is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in the western portion of

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

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 ...

. , the city 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 54,622, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 5500 persons per km². The total area of the city was .

Geography

Hamura is approximately in the west-center of Tokyo Metropolis, on the

Musashino Terrace The , also translated as Musashino Platform and also named as Musashino Region, is a large tableland (known as a fluvial terrace) in the Kantō region of Honshu, Japan. The Musashino Plateau is a plateau that extends between the Arakawa and Tama R ...

. It flanks the

Tama River The is a major river in Yamanashi, Kanagawa and Tokyo Prefectures on Honshū, Japan. It is officially classified as a Class 1 river by the Japanese government. Its total length is , and the total of the river's basin area spans . The river ...

about upriver from the mouth. Hamura is composed of the following neighborhoods: Fujimidaira, Futabacho, Gonokami, Hane, Hanehigashi, Kawasaki, Midorigaoka, Ozakudai, Shinmeidai, Tamagawa, Yokotakichinai.

Surrounding municipalities

* Ōme *

Akiruno 260px, Akigawa River in the autumn is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,177, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geograph ...

Fussa is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 56,786, and a population density of 5600 persons per km². The total area of the city is . About one third of the city area is occup ...

Mizuho Mizuho () literally means "abundant rice" in Japanese and "harvest" in the figurative sense. It was also an ancient name of Japan. It might refer to: Places * Mizuho, Gifu, a city in Gifu * Mizuho, Tokyo, a town in Tokyo * Mizuho Plateau in A ...

Climate

Hamura has a

Humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hamura is 13.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1998 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 1.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Hamura increased rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s, but has remained relatively constant for the past 40 years.

History

The area of present-day Hamura has been inhabited since

Japanese Paleolithic The is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC; although any date of human presence before 35,000 BC ...

times, and numerous remains from the Jōmon,

Yayoi The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

and

Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century CE.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞典』� ...

periods have been discovered. During the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

, it became part of ancient

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 ...

. The Tamagawa Josui, an artificial waterway completed in 1653 to divert water from the Tama River and carry it as drinking water to Edo, begins in what is now part of Hamura. In the post-

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 ...

cadastral reform of April 1, 1889, several hamlets (one of which was named Hane-mura) merged to form Nishitama Village in Nishitama District, at that time part of

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 ...

. The entire district was transferred to the control of Tokyo Prefecture on April 1, 1893. In 1956, Nishitama Village became the town of Hamura. On November 1, 1991, Hamura was elevated to city status.

Government

Hamura has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

city council of 18 members. Hamura, collectively with Fussa, Akiruno, Mizuho, Hinode, Hinohara, and Okutama contributes two members to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Tokyo 25th district of the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

Economy

Hamura is primary a regional commercial center, and a

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 Tokyo and neighbouring Ōme. Several electronic companies have light industrial or

logistical Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

facilities in Hamura.

Hino Motors Hino Motors, Ltd., commonly known as Hino, is a Japanese manufacturer of commercial vehicles and diesel engines (including those for trucks, buses and other vehicles) headquartered in Hino, Tokyo. The company was established in 1942 as a corpora ...

and

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

have a plant and test track in the city.

Education

Hamura has seven public elementary schools and three public middle schools operated by the city government. The city has one high school operated by the

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education (東京都教育委員会 ''Tōkyō-to Kyōiku Iinkai'') is the board of education in Tokyo, Japan. The board directly manages all of the public high schools in all 23 special wards, the Western T ...

. There is also one special education school for the handicapped. Public junior high schools: * Hamura No. 1 (羽村第一中学校) * Hamura No. 2 (羽村第二中学校) * Hamura No. 3 (羽村第三中学校) Public elementary schools: * Fujimi (富士見小学校) * Hamura Higashi (羽村東小学校) * Hamura Nishi (羽村西小学校) * Musashino (武蔵野小学校) * Ozakudai (小作台小学校) * Sakae (栄小学校) * Shorin ( 松林小学校) The United States

Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on behal ...

(DoDEA) operates the following schools on

Yokota Air Base , is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and United States Air Force (USAF) base in the Tama Area, or Western Tokyo. It occupies portions of Akishima, Fussa, Hamura, Mizuho, Musashimurayama, and Tachikawa. The base houses 14,000 personnel ...

and in the municipality of Hamura for children of United States military personnel: * Yokota West Elementary School For secondary levels, U.S. military-dependent children are directed to Yokota Middle School and

Yokota High School Yokota High School (YHS) is a high school located on Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is part of the Department of Defense Education Activity. It is in the Yokota AFB South area, and in the municipality of Fussa. History Yokota High School started ...

, both on base, but in

instead of Hamura.

Transportation

Railway

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

–

Ōme Line The is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in western Tokyo, Japan. It links Tachikawa and the Chūō Line with the town of Okutama. Many Chūō Line trains operate via the Ōme Line to Ōme Station, providing non-s ...

* -

Highway

Local attractions

*Hamura Diversion Weir *Aso Shrine *Hamura Zoo

Notable people from Hamura

Shinji Jojo is a former Japanese football player. Club career Jojo was born in Hamura on August 28, 1977. After graduating from high school, he joined the Urawa Reds in 1996. In 1997, he played several matches as left side midfielder and left side back. ...

, professional soccer player * Yuzo Kobayashi, professional soccer player *

Shizuka Kudo , known by her maiden name , is a Japanese singer, actress and former idol, born in Hamura, Tokyo, Japan. She was a member of Onyanko Club between May 1986 and September 1987 and went on to have a successful solo career with 11 number-one hits. ...

, actress, singer *

Hiroomi Tosaka is a Japanese singer and actor. He is a vocalist of the J-pop group, Sandaime J Soul Brothers He joined the group after winning the ''Vocal Battle Audition 2'' alongside Ryuji Imaichi. As a member of Sandaime J Soul Brothers, he has received the ...

, singer and actor

References

External links

Hamura City Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Tokyo Western Tokyo