Street blossoming cherry trees Yakushidai

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

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 n ...

. , 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 usi ...

of 428,851, 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 RosenberPopu ...

of 6,000 persons per km². The total area of the city was .

Geography

Machida is located in the

Tama Hills is an area of hills stretching across southwest Tokyo and northeast Kanagawa Prefecture in the Kantō Plain on Honshū, Japan. Its total area is approximately 300 km2. The Tama River marks its northeastern boundary. The Tama Hills border the ...

of southern Tokyo Metropolis, bordered by Kanagawa Prefecture on the west, south, and east approximately 40 to 50 kilometers from the center of Tokyo. The highest point is Mount Kusato (elevation 364 meters) at the western end. There are few flatlands near Machida Station, the Sakai River flows to the west and south, and the Tsurumi River flows almost in the center of the city.

Surrounding municipalities

* Tama * Hachioji

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. Kanag ...

* Kawasaki *

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 T ...

Sagamihara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 723,470, with 334,812 households, and a population density of 1,220 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Sagamihara is the third-most-populous city ...

* Yamato

Climate

Machida 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 Machida is 14.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1621 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.3 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.8 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Machida increased rapidly from the 1960s.

History

The area of present-day Machida 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, ...

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

. The village of Machida was created on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of modern municipalities system. Minamitama District was transferred to the administrative control of Tokyo Metropolis on April 1, 1893. Tama was elevated to town status on April 1, 1913. The town was bombed by American forces on May 24, 1945 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Machida expanded through annexation of the neighboring village of Minami on April 1, 1954, followed by the villages of Tsurukawa, Tadao and Sakai on February 1, 1958 to become the city of Machida. A

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

RF-8A crashed in a residential area Machida on April 1, 1964, killing four people. From 1973, the Tama New Town development resulted in a rapid increase in population, turning the city into 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 and Yokohama.

Government

Machida 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 multi ...

city council of 36 members, whose members are elected for a four-year term. Machida contributes four members to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Tokyo 23rd 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 paral ...

Mayors

# Tokichiro Aoyama (1958–1970, 3 terms) # Katsumasa Oshita (1970–1990, 5 terms) # Kazuo Terada (1990–2006, 4 terms) # Joichi Ishizaka (2006–present, 4th term incumbent)

Education

Universities and colleges

* J. F. Oberlin University *

Kokushikan University is a private university in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. Combined teams of the Graduate School of Engineering and the Department of Science and Engineering competed against 130 team and came in 11th place in the 27th Formula SAE in 2007. This is the ...

Showa Pharmaceutical University is a private university at Machida, Tokyo, 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, w ...

Tamagawa University is a Japanese university in Machida, Tokyo, Japan. The university consists of 16 departments in seven faculties (undergraduate), as well as seven programs leading to a master's degree and four programs leading to a doctorate degree. Part of the ...

* Tokyo Kasei-Gakuin University *

Tokyo Jogakkan College was a private women's college in Machida, Tokyo, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1888, and it was chartered as a junior college in 1956. In 1995 TJKC entered into an agreement with The School for International Training to c ...

Hosei University is a private university based in Tokyo, Japan. The university originated in a school of law, Tōkyō Hōgakusha (, i.e. Tokyo association of law), established in 1880, and the following year renamed Tōkyō Hōgakkō (, i.e. Tokyo school of la ...

- Machida campus * Wako University *

Tsurukawa Women's Junior College is a private junior college in Machida, Tokyo, 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 Ja ...

Primary and secondary education

Machida has seven public high schools 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 ...

, including: *

Machida High School Machida may refer to * Machida (surname) * Machida, Tokyo, a city in Japan * Machida High School, high school in Machida * Machida Station (disambiguation), multiple train stations in Japan {{disambiguation, geo ...

* * * * * * The Machida city government operates 20 public junior high schools and 42 elementary schools. Combined municipal elementary and junior high schools: * Yukinoki Gakuen (ゆくのき学園) - For elementary, it occupies Oto Elementary (大戸小学校). For junior high, it occupies Musashigaoka Junior High School (武蔵岡中学校) Municipal junior high schools: * Kanai ( 金井中学校) * Kiso (木曽中学校) * Machida No. 1 (町田第一中学校) * Machida No. 2 (町田第二中学校) * Machida No. 3 ( 町田第三中学校) * Minami ( 南中学校) * Minaminaruse ( 南成瀬中学校) * Minamiotani (南大谷中学校) * Narusedai ( 成瀬台中学校) * Oyama ( 小山中学校) * Oyamada (小山田中学校) * Sakai ( 堺中学校) * Shinkoji (真光寺中学校) * Tadao (忠生中学校) * Tsukushino ( つくし野中学校) * Tsurukawa (鶴川中学校) * Tsurukawa No. 2 ( 鶴川第二中学校) * Yakushi (薬師中学校) * Yamasaki (山崎中学校) Municipal elementary schools: * Aihara (相原小学校) * Fujinodai (藤の台小学校) * Honmachida ( 本町田小学校) * Honmachida Higashi (本町田東小学校) * Kanai (金井小学校) * Kiso Sakaigawa (木曽境川小学校) * Machida No. 1 (町田第一小学校) * Machida No. 2 (町田第二小学校) * Machida No. 3 (町田第三小学校) * Machida No. 4 (町田第四小学校) * Machida No. 5 (町田第五小学校) * Machida No. 6 ( 町田第六小学校) * Minami No. 1 (南第一小学校) * Minami No. 2 ( 南第二小学校) * Minami No. 3 ( 南第三小学校) * Minami No. 4 ( 南第四小学校) * Minaminaruse (南成瀬小学校) * Minamioya (南大谷小学校) * Minami Tsukushino ( 南つくし野小学校) * Miwa (三輪小学校) * Nanakuniyama (七国山小学校) * Naruse Chuo ( 成瀬中央小学校) * Narusedai ( 成瀬台小学校) * Ogawa (小川小学校) * Okura (大蔵小学校) * Oyama ( 小山小学校) * Oyama Chuo (小山中央小学校) * Oyamada (小山田小学校) * Oyamada Minami (小山田南小学校) * Oyama Gaoka (小山ヶ丘小学校) * Tadao (忠生小学校) * Tadao No. 3 (忠生第三小学校) * Takagasaka (高ヶ坂小学校) * Tsukushino (つくし野小学校) * Tsurukawa No. 1 (鶴川第一小学校) * Tsurukawa No. 2 ( 鶴川第二小学校) * Tsurukawa No. 3 ( 鶴川第三小学校) * Tsurukawa No. 4 ( 鶴川第四小学校) * Tsuruma (鶴間小学校) * Yamazaki (山崎小学校) * Zushi (図師小学校) The city also operates one special education school for the handicapped. There are also seven private high schools, including: * Tamagawa Gakuen * Third Junior & Senior High School of Nihon University There are also five private junior high schools and three private elementary schools. ;International schools * - North Korean schoolウリハッキョ一覧

Archive
.

Chongryon The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan,
" ''

. Retrieved on October 14, 2015.

Transportation

Railway

60px 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second smal ...

Odakyu Electric Railway , commonly known as Odakyū, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for its '' Romancecar'' series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone. The Odakyu Electric Railway Compa ...

Odakyu Odawara Line , commonly known as Odakyū, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for its '' Romancecar'' series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone. The Odakyu Electric Railway Company ...

* - - 30px

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 ...

- Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line * - - JR logo (east)

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 ar ...

- Yokohama Line * - <'' - - - - ''> - - 40px Keio Corporation -

Keiō Sagamihara Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway operator Keio Corporation, connecting Hashimoto Station in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture and Chōfu Station in Chōfu, Tokyo. Station list Rapid and Semi express services st ...

Highway

Tōmei Expressway The is a national expressway on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. The expressway is designated as E1 under the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering", because it parallels N ...

* *

Notable people from Machida

Ami Onuki is a Japanese singer and a member of J-pop group PUFFY, along with Yumi Yoshimura. Career She has co-hosted several Japanese TV shows with the "cool" half of PUFFY, Yumi Yoshimura, including the talk show '' Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Puffy'', part of a morn ...

, half of the J-pop group Puffy * Taiten Kusunoki, voice actor *

Megumi Toyoguchi is a Japanese voice actress affiliated by 81 Produce. Some of her starring roles are Yao Sakurakouji in '' Miami Guns'', Ran Kotobuki in '' Super Gals!'', Winry Rockbell in '' Fullmetal Alchemist'' (first anime), Sei Sato in '' Maria-sama ga ...

, voice actress *

Satoshi Tajiri is a Japanese video game designer and director best known for being the creator of the ''Pokémon'' franchise and one of the founders, and president of video game developer Game Freak. A fan of arcade games, Tajiri wrote for and edited his o ...

, creator of ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of what each of thos ...

''; based Pallet Town on this town in the original ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue'' *

Masashi Takeda is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, primarily working for Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Deathmatch division. Takeda also competes as a freelancer for Freedoms and occasionally, All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). E ...

, Japanese professional wrestler and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

Local attractions

* Buaisō museum, former residence of the Shirasu family * Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts * Machida Squirrel Garden * Tadao Park * Grandberry Park (Grandberry Mall closed in Feb 2017,redeveloped and re-opened in November 2019)

Sports

* F.C. Machida Zelvia, a football club based in Machida * Pescadola Machida, a

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

club based in Machida

References

External links

* *
Machida City Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Tokyo Western Tokyo