In the 1850s, Japan was in political crisis over its increasing inability to maintain its national seclusion policy and the issue of what relations, if any, it should have with foreign powers.

Shimoda is located at the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula about 100 kilometres (62 mi) southwest of Tokyo.

Shimoda's location, with the Amagi Mountains to the north, and the warm Kuroshio Current to the south give the city a humid, sub-tropical climate.

[3] Shimoda has been settled since prehistoric times, with numerous Jōmon period remains found within city limits.

During the Sengoku period it was controlled by the Odawara Hōjō clan, who built a castle (later destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi).

During the Bakumatsu period, Shimoda port was opened to American trade under the conditions of the Convention of Kanagawa, negotiated by Commodore Matthew Perry and signed on March 31, 1854.

Gyokusen-ji is also the location of a small number of foreign graves dating from as early as 1854 marking the final resting place of US forces personnel that died while serving as a part of the Perry Expedition.

In 1958, an All Nippon Airways DC-3 en route from Haneda to Nagoya crashed in the sea off Shimoda, killing three passengers.

Shimoda has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 13 members.

[4] The economy of Shimoda is based on tourism (primarily centered on the hot spring resorts and marine sports) and commercial fishing.