is a district of

Minato, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also called Minato City in English. It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Akasaka, Azabu and Shiba wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Minato ward exhibits th ...

, Japan. Currently it consists of six ''

chōme The Japanese addressing system is used to identify a specific location in Japan. When written in Japanese characters, addresses start with the largest geographical entity and proceed to the most specific one. When written in Latin characters, ad ...

''. According to Minato, as of November 1, 2007, the population in the neighborhood is 14,840. The term ''Shirokane'' narrowly refers to Shirokane 1-chōme to Shirokane 6-chōme, but is sometimes used to include the larger neighborhood formerly known as , which encompasses part of Shirokanedai and Takanawa as well as Shirokane. This article deals with the place in the narrow definition.

Overview

Shirokane is located in the southwestern part of

and one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Japan. It is a quiet residential area that is abundant in undeveloped green space. This area is known for having the most expensive real estate fees for living in Japan. Shirokane borders the neighborhoods of

Minami-Azabu is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Literally meaning "Southern Azabu", Minami-Azabu was named so because it was situated in the southern portion of the former Azabu Ward. The area's postal code is 106–0047. Tokyo Metropolitan Library, Tok ...

Shirokanedai is a highly affluent district of Minato, Tokyo. The district today is made up of 5 ''chome''. As of November 1, 2007, the population of Shirokanedai is 10,001. The former neighborhood of Shirokanedai (Shirokanedaimachi, 白金台町) consisted o ...

Takanawa is a neighborhood in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Economy Sony operates the Takanawa Office in Takanawa. Education Minato City Board of Education operates public elementary and junior high schools. Tanakawa 1-chōme 6-27 ban and 2-4-chōme are ...

and Ebisu. The Prefectural Highway 305 (Ebisu-dori) divides Shirokane into odd-numbered (1, 3, 5-chōmes) and even-numbered (2, 4, 6-chōmes) subdistricts designated as industrial and high-rise residential areas, respectively. Small factories and shopping streets are developed along Furukawa river, and upon the southern hill a quiet residential area is developed with apartments and schools such as

Seishin Joshi Gakuin is a private school for girls in Shirokane, Minato, Tokyo. Founded in 1908, it serves grades 1–12, from elementary school through senior high school. It is a part of the Sacred Heart Schools network, affiliated with the University of the Sa ...

. The recent opening of a subway allowed the area centered at

Shirokane-Takanawa Station is a subway station in Takanawa 1-chōme, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, jointly operated by the two Tokyo subway operators, Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway. Lines * Tokyo Metro Namboku Line (N-03) * Toei Mita Line (I-03) Namboku Line and Mita Line shares ...

to undergo a large redevelopment. There are forest areas owned by academic institutions and private companies such as

and the Kitasato Institute. With the Institute for Nature Study and the Institute of Medical Science in

, these areas form one of the largest green districts in the special wards of Tokyo. This large green area dates back to daimyō's mansions which existed in

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 ...

; later, industrialists made their residences in this place, which gave rise to the well-known upper-class neighborhood.

Etymology

During the

Ōei was a after ''Meitoku'' and before ''Shōchō''. This period spanned the years from July 1394 through April 1428. Reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1394 : The new era name was created because of plague. The previous era ended and a ...

era (1394–1428), a government official of the

Southern Dynasty The Southern dynasties () describe a succession of Chinese empires that coexisted alongside a series of Northern dynasties. The era is generally described as the Northern and Southern dynasties, lasting from 420–589 AD after the Jin and before ...

who settled here became wealthy. His nickname was ''Shirokane Chōja'' (白金長者), which means "man who possesses much 'white gold' " (白金), a reference to

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

. Thus the name of this location is the "Silver District".

Education

Minato City Board of Education operates public elementary and junior high schools. Shirokane 1 and 3-6

and 2-chōme 1-5-ban are zoned to Shirogane-no-oka Gakuen ( 白金の丘学園) for elementary and junior high school. 2-chome 6-7 ban are zoned to Shirokane Elementary School ( 白金小学校) and Takamatsu Junior High School ( 高松中学校). Upper secondary schools: *

Meiji Gakuin Senior High School is a private senior high school in Shirokane, Minato, Tokyo. Affiliated with Meiji Gakuin University ( 学校法人明治学院), it originated from the Meiji Gakuin, which was established in 1887 and housed a five-year secondary education progra ...

Information
"

. Retrieved on May 10, 2016. "Address 1-2-37 Shirokanedai Minato-ku, Tokyo 〒108-0071 Japan" Colleges and universities: *

Meiji Gakuin University is a Christian university in Tokyo and Yokohama that was established in 1863. The Reverend Dr. James Curtis Hepburn was one of its founders and served as the first president. The novelist and poet Shimazaki Toson graduated from this colleg ...

(明治学院大学)

Places

Slopes

*Shokkō-zaka (蜀江坂) *Sanko-zaka (三光坂) *Meiji-zaka (明治坂)

Miscellaneous

Famous economist

Kazuhide Uekusa is a Japanese economist, economic analyst, former senior economist at Nomura Research Institute, and chairman of the Three-Nations Research Institute. He was arrested for sexual offenses in 2004 and 2006. Life and career He entered the Univer ...

lives in Shirokanedai with his family. Image:Queens Isetan 0005.jpg, The Queens ''Isetan'' Image:Kitasato Institute 23.jpg, Kitasato Institute Image:Shoko zaka.jpg, Shokkō-zaka Image:Meiji zaka 21.jpg, Meiji-zaka

References

{{Minato, Tokyo Districts of Minato, Tokyo