divided by the Tokugawa shogunate and Honda Masatomo, was installed as daimyō of the newly-created Tatsuno Domain. The town prospered as a castle town and the domain passed through various rulers, ultimately coming under the rule of the Wakisaka clan beginning in 1672, lasting 200 years and 10 generations, after which came the Meiji Restoration. The castle town's area from the early modern period is extant today in what is now the "old Tatsuno-chō area,” which still contains samurai residences and white-plastered earthen storehouses, giving the city the moniker of"Little Kyoto of Harima". The town of Tatsuno was established with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On October 1, 2005, the towns of Ibogawa, Mitsu and Shingū (all from Ibo District) were merged into Tatsuno. To reflect the new character of the city, the kanji characters in the city's name were changed from to . Government Tatsuno has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 22 members. Tatsuno, together with the town of Taishi, contributes one member to the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Hyōgo 12th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan. Economy Tatsuno has traditionally been famous for production of sōmen and soy sauce in Japan. However, much of the city is rural, with rice farming and commercial fishing playing roles in the economy. The city is increasing becoming a bedroom community, with 25.0% of those commuting to work go to Himeji (2010 National Census). Education Tatsuno has 16 public elementary schools and five public middle schools operated by the city government and two public high schools operated by the Hyōgo Prefectural Department of Education. There is also one private elementary school and one private middle school. The prefecture also operates two special education schools for the handicapped. Transportation Railway JR West – San'yō Main Line JR West – Kishin Line - - - - Highways San'yō Expressway Harima Expressway Sister city relations - Covington, Washington, sister city since 2015 Local attractions Tatsuno Castle and surrounding Important Preservation District for Traditional Buildings Yoshima Kofun, National Historic Site Shingū Miyauchi Site, National Historic Site Notable people from Tatsuno Akira Hori, author Kazuya Maruyama, politician Rofū Miki, composer of the folk melody "Akatombo" (The red dragonfly) Shizuichi Tanaka, Imperial Japanese Army general and Japanese Military