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 ...

, Japan. Currently it consists of six '' chōme''. 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,

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. 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 Seishin Joshi Gakuin 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 characte ...

; 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 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 Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

. 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 chōme 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 SchoolInformation
" Meiji Gakuin Senior High School. 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 coll ...

(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 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