of the National Railway, its commercial activity declined.

Kudamatsu revived during World War I as an industrial city, assisted by its natural port and by factories built on reclaimed land previously used for salt manufacturing. Kudamatsu was designated a city in 1939, and its industrial complex includes heavy machinery and petrochemical factories, with power plants and shipyards. Pop. (2005 prelim.) 53,513.