is one of the 18 wards of the city of

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. As of 2010, the ward 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 197,019 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematicall ...

of 15,550 persons per km². The total area was 12.67 km².

Geography

Minami Ward is located in eastern Kanagawa Prefecture, and south of the geographic center of the city of Yokohama. Large buildings and apartment complexes are built up along the area surrounding the highways and railways in the Ward; and all other parts of the Ward are residential areas. The Ōoka River is the major river in the Ward, and in spring many

cherry blossoms A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generall ...

come into full bloom on its banks. Gumyō-ji, located in the southern part of the ward, is the oldest Buddhist temple in Yokohama.

Surrounding municipalities

* Hodogaya Ward * Nishi Ward * Isogo Ward * Naka Ward * Totsuka Ward * Konan Ward

History

Part of the domains of the

Miura clan Miura may refer to: Places *Miura, Kanagawa *Miurakaigan Station * Miura District, Kanagawa * Miura Peninsula * Ganadería Miura, the home of the Miura fighting bull line People * Miura (surname) * Miura clan, Japanese descended clan of the Ta ...

during and after the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle b ...

, the area of present-day Minami Ward was part of the ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia' ...

'' territory in

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, ...

controlled directly by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

, but administered through various ''

hatamoto A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as '' gokenin.'' Howev ...

''. During the

Bakumatsu period was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji governm ...

, the area was the site of the 1863 Idogaya Incident in which anti-foreign ''

rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master' ...

'' assassinated a soldier of the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

mission in Yokohama, precipitating a diplomatic incident. After the

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 ...

, the area was transferred to the new Kuraki District of

, and divided into numerous villages. The area was absorbed into the growing city of Yokohama in four phases: 1895, 1901, 1905 and 1927. On October 1, 1927, what is now Minami Ward became part of Naka Ward within Yokohama. On December 1, 1943, Naka Ward was divided into present-day Naka Ward and Minami Ward. In a major administrative reorganization of October 1, 1969, Minami Ward was further divided into the present-day Minami Ward and Kōnan Ward. Koganecho, an area known since World War II for black marketing and brothels, was located along the

Ōoka River is a river that flows through Yokohama, 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 ...

in the ward. In preparation for Yokohama's 2009 150th anniversary celebrations of opening up as a port, police chased away the prostitutes from the area starting in 2005. Since then, the area has undergone redevelopment.

Economy

Minami Ward is largely a regional commercial center and

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 Yokohama and Tokyo due to its extensive commuter train infrastructure.

Transportation

Railroads

Keihin Electric Express Railway (), also known as or, more recently, , is a private railroad that connects inner Tokyo to Kawasaki, Yokohama, Yokosuka and other points on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture. It also provides rail access to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. ...

Keikyū Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keikyu. The line connects the Tokyo wards of Minato, Shinagawa, Ōta, and the Kanagawa municipalities of Kawasaki, Yokohama and Yokosuka. The Keikyu Main Line began as ...

** – - – * Yokohama City Transportation Bureau – Blue Line ** – – –

Highways

*Shuto Expressway Kanagawa No. 3 *Yokohama Yokosuka Road * Route 16

Prefecture roads

*Kanagawa Prefecture Road 21 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 218

Education

Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education The is the board of education for Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. The board consists of six members; one of them is elected as the chair, and one of them is appointed by the board as the superintendent. The board administers municipal education and ...

operates prefectural high schools: * * operates municipal high schools: * * Private schools: * Aoyama Gakuin Yokohama Eiwa High School (formerly Yokohama Eiwa Girls' School) * The municipal board of education operates public elementary and junior high schools. Municipal junior high schools: * Fujinoki (藤の木) * Heiraku (平楽) * Kyoshin (共進) * Maita (蒔田) * Minami (南) * Minamigaoka (南が丘) * Mutsukawa (六ツ川) * Nagata (永田) Municipal elementary schools:
From this link
/ref> * Bessho (別所) * Fujinoki (藤の木) * Hie (日枝) * Idogaya (井土ケ谷) * Ishikawa ( 石川) * Maita (蒔田) * Minami (南) * Minami Ota (南太田) * Minami Yoshida ( 南吉田) * Mutsukawa (六つ川) * Mutsukawadai (六つ川台) * Mutsukawa Nishi (六つ川西) * Nagata (永田) * Nagatadai (永田台) * Nakamura ( 中村) * Ooka (大岡) * Ota (太田) Fujimidai Elementary School ( 富士見台小学校), Sakuraoka Elementary School (桜岡小学校), Setogaya Elementary School (瀬戸ケ谷小学校), and Takigashira Elementary School (滝頭小学校), which have their campuses outside of Minami-ku, have zones that includes portions of Minami-ku.

Local attractions

* Gumyōji temple * Yokohama Municipal Children's Botanical Garden * (in )

Noted people from Minami Ward

* Yuki Saito, actress *

Erika Umeda is a Japanese singer and former model. She was a member of the Japanese idol girl group ZYX and Cute up until departing to pursue a solo career in modeling. In 2013, she returned to her music career with the release of her debut solo single "Cr ...

, singer *

Tadanobu Asano , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor. He is known for his roles as Dragon Eye Morrison in '' Electric Dragon 80.000 V'', Kakihara in '' Ichi the Killer'', Mamoru Arita in '' Bright Future'', Hattori Genosuke in ''Zatoichi'', Ke ...

, singer * Yuichi Nakamura, actor *

Akira Kamiya is a Japanese voice actor. He played several notable roles in Japanese manga and anime television series, including Kenshiro in '' Fist of the North Star'', Ryo Saeba in '' City Hunter'' and Shutaro Mendo in '' Urusei Yatsura''. In mecha anim ...

, voice actor *

Shunji Karube is a retired Japanese athlete who specialized in the 400 metres hurdles and occasionally the 400 metres. He teaches sports at Hosei University.Minami Ward Office

* {{Authority control Wards of Yokohama