status. 1941-11-03 - Sashi was incorporated into Karatsu. 1952-05-03 - Kyūragi was elevated to town status. 1954-11-01 - Kagami, Kuri, Minato and Onizuka were all incorporated into Karatsu. 1956-09-30 - Hamasaki and Tamashima were merged to create the town of Hamasaki-Tamashima; and Nagoya and Uchiage were merge to create the town of Chinzei. 1958-11-01 - Kirigo was split and its parts were incorporated into Karatsu and Irino (respectively), and Irino was elevated to town status and was renamed Hizen. 1966-11-01 - Hamasaki-Tamashima was renamed Hamatama. 2005-01-01 - Karatsu merged with Chinzei, Hamatama, Hizen, Kitahata, Kyūragi, Ōchi and Yobuko to retain the name Karatsu. 2006-01-01 - Nanayama was incorporated into Karatsu. Culture and tourism The graceful Karatsu Castle stands watch over this castle town. Karatsu is famous for its Karatsu Kunchi festival, which runs annually from November 2 to November 4 and is visited by approximately 500,000 visitors from all over Japan. The festival consists of 14 hikiyama (floats made of many layers of paper mache) being carried around the city's narrow streets to calls of "Enya!". Some hikiyama members say "Yoisa!". This accompaniment is one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan. Regularly during Karatsu Kunchi, people in this town open their homes to friends and strangers to eat and drink; the primary focus is enjoying food, beer, and shochu, and having lively conversation. In between Karatsu Station (唐津駅) and the main bus centre (大手口バスセンター) is a 170-metre arcade containing many small shops that specialize in Karatsu Kunchi omiyage, and the Korean-influenced local pottery which are called "Karatsu ware" since they refer to Japanese ceramic wares of Korean origin. The actual date of production of the 'Karatsu Yaki' is believed to have begun being produced sometime "during the first half of the 16th century in the late Muromachi period." Museums in Karatsu include Kawamura Art Museum, Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum, and Matsurokan, and shrines, Kagami Jinja. Yobuko The former town of Yobuko merged with Karatsu on January 1, 2005. Yobuko is famed for its fresh squid, Ika (烏賊) (いか） in Japanese, which is offered sashimi style, or it can be eaten while the squid is still alive. Yobuko also attracts local tourists, who come to see the Yobuko Big Bridge (呼子大橋). Yobuko has a festival known as Yobuko Tsunahiki (呼子大綱引), or the Yobuko Tug of War, which takes place annually on the first Saturday and Sunday of June. The event