was a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

located in the Japanese Prefecture of

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

from 1878 to 1893 and then in the Prefecture of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

until 1970. In 1878, the Meiji government made the first step to introduce modern administrative divisions on the municipal level: The districts (''gun'') were created from the pre-modern districts (''gun'' or ''kōri'') with their towns and villages. The old Tama District of

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 ...

was divided into four parts: Eastern Tama ( Higashitama) became part of Tokyo Prefecture and the three other districts of Northern Tama (Kitatama), Southern Tama ( Minamitama) and Western Tama ( Nishitama) part of Kanagawa Prefecture. In 1889 when the modern cities, towns and villages were incorporated, the communities of Northern Tama were organized into 39 municipalities: the town (initially ''-eki'', became ''machi'' in 1893) of Fuchū where the district government was set up, the towns of

Chōfu is a city in the western side of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 238,087, and a population density of 11,000 per km². the total area of the city is . Geography Chōfu is approximately in the south-center of ...

and

Tanashi was a Cities of Japan, city located in the western portion of Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Tanashi means the land without rice. Because of the area's elevation relative to the Tamagawa River, traditional irrigation and rice farming was imposs ...

and 37 villages. Four years later, in 1893, the three Western Tama districts were transferred from Kanagawa to Tokyo. In the 1920s the district government was, like all in the country, dissolved and Kitatama District became mostly a geographical name though it is still used for certain administrative purposes – for example, four electoral districts for the prefectural parliament still bear the name ''Kitatama'' and follow the former district borders. In the 1930s and 1940s many villages in the district were elevated to towns, and beginning in 1936 when Kinuta and Chitose (in the present-day special ward of

Setagaya is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. The ward calls itself Setagaya City in English. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orch ...

) were integrated into

city the district started to lose territory. In 1940,

Tachikawa file:Autumn colors in Showa memorial park.jpg, 250px, Showa Memorial Park is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 184,383 in 93,428 households, and a populat ...

became a city and after World War II, large parts of the district followed when the cities of Musashino, Mitaka, Chōfu,

Koganei is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 123,698 in 61,832 households. The total area of the city is so the population density is about 11,000 persons per km². Geography Koganei appro ...

, Fuchū, Kokubunji,

Akishima is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 113,542, and a population density of 6500 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Akishima is loc ...

Kodaira is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 195,207 in 93,654 households, and a population density of 9500 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Kodaira ...

and

Higashimurayama is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 148,275, and a population density of 8700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Higashimurayama ...

were created. By 1967, Kitatama District only consisted of five towns and it ceased to exist in 1970 when the remaining area was consolidated into the cities of

Komae is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It is one of 30 municipalities in the western portion of Tokyo known as the Tama Area. , the city had an estimated population of 83,218, and a population density of 13,000 per ...

Kiyose is a city located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 74,972 in 36,376 households, and a population density of 7300 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Kiyose City is roughly in the sha ...

Higashikurume is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,020, and a population density of 9100 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Higashikurume is in the nort ...

and

Musashimurayama is a city located in the western side of Tokyo, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 72,021 in 32,234 households, and a population density of 4,700 people per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Musashimurayama is located ...

External links

Historical administrative divisions: Tokyo/Kanagawa/Musashi, Kitatama District
{{authority control History of Tokyo Geography of Tokyo Districts in Kanagawa Prefecture