is a special ward in the

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

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 ...

. The ward takes its name from the Arakawa River, though the river does not run through or touch the ward. Its neighbors are the wards of Adachi, Kita, Bunkyo,

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

and Sumida. In English, the ward calls itself Arakawa City. Arakawa has sister-city relationships with

Donaustadt Donaustadt (; "Danube City") is the 22nd district of Vienna, Austria (). Donaustadt is the easternmost district of Vienna.Statistik Austria, 2007, webpagestatistik.at-23450. Wien.gv.at webpage (see below: References). Geography The Donaustadt ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, and with Corvallis,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

Domestically, it has similar relationships with nine cities, towns and villages. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has 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 208,763, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

of about 20,550 persons per km². The total area is 10.16 km².

Geography

Arakawa is in the northeastern part of

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. The shape is long and narrow, stretching from west to east. The

Sumida River The is a river that flows through central Tokyo, Japan. It branches from the Arakawa River at Iwabuchi (in Kita-ku) and flows into Tokyo Bay. Its tributaries include the Kanda and Shakujii rivers. It passes through the Kita, Adachi, Arak ...

forms the northern boundary. The ward is surrounded by five other special wards. To the north lies Adachi; to the west, Kita; to the southwest, Bunkyo. South of Arakawa is

, and southeast is Sumida.

History

The area was mainly agricultural in 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 ...

. In 1651, Kozukappara, the Tokugawa's largest execution ground (now located next to Minami-Senju station), was built. Beginning in the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, 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 feu ...

, the area became industrial as factories were built on the waterfront. In 1932, it became one of the 35 wards of

Tokyo City was a Cities of Japan, municipality in Japan and capital of Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943), Tokyo Prefecture (or ''Tokyo-fu'') which existed from 1 May 1889 until the establishment of Tokyo Metropolis on 1 July 1943. The historical boundari ...

. On 1 July 1944, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

established the #20-B prisoner-of-war camp on the grounds near Hashiba Bridge, Minami-Senju, at the current day location with the address of 3-41 Minami-Senju, Arakawa. The camp was renamed to #10-B in August 1945. The prisoners were liberated in September 1945. At the time, there were 256 prisoners of war (87 British, 64 American, 55 Canadian and 50 Dutch) held at the camp. Two prisoners died during their imprisonment. Other events: *

Sada Abe was a Empire of Japan, Japanese geisha and Prostitution in Japan, prostitute who murdered her lover, , via strangulation on May 18, 1936, before cutting off his Human penis, penis and testicles and carrying them around with her in her kimono. T ...

incident (1936) *

Mikawashima train crash The was a multiple train crash which occurred on 3 May 1962 near Mikawashima Station in Arakawa, Tokyo, Japan. It involved a freight train and two passenger trains; 160 people were killed. As of 2024, the crash remains the third-deadliest in J ...

(1962) *The attempted assassination of the head of the

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: National Revolut ...

following an investigation of

Aum Shinrikyo , better known by their former name , is a Japanese new religions, Japanese new religious movement and doomsday cult founded by Shoko Asahara in 1987. It carried out the deadly Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995 and was found to have been respo ...

-related facilities (1995)

Districts and neighborhoods

;Mikawashima Area * Arakawa * Higashinippori^a * Machiya^b ;Minamisenju Area * Minamisenju ;Nippori Area * Nishinippori * Higashinippori^c ;Ogu Area * Higashiogu * Nishiogu * Machiya^d Notes: ^a - (1-chōme)
^b - (1, 2, 3, 4 & 8-chōme)
^c - (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8-chōme)
^d - (5, 6, 7-chōme)

Notable people

Kosuke Kitajima is a Japanese retired breaststroke swimmer. He won gold medals at the men's 100 m and 200 m breaststroke events at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and the 2008 Summer Olympics – becoming the first and only swimmer to sweep the breaststroke events at ...

(Olympic gold-medalist in swimming) *

Kanako Watanabe is a Japanese competitive swimmer who specializes in the breaststroke. She competed in the 2012 London Olympics at the age of 15 for the 200m Women's Breaststroke event. She again competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. Her s ...

(Olympic athlete in swimming) *

Hibari Misora was a Japanese singer, actress and cultural icon. She received a Medal of Honor for her contributions to music and for improving the welfare of the public, and was the first woman to receive the People's Honour Award, which was conferred posth ...

(singer) *

Momoe Yamaguchi , known by her maiden name , is a Japanese former singer, actress, and Japanese idol, idol whose career lasted from 1972 to 1980. Often simply referred to by her given name "Momoe", Yamaguchi is one of the most successful singers in Japanese musi ...

(singer, actress) *

Eri Kamei is a Japanese pop singer and model. She is a former member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined in late 2003 as a sixth generation member along with Miki Fujimoto, Sayumi Michishige, and Reina Tanaka. She graduated on Decemb ...

(singer) *

Toru Yano is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trained by and signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW 2020 and the KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW 2021. He is one of the ...

(Professional wrestler) *

Seiya Suzuki is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Suzuki is a five-time NPB All ...

(MLB Player) *

Akira Yoshimura was an award-winning Japanese writer. Internationally he is best known for his novels ''Shipwrecks'' and ''On Parole (novel), On Parole''. Life and work Yoshimura was the president of the Japanese writers' union and a International PEN, PEN ...

(Writer) *

Setsuko Tsumura is a Japanese novelist. She is a 1965 recipient of the Akutagawa Prize. Early life Tsumura was born in the capital city of Fukui, Japan. Her mother died when she was nine years old. Two years later, she moved to Tokyo. Her father, a silk wea ...

(Writer)

Economy

MIAT Mongolian Airlines MIAT Mongolian Airlines is the state-owned national airline of Mongolia, headquartered in the MIAT Building in the country's capital of Ulaanbaatar. The airline operates scheduled services from its base at Chinggis Khaan International Airport i ...

's Tokyo Branch Office is on the fifth floor in the Tachibana Building in Arakawa. Iseki, a

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

and engine equipment manufacturer has its Tokyo head office in the ward. Nippori Fabric Town, is known for a concentration of shops specializing in fabric and textiles.

Landmarks

* Arakawa Nature Park * Shimogoindenbashi Bridge - A notable viewing point for trains and rail enthusiasts * Shushoin Temple * Seiunji Temple * Honyoji Temple

Education

Metropolitan high schools are 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 most of the Public school (government funded), public secondary schoo ...

. * * Private schools: *

Kaisei Academy Kaisei Academy (, ) is a Private school, private secondary school for boys located in Arakawa, Tokyo. Overview Kaisei Academy admits approximately 300 students to its junior high school and 400 to its high school each year. The school's motto ...

* Public elementary and junior high schools are operated by the Arakawa City Board of Education (荒川区教育委員会). Municipal junior high schools: * No. 1 Junior High School (第一中学校) * No. 3 Junior High School (第三中学校) * No. 4 Junior High School (第四中学校) * No. 5 Junior High School (第五中学校) * No. 7 Junior High School (第七中学校) * No. 9 Junior High School (第九中学校) * Hara Junior High School (原中学校) * Minamisenju No. 2 Junior High School (南千住第二中学校) * Ogu Hachiman Junior High School (尾久八幡中学校) * Suwadai Junior High School (諏訪台中学校) Municipal elementary schools: * No. 2 Haketa Elementary School (第二峡田小学校) * No. 3 Haketa Elementary School (第三峡田小学校) * No. 4 Haketa Elementary School (第四峡田小学校) * No. 5 Haketa Elementary School (第五峡田小学校) * No. 7 Haketa Elementary School (第七峡田小学校) * No. 9 Haketa Elementary School (第九峡田小学校) * No. 1 Nippori Elementary School (第一日暮里小学校) * No. 2 Nippori Elementary School (第二日暮里小学校) * No. 3 Nippori Elementary School ( 第三日暮里小学校) * No. 6 Nippori Elementary School (第六日暮里小学校) * No. 2 Zuiko Elementary School (第二瑞光小学校) * No. 3 Zuiko Elementary School (第三瑞光小学校) * No. 6 Zuiko Elementary School (第六瑞光小学校) * Akado Elementary School ( 赤土小学校) * Daimon Elementary School (大門小学校) * Haketa Elementary School (峡田小学校) * Higurashi Elementary School (ひぐらし小学校) * Ogu Elementary School (尾久小学校) * Ogu No. 6 Elementary School (尾久第六小学校) * Ogu Miyamae Elementary School (尾久宮前小学校) * Ogu Nishi Elementary School ( 尾久西小学校) * Shioiri Elementary School ( 汐入小学校) * Shioiri Higashi Elementary School (汐入東小学校) * Zuiko Elementary School ( 瑞光小学校) The Tokyo First Korean Elementary and Junior High School ( 東京朝鮮第一初中級学校), a North Korean school, is in the ward. The metropolis operated the Tokyo Metropolitan College of Aeronautical Engineering in Arakawa until 2010.

Transportation

Rail

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and 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 are in ...

Yamanote Line The Yamanote Line () is a railway Circle route, loop service in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres ...

, Keihin Tohoku Line: Nishi Nippori,

Nippori Station is a major interchange railway station in Arakawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is adjacent to the Yanaka neighborhood of Taito district. Lines *East Japan Railway Company (JR East) ** Joban Line (Rapid) ** Keihin–Tōhoku Line **Yamanote Line *Keisei El ...

s ** Joban Line: Nippori, Mikawashima, Minami-Senju Stations *

Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation The , also known as Toei Transportation, Toei Transport, or simply , is a bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government which operates public transport services in Tokyo. Among its services, the Toei Subway is one of two rapid transit systems wh ...

Tokyo Sakura Tram The , branded as the is a hybrid tram/light rail line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). The line is the sole survivor of Tokyo's once-extensive Tokyo Toden tram system and one of the only two ...

(13 stations, including

Minowabashi Station is a station on the Tokyo Sakura Tram. This is the terminus of the line. It is close to Minowa Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. Lines *Tokyo Sakura Tram Surrounding area * Minowa Station ( Logo of Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line

) **

Nippori-Toneri Liner The is an automated guideway transit (AGT) system between Nippori Station in Arakawa and Minumadai-shinsuikōen Station in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan. The line opened on 30 March 2008. It is operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportatio ...

: Nippori, Nishi-Nippori, Akado-Shōgakkō-mae, Kumano-mae *

Tokyo Metro The Tokyo Metro () is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the #Organization, Tokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.52 million passengers (as of 2023), the Tokyo Metro is the larger of the Tokyo subway, two s ...

Chiyoda Line The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro in Tokyo, Japan. On average, the line carries 1,447,730 passengers daily (2017), the second highest of the Tokyo Metro network, behind the Tozai Line (1,642,378).Hibiya Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by Tokyo Metro. The line was named after the Hibiya area in Chiyoda's Yurakucho district, under which it passes. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using the color silv ...

: Minami Senju Station *

Keisei Electric Railway The (stylized as K'SEI since 2001) is a major private railway in Chiba Prefecture and Tokyo, Japan. The name ''Keisei'' is the combination of the kanji 京 from and 成 from , which the railway's main line connects; the combination uses diffe ...

Keisei Main Line {{Infobox rail line , name = Keisei Main Line , native_name = 京成本線 , native_name_lang = ja , color = 005aaa , logo = {{KSLS, KS, 50 , logo_width = , image = Keisei-Series3000-3042.jpg , image_width = ...

: Nippori, Shin-Mikawashima, Machiya Stations *

Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company The is a third-sector railway operating company in Japan. It was established on 15 March 1991 to construct the 58.3 km Tsukuba Express (then known as the ''Jōban Shinsen'') commuter railway line from in Tokyo to in Ibaraki Prefecture. ...

Tsukuba Express The , or TX, is a Japanese railway line operated by the Third-sector railway, third-sector company Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company, which links Akihabara Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and Tsukuba Station in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. The route was ...

: Minami-Senju Station Additional facilities are under construction.

Major roads

* Route 4 (the Nikkō Kaidō) *Meiji Street *Ogubashi Street *Otakebashi Street

References

External links

Arakawa City Official Website
{{Authority control Wards of Tokyo