is one of the 18 wards of the city of

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 302,643 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 8,610 persons per km². The total area was 35.14 km².

Geography

Aoba is located in eastern Kanagawa Prefecture, and in the northwest corner of the city of Yokohama. The area is largely flatland, with scattered small hills.

Surrounding municipalities

* Midori Ward * Tsuzuki Ward * Kawasaki *

Machida, Tokyo is a Cities of Japan, city located in West Tokyo, the western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 428,851, and a population density of 6,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Due to ...

History

The area around present-day Aoba Ward was formerly part of Tsutsuki District in

Musashi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Kawasaki and Yokohama. ...

. During the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, it was a rural region classified as ''

tenryō The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil war ...

'' territory controlled directly by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, 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 Shōgun, shogunates in History of Japan, Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred ...

''. 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, the area became part of the new

in 1868. In the cadastral reform of April 1, 1889, the area was divided into the villages of . During the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

, the area was a center for

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the Bombyx mori, domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkwo ...

. On April 1, 1939, the three villages within Tsutsuki District were annexed by the neighboring city of Yokohama, becoming part of Kōhoku-ku. In a major administrative reorganization of October 1, 1969, Kōhoku Ward was divided, and the present-day area of Aoba Ward became part of the new Midori-ku. On November 6, 1994, Kōhoku and Midori Wards were recombined, then re-divided into four new Wards (Kōhoku, Midori, Tsuzuki and Aoba). The North Branch of the Midori Ward Office in Ichigao became the new Aoba Ward Office. The division and re-division of Wards has much to do with the development of northern Yokohama by railroad companies. The opening of the

Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line The is a major commuter line operated by the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation and connecting south-western suburbs of Tokyo and neighbouring Kanagawa Prefecture, with its western terminus of , to a major railway junction of western do ...

and associated residential communities led to the rapid

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

development in this region. This was followed by the project in the 1980s and early 1990s. The core of the Kōhoku New Town became a significant commercial centre once the subway line extension between Shin-Yokohama and Azamino was completed in 1993. The influx of new population resulted in the entire “Kōhoku New Town” being re-organized into the new Tsuzuki Ward.

Emblem of Aoba Ward

The emblem of Aoba Ward was officially announced on November 6, 1996, to commemorate the birth of Aoba Ward. The emblem was chosen from a number of designs submitted by residents. The trees and different shapes inside the green oval spell "AOBA." The hill symbolizes the geographic location of Aoba Ward. This emblem signifies the warmth that the nature gives to human being

Economy

Aoba 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, Kawasaki and Tokyo. The major commercial centres are around the and stations. The far-northern end of Aoba and the valley area retained some residual agriculture into the 1990s, when real-estate developers converted much of the farmlands and orchards into subdivisions and condominiums.

Transportation

Railways

Tokyu Corporation The , a contraction of and formerly until 2 September 2019, is a Japanese ''keiretsu'' or conglomerate headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. While a multinational corporation, its main operation is , a wholly-owned subsidiary operating railways i ...

** - - - - - - * Yokohama Minatomirai Railway- Yokohama Minatomirai Railway Kodomonokuni Line ** - *

Yokohama City Transportation Bureau The Yokohama City Transportation Bureau, legally the is the local government administrative agency in charge of public transportation, public transport services in the city of Yokohama, Japan. Subway operations The Yokohama Municipal Subway con ...

- Blue Line **

Highways

* * Yokohama Northwest Route *

Prefecture roads

*Kanagawa Prefecture Road 12 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 13 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 102 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 139 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 140

Education

Tertiary education: *

Toin University of Yokohama is a private university in Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of ...

Nippon Sport Science University , abbreviated as , is a private university in Setagaya, Tokyo and Aoba-ku, Yokohama. The precursor of the school was founded in 1893, and it was chartered as a university in 1949. The school is known for the many famous athletes among its alumni. ...

Caritas Junior College was a private Roman Catholic women's junior college in Yokohama, Kanagawa is the second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Ka ...

Yokohama College of Art and Design is a private university in Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of J ...

operates public elementary and junior high schools.

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 an ...

operates prefectural high schools. * * * Public junior high schools: * Akanedai ( あかね台) * Aobadai ( 青葉台) * Azamino ( あざみ野) * Ichigao (市ケ尾) * Kamoshida ( 鴨志田) * Midorigaoka ( 緑が丘) * Mitakedai ( みたけ台) * Moegino ( もえぎ野) * Nara ( 奈良) * Susukino ( すすき野) * Utsukushigaoka ( 美しが丘) * Yamauchi ( 山内) * Yamoto ( 谷本) Public elementary schools:
From this link
/ref> * Aobadai (青葉台) * Azamino Daiichi (No. 1) ( あざみ野第一) * Azamino Daini (No. 2) (あざみ野第二) * Edanishi (West) ( 荏田西) * Ekoda ( 荏子田) * Enokigaoka (榎が丘) * Fujigaoka ( 藤が丘) * Ichigao (市ケ尾) * Kamoshida Daiichi (鴨志田第一) * Kamoshida Midori ( 鴨志田緑) * Katsura (桂) * Kenzan ( 嶮山) * Kurogane ( 鉄) * Kurosuda ( 黒須田) * Mitakedai ( みたけ台) * Motoishikawa (元石川) * Nara ( 奈良) * Onda (恩田) * Satsukigaoka (さつきが丘) * Shinishikawa ( 新石川) * Tana ( 田奈) * Tsutsujigaoka ( つつじが丘) * Utsukushigaoka ( 美しが丘) * Utsukushigaoka Higashi (East) ( 美しが丘東) * Utsukushigaoka Nishi ( 美しが丘西) * Yamauchi ( 山内) * Yamoto (谷本) Eda Elementary School ( 荏田小学校) and Nakagawa Nishi Elementary School (中川西小学校), outside of Aoba-ku, include portions of Aoba-ku in their attendance zones.

Local attractions

* Kodomonokuni Theme Park

Notable people from Aoba Ward

Tomoya Nagase is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and model. He was a member of Tokio, a Johnny & Associates musical group. He was the primary vocalist, in addition to playing the guitar alongside Tokio's leader, Shigeru Joshima. Career As an art ...

, singer, actor *

Hiroshi Nakada is the former mayor of Yokohama, Kanagawa in Japan. A graduate of Aoyama Gakuin University, he served at the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management before working in the House of Councillors in the Diet. He was first elected mayor ...

, politician * Genki Omae, football/soccer player * Emi Wakui, actress * Shin Yamada, football/soccer player

References

* Kato, Yuzo. ''Yokohama Past and Present''. Yokohama City University (1990).

External links

Aoba Ward Office
* {{Authority control Wards of Yokohama