Hirado City is located in the northwest of Nagasaki Prefecture, at the westernmost point of both the prefecture and the Kyushu mainland. It is a relatively new city, formed in 2005 by the merger of two towns and one village. The city area encompasses the inhabited islands of Hirado, Ikitsuki, Oshima, Tsurushima, and Takashima, as well as Tabira Town and numerous surrounding islands along the northern coast of Kyushu's mainland. Formerly the castle town of the Matsuura clan of the former Hirado domain, Hirado flourished as an international trading port with China, Portugal, and the Netherlands before the country's isolation. It is also known as the place where Francis Xavier arrived and began spreading Christianity. Tourism is on the rise, and Hirado Castle and Oshima Village Kanoura, an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, have become popular tourist spots.