is one of the 18 wards of the city of

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 302,643 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

of 8,610 persons per km². The total area was 35.14 km².

Geography

Aoba is located in eastern Kanagawa Prefecture, and in the northwest corner of the city of Yokohama. The area is largely flatland, with scattered small hills.

Surrounding municipalities

* Midori Ward * Tsuzuki Ward * Kawasaki *

Machida, Tokyo is a Cities of Japan, city located in West Tokyo, the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 428,851, and a population density of 6,000 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography ...

History

The area around present-day Aoba Ward was formerly part of Tsutsuki District in

Musashi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami, S ...

. During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, it was a rural region classified as ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

'' territory controlled directly by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

, but administered through various ''

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as ''gokenin.'' However ...

''. After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, the area became part of the new

in 1868. In the cadastral reform of April 1, 1889, the area was divided into the villages of . During the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, the area was a center for

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, ''Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively studie ...

. On April 1, 1939, the three villages within Tsutsuki District were annexed by the neighboring city of Yokohama, becoming part of Kōhoku-ku. In a major administrative reorganization of October 1, 1969, Kōhoku Ward was divided, and the present-day area of Aoba Ward became part of the new Midori-ku. On November 6, 1994, Kōhoku and Midori Wards were recombined, then re-divided into four new Wards (Kōhoku, Midori, Tsuzuki and Aoba). The North Branch of the Midori Ward Office in Ichigao became the new Aoba Ward Office. The division and re-division of Wards has much to do with the development of northern Yokohama by railroad companies. The opening of the

Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line The is a major commuter line operated by the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation and connecting south-western suburbs of Tokyo and neighbouring Kanagawa Prefecture, with its western terminus of , to a major railway junction of western d ...

and associated residential communities led to the rapid

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

development in this region. This was followed by the project in the 1980s and early 1990s. The core of the Kōhoku New Town became a significant commercial centre once the subway line extension between Shin-Yokohama and Azamino was completed in 1993. The influx of new population resulted in the entire “Kōhoku New Town” being re-organized into the new Tsuzuki Ward.

Emblem of Aoba Ward

The emblem of Aoba Ward was officially announced on November 6, 1996, to commemorate the birth of Aoba Ward. The emblem was chosen from a number of designs submitted by residents. The trees and different shapes inside the green oval spell "AOBA." The hill symbolizes the geographic location of Aoba Ward. This emblem signifies the warmth that the nature gives to human being

Economy

Aoba Ward is largely a regional commercial center and

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for central Yokohama, Kawasaki and Tokyo. The major commercial centres are around the and stations. The far-northern end of Aoba and the valley area retained some residual agriculture into the 1990s, when real-estate developers converted much of the farmlands and orchards into subdivisions and condominiums.

Transportation

Railways

Tokyu Corporation The is a Japanese multinational ''keiretsu'' ( conglomerate) holding company headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. Its main operation is , a wholly owned subsidiary operating railways in the Greater Tokyo Area. History The oldest predecessor ...

** - - - - - - *

Yokohama Minatomirai Railway The is a third-sector railway company funded by the city of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Tokyu Corporation. The company oversees the Minatomirai Line The Minatomirai 21 Line (みなとみらい21線 ''Minato-mirai-21-sen''), commonly ...

Yokohama Minatomirai Railway Kodomonokuni Line The is a railway line in Kanagawa Prefecture owned by the Yokohama Minatomirai Railway Company and operated by Tokyu Corporation. History The line opened in April 1967, at the same time as its 'parent' station, Nagatsuta. It is a single trac ...

** - *

Yokohama City Transportation Bureau The Yokohama City Transportation Bureau, legally the is the local government administrative agency in charge of public transport services in the city of Yokohama, Japan. Subway operations The Yokohama Municipal Subway consists of the following ...

- Blue Line **

Highways

* * Yokohama Northwest Route *

Prefecture roads

*Kanagawa Prefecture Road 12 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 13 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 102 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 139 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 140

Education

Tertiary education: *

Toin University of Yokohama is a private university in Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and thi ...

Nippon Sport Science University , abbreviated as , is a private university in Setagaya, Tokyo and Aoba-ku, Yokohama. The precursor of the school was founded in 1893, and it was chartered as a university in 1949. The school is known for the many famous athletes among its alumni. ...

Caritas Junior College is a private Roman Catholic women's junior college in Yokohama, Kanagawa is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefe ...

* Yokohama College of Art and Design operates public elementary and junior high schools.

Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education The is the board of education for Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. The board consists of six members; one of them is elected as the chair, and one of them is appointed by the board as the superintendent. The board administers municipal education and ...

operates prefectural high schools. * * * Public junior high schools: * Akanedai ( あかね台) * Aobadai ( 青葉台) * Azamino ( あざみ野) * Ichigao (市ケ尾) * Kamoshida ( 鴨志田) * Midorigaoka ( 緑が丘) * Mitakedai ( みたけ台) * Moegino ( もえぎ野) * Nara ( 奈良) * Susukino ( すすき野) * Utsukushigaoka ( 美しが丘) * Yamauchi ( 山内) * Yamoto ( 谷本) Public elementary schools:
From this link
/ref> * Aobadai (青葉台) * Azamino Daiichi (No. 1) ( あざみ野第一) * Azamino Daini (No. 2) (あざみ野第二) * Edanishi (West) ( 荏田西) * Ekoda ( 荏子田) * Enokigaoka (榎が丘) * Fujigaoka ( 藤が丘) * Ichigao (市ケ尾) * Kamoshida Daiichi (鴨志田第一) * Kamoshida Midori ( 鴨志田緑) * Katsura (桂) * Kenzan ( 嶮山) * Kurogane ( 鉄) * Kurosuda ( 黒須田) * Mitakedai ( みたけ台) * Motoishikawa (元石川) * Nara ( 奈良) * Onda (恩田) * Satsukigaoka (さつきが丘) * Shinishikawa ( 新石川) * Tana ( 田奈) * Tsutsujigaoka ( つつじが丘) * Utsukushigaoka ( 美しが丘) * Utsukushigaoka Higashi (East) ( 美しが丘東) * Utsukushigaoka Nishi ( 美しが丘西) * Yamauchi ( 山内) * Yamoto (谷本) Eda Elementary School ( 荏田小学校) and Nakagawa Nishi Elementary School (中川西小学校), outside of Aoba-ku, include portions of Aoba-ku in their attendance zones.

Local attractions

* Kodomonokuni Theme Park

Noted people from Aoba Ward

Tomoya Nagase is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and model. He was a member of Tokio, a Johnny & Associates musical group. He was the primary vocalist, in addition to playing the guitar alongside Tokio's leader, Shigeru Joshima. Career As an artis ...

, singer, actor * Hiroshi Nakada, politician *

Emi Wakui is a Japanese actress. She has won three Japanese Academy Awards: the 1994 Best Actress award for her performance in ''Rainbow Bridge (Niji no Hashi)'', and the 1992 awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Newcomer for her performance as Sei ...

, actress

References

* Kato, Yuzo. ''Yokohama Past and Present''. Yokohama City University (1990).

External links

Aoba Ward Office
* {{Authority control Wards of Yokohama