260px, Inokashira Park in Mitaka 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 ...

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 largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 190,403, and a population density of 12,000 persons per km². The total area of the city was .

Geography

Mitaka is located on the

Kantō Plain The is the largest plain in Japan, and is located in the Kantō region of central Honshū. The total area of 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, ...

, just outside the 23

special wards of Tokyo are a special form of municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparable to other forms of municipalities. Although the autono ...

Metropolis, which are on its eastern borders. The

Tamagawa Aqueduct is a 43 km long Japanese aqueduct located in Tokyo. It was constructed by the Tokugawa shogunate to supply drinking and fire-fighting water from the Tama river to Edo, providing irrigation water around farm villages. The aqueduct was made fol ...

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

, which runs alongside Mitaka station, has an important place in history, built in 1653 to feed the local

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

. It is also the place where novelist

Osamu Dazai was a Japanese author. A number of his most popular works, such as ''The Setting Sun'' (''Shayō'') and ''No Longer Human'' (''Ningen Shikkaku''), are considered modern-day classics. His influences include Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Murasaki Shiki ...

died by suicide in 1948. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan is located in Mitaka.

Surrounding municipalities

* Setagaya * Suginami *

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 ...

* Musashino *

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 ...

Climate

Mitaka 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 Mitaka is 14.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1647 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.1 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Musashino increased rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1994 there were 2,585 foreign residents in Mitaka, including 726 from North and South Korea, 713 from China, 441 from the United States, 114 from the Philippines, and 108 from the United Kingdom. Of all municipalities in Japan, Mitaka had the highest proportion of Chinese returnees.

History

The area of present-day Mitaka was 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 ...

. 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 22 July 1878, the area became part of Kitatama District in

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 village of Mitaka was created on 1 April 1889 with the establishment of modern municipalities law. Kitatama District was transferred to the administrative control of Tokyo Metropolis on 1 April 1893. Mitaka was raised to town status in 1940. In 1949, the

Mitaka incident The was an incident that took place in Tokyo, Japan on July 15, 1949, when an unmanned 63 series train with its operating handle tied down drove into Mitaka Station on the Chūō Line, killing six people and injuring 20. The incident remains a m ...

, one of a series of unexplained fatal train accidents around the same period of time, occurred at Mitaka Station.The Three Big Rail Mysteries that Defined Japan’s Summer of 1949
/ref> Mitaka City was officially founded on 3 November 1950. A motion to merge with neighboring Musashino City failed in 1955 by only a single vote in the Mitaka city assembly.

Government

Mitaka 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 28 members. Mitaka contributes two members to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Tokyo 22nd 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

Mitaka is primarily 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 Tokyo. A number of animation studios, including

Pierrot Pierrot ( , , ) is a stock character of pantomime and '' commedia dell'arte'', whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a diminutive of ''Pi ...

and

Telecom Animation Film is a Japanese animation studio founded on May 19, 1975 and currently affiliated with TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the , also known as or , is a Japanese animation studio established on October 22, 1946. TMS is one of the oldest a ...

have their corporate headquarters in Mitaka. A short-lived video game manufacturer

TAD Corporation was a Japanese manufacturer of video arcade games that was founded and headquartered in Mitaka-shi, Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by former employees of the company Data East and was named after its founder and owner name Tadashi "TAD" Yokoyama. ...

was founded and headquartered in the same location.Latest Status Info
/ref>
/ref> ttps://uspto.report/TM/74117580 74117580 – Trademarks411, Trademark Search Made Simple/ref>

Subaru Tecnica International Subaru Tecnica International (in ja, スバルテクニカインターナショナル株式会社, Subaru Tekunika Intānashonaru Kabushiki-gaisha), or STI (prior to 2006, STi), is Subaru Corporation's motorsports division. STI, along with Prodri ...

has its headquarters in Mitaka.

Education

Colleges and universities

Graduate University for Advanced Studies is one of the national universities of Japan, headquartered in Shonan Village (湘南国際村) in the town of Hayama in Kanagawa Prefecture. , as it is generally called in its abbreviated form, was established in 1988, with Dr. Saburo Nagakur ...

– Department of Astronomical Science, School of Physical Sciences *

International Christian University is a non-denominational private university located in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, commonly known as ICU. With the efforts of Prince Takamatsu, General Douglas MacArthur, and BOJ President Hisato Ichimada, ICU was established in 1949 as the first l ...

– Japan's oldest and largest American-style university, founded on 15 June 1949. *

Japan Lutheran College is a private university in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded 1909 in Kumamoto, Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population ...

Kyorin University is a private university in the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Its three campuses are in Mitaka and Hachiōji, Tokyo. It was established in 1970. The predecessor of the school, Mitaka Shinkawa Hospital, was founded in 1953 by Shinyu Matsuda. Histo ...

– School of Medicine, Kyorin University Hospital and Nursing School *

Tokyo Union Theological Seminary is a private university in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1930, and it was chartered as a university in 1949. Tokyo Union Theological Seminary is a Seminary of the United Church of Christ in Japan The Unite ...

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

– the Institute of Astronomy, Faculty of Science; Mitaka International Hall of Residence * Kokugakuin Tochigi Junior College

Primary and secondary schools

*Mikata city operates 15 public elementary schools and seven public middle schools. There is also one private elementary school and three private middle schools. * (東京都立三鷹中等教育学校) is 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 Wester ...

. There are also four private high schools, including part of the campus of the International Christian University High School. Private primary and secondary schools: *Taisei High School *Kokugakuin Kugayama Junior High/High School *Hosei University Junior and Senior High School ( 法政大学中学高等学校) * Musashi International School, formerly Little Angels International School
" Formerly

Little Angels International School Musashi International School Tokyo (MIST), formerly Little Angels International School and Academy (LAIS リトルエンジェルス・インターナショナルスクール; formerly リトルエンジェルス学園 ''Ritoru Enjerusu Gakuen''), ...

. Retrieved on 28 June 2022. "Musashi International School (Mitaka Campus) ..9-7-14,Shimorenjaku, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo 181-0013, Japan." �
Japanese address
（三鷹校） ..〒181-0013 東京三鷹市下連雀9-7-14" Public junior high schools: * No. 1 Junior High School ( 第一中学校) * No. 2 Junior High School ( 第二中学校) * No. 3 Junior High School (第三中学校) * No. 4 Junior High School (第四中学校) * No. 5 Junior High School (第五中学校) * No. 6 Junior High School ( 第六中学校) * No. 7 Junior High School (第七中学校) Public elementary schools: * No. 1 ( 第一小学校) * No. 2 (第二小学校) * No. 3 (第三小学校) * No. 4 ( 第四小学校) * No. 5 (第五小学校) * No. 6 (第六小学校) * No. 7 (第七小学校) * Hanesawa (羽沢小学校) * Higashidai (東台小学校) * Iguchi (井口小学校) * Kitano ( 北野小学校) * Minamiura (南浦小学校) * Nakahara ( 中原小学校) * Osawadai (大沢台小学校) * Takayama ( 高山小学校)

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 ...

– Chuo Main Line * 40px

Keio Corporation () is a private railway operator in Tokyo, Japan, and the central firm of the that is involved in transport, retail, real estate and other industries. The name is derived from taking one character each from the places through which the railw ...

Keio Inokashira Line The is a railway line operated by the Japanese private railway operator Keio Corporation in the western suburbs of Tokyo, connecting in Tokyo with in Musashino City. It is not physically connected to the Keio Main Line Network, but a transf ...

* –

Highway

Chūō Expressway The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by NEXCO Central. Naming Officially the expressway is designated as the Chūō Expressway Nishinomiya Route (from Takaido Interchange to Komaki Junction), the Chūō Expressway Na ...

Local attractions

Ghibli Museum The is a museum showcasing the work of the Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. It is located in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western city of Tokyo, Japan. The museum combines features of a children's museum, technology museum, and a fine a ...

* Inokashira Park *

Nogawa Park is a public park in Nomizu, Chōfu, Tokyo. It is located at the intersection of Chofu with Koganei and Mitaka, and parts of the park extend to those cities as well. History The land for the park was purchased from International Christian Unive ...

*Yuzo Yamamoto Memorial Museum

Notable people from Mitaka

Ryo Kimura is a Japanese actor who debuted in 2002. His first movie was '' Moonlight Jellyfish'', in which he co-starred with Tatsuya Fujiwara. He played the role of Michio, a mentally challenged 15-year-old boy diagnosed with an incurable skin disease cal ...

, actor *

Yūko Tsushima Satoko Tsushima (30 March 1947 – 18 February 2016), known by her pen name Yūko Tsushima (津島佑子 ''Tsushima Yūko''), was a Japanese fiction writer, essayist and critic. Tsushima won many of Japan's top literary prizes in her career, i ...

, author,

fiction writer Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

, essayist and critic *

Satoshi Ohno is a Japanese idol, singer, actor, radio host, artist, dancer, and choreographer. He is the lead vocalist and leader of the boy band Arashi, hence his nickname . Ohno began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese t ...

, singer, actor, and member of

Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, 1999 ...

Eiji Wentz is a Japanese singer, entertainer, actor and a member of the singer-songwriter duo WaT and belongs to the production company Burning Productions. Early career Born in Mitaka, Tokyo to a Japanese mother and a German American father, Wentz be ...

, singer, actor, entertainer, and member of the singer-songwriter duo

WaT A wat ( km, វត្ត, ; lo, ວັດ, ; th, วัด, ; khb, 「ᩅᨯ᩠ᨰ」(waD+Dha); nod, 「ᩅ᩠ᨯ᩶」（w+Da2)) is a type of Buddhist temple and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Provi ...

Tsubasa Honda is a Japanese actress and model. Career In mid-2006, Honda entered the entertainment industry after being scouted by seven different people on the same day. She then debuted as an exclusive model for the magazine '' Seventeen'' in the same year. ...

, actress, model *

Hiroki Azuma (born May 9, 1971) is a Japanese cultural critic, novelist, and philosopher. He is the co-founder and former director of Genron, an independent institute in Tokyo, Japan. Biography Azuma was born in Mitaka, Tokyo. Azuma received his PhD in ...

cultural critic A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole. Cultural criticism has significant overlap with social and cultural theory. While such criticism is simply part of the self-consciousness of the culture, the social positions of ...

, novelist, and philosopher *

Yoshikazu Tanaka is a Japanese entrepreneur known for founding and developing the social networking service Gree, provided by Gree, Inc. Yoshikazu Tanaka was born in Mitaka, Tokyo in 1977. When Tanaka was a junior high school student, Tanaka became keenly ...

, businessman, founder of

GREE, Inc. is a Japanese Internet media company with headquarters in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi, Tokyo. It has been operating the social network service GREE since its establishment in December 2004. History * Feb. 2004 Release of GREE al ...

Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese-American retired professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26 year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of nWo Japan, Team 2000 and Black New Japan, he was the promotion's top heel for ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

(originally from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington)

References

External links

Mitaka City Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Tokyo Western Tokyo Populated places established in 1950