came to be called Uma District. The city limits of Uma District and modern Shikokuchūō are almost the same. As Uma is centrally located in Shikoku, it was historically a transportation hub between Shikoku's major cities. Due to its strategic importance, during the Sengoku period Uma was repeatedly invaded by the neighboring warlords. During the Edo Period, the area as divided between the holdings of Imabari Domain, Saijō Domain and tenryō territory administered on behalf of the Tokugawa shogunate by Iyo-Matsuyama Domain. Industry began to flourish in Uma during the Edo period, and the city grew as a port town. The Tosa kaidō offered access to Tosa Province in the south, so Uma was also a stopping spot, or ‘post station,’ for the Tosa daimyō and travelers to and from Tosa. Paper making began in Uma around 1750, and much later grew into the region's major industry. Following the Meiji restoration, the area was divided into 25 villages with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on December 15, 1889. The villages of Mishima and Kawanoe were raised to town status in 1898. The village of Doi was raised to town status in 1954 and the villages of Shinritsu and Kamiyama merged to form the village of Shingū the same year. Late that year, Kawanoe and Mishima were raised to city status, with Mishima renamed Iyomishima. Shikokuchūō city was founded on April 1, 2004 when the cities of Kawanoe, Iyomishima, the town of Doi and the village of Shingū merged. The name literally means "Shikoku Central City" and was so named in the hopes of becoming the new capital of the island of Shikoku, should the four prefectures be merged into one state. However, this name has been roundly criticized for its unoriginality, and is known as one of the "strange city names" throughout Japan. The former cities of Kawanoe and Iyomishima (the two largest of the four municipalities that merged) have fought for political control over the new city. Government Shikokuchūō has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 22 members. Shikokuchūō contributes three members to the Ehime Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of Ehime 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan. Economy Shikokuchūō is one of the major industrial cities in the Ehime and Shikoku regions, and is one