is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in

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 refers to itself in English as Chūō City. It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Kyōbashi and Nihonbashi wards following

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 ...

's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. Chūō-ku, as a combination of Kyōbashi and Nihonbashi, is the core of Shitamachi, the original downtown center of Edo-Tokyo. Literally meaning "Central Ward", it is historically the main commercial center of Tokyo, although Shinjuku has risen to challenge it since the end of

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 most famous district in Chūō is Ginza, built on the site of a former silver mint from which it takes its name. The gold mint, or , formerly occupied the site of the present-day Bank of Japan headquarters building, also in Chūō. As of October 1, 2020, the ward has a resident

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 169,179, 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 16,569 persons per km². The total area is 10.21 km². However, because of the concentration of businesses, offices and retail space, the daytime population swells to an estimated 650,000.

Geography

Chūō is in the central area of Tokyo, surrounded by the five special wards of Chiyoda, Minato, Taitō, Sumida, and Kōtō. Administratively, Chūō is divided into the three zones of Nihonbashi, Kyōbashi and Tsukishima. Nihonbashi and Kyōbashi are predominantly commercial areas on the east side of Tokyo Station, and incorporate the famous districts of Ginza and Tsukiji. Tsukishima is a separate island in Tokyo Bay dominated by

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

towers. Until

, the area was crisscrossed by small rivers and canals, used by small boats which were the primary vehicles of commerce at the time. After the war, many of these waterways were filled in to make way for new roads, buildings and expressways. However, the former waterways are the basis for many of the neighborhood divisions in the ward. The Sumida River forms the eastern boundary of the ward. Chūō is physically the second-smallest ward in Tokyo, with a total area of just 10.15 km²; only Taitō is smaller.

History

* 1612: Shōgun

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

, planning to establish Edo as the de facto capital of Japan, begins work on a new commercial district surrounding the eastern end of the Tōkaidō, the main road connecting Tokyo and the Kansai region. 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 ...

this area is known as Edomachi—the town center of Edo. Much of the area (particularly Ginza and Tsukiji) was loose sand piled at the delta of the Sumida River before being filled in by the shogunate. * 1657: After a fire consumes much of the city, the area is re-planned with more canals to accommodate more maritime commerce. * 1869: A foreigners' settlement is established in Tsukiji. It continues until about 1899. * 1872: A fire consumes much of the Ginza area. In its aftermath, the governor of Tokyo re-plans Ginza to be a modern European-style commercial district between Shinbashi (the city's main railway terminal at the time) to the south and Nihonbashi (the main business and financial district) to the north. * 1878: Under a new local organization statute, the wards of Nihonbashi and Kyōbashi are established under the government of Tokyo City, covering the area now occupied by Chūō. * 1945: Following Japan's defeat in World War II, several buildings are taken over by SCAP to serve as supply centers for the occupation forces. These include the Hattori Watch Company, the Matsuya department store and the Toshiba Building. The buildings are returned to Japanese civilian control by 1951. * 1947: Chūō Ward is founded on March 15 under the new Local Autonomy Law, merging the former Nihonbashi and Kyōbashi wards.

Districts and neighborhoods

Nihonbashi area ()

* Bakurochō (馬喰町) * Hakozakicho (): Location of Tokyo City Air Terminal (T-CAT) * () ** Arashio stable (): Stable of professional sumo wrestlers * () * () * () * Hongokucho (): Location of Bank of Japan (). * () * Kabutocho (): The securities district. Location of

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. The exchange is owned by Japan Exchange Group (JPX), a holding company that it also lists (), and operated by Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc., a wholly owned sub ...

. * () ** Suitengu Shrine (): A

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

shrine at which women pray for conception and safe birth. * () * Koamicho * Kobunacho * () *

Muromachi The , also known as the , is a division of History of Japan, Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Ashikaga shogunate, Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially establ ...

(): Location of

Mitsukoshi is an international Department stores in Japan, department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Its holding company, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, is a member of the Mitsui, Mitsui Group. History It was founded in 1673 with the (sho ...

() department stores. * Nakasu * Nihonbashi (): Traditional commercial center. Also home to the Takashimaya () department stores, and the "zero milestone" from which highway distances to Tokyo are measured. * () * () * () * ()

Kyōbashi area ()

* (): Home to St. Luke's Hospital and Nursing School and the adjacent Garden Tower skyscraper. * Ginza (): Tokyo's most expensive shopping district, housing large stores such as Matsuya (), Matsuzakaya (),

(), Wako (), and Printemps (), as well as the famous Kabuki-za () theater. At night, Ginza is ablaze with neon lights. Exclusive bars abound. ** Shinbashi Enbujō (): A famous theater * (): Location of Hama-rikyū Gardens (). A spacious public park, formerly the property of ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

' of Kōshū, and later under the administration of the

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...

* (): During the

, the location of the police barracks * Irifune () * Kyōbashi () * Minato (harbor) () * Shinkawa () ** (): A bridge across the Sumida River () * () * Tsukiji (): Location of Chūō City Office. Widely viewed as one of the best

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

() destinations in the world because of its huge wholesale fish market, which supplies restaurants and stores across eastern Japan. Also home to the temple of Tsukiji Hongan-ji (). * Yaesu (): District on the east side of Tokyo Station (). The Yaesu side of Tokyo Station is the terminal for the

Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond lon ...

() "bullet train" lines.

Tsukishima area ()

* Harumi (): the Harumi passenger terminal is here * (): The location of a bridge of the same name over the Sumida River * () * Tsukishima (); Famous for many Monjayaki restaurants * () ** (): A Shinto shrine with a history dating back to 1590

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population has doubled since 2000 after decades of continuous rapid decline.

Economy

Ricoh is a Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company. It was founded by the now-defunct commercial division of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) known as the ''Riken Concern'', on 6 February 1936 as . Ricoh's hea ...

is headquartered in the Ricoh Building in Chūō. The company moved its headquarters to the 25-story building in the Ginza area in Chūō from

Minato, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is also called Minato City in English. Minato was formed in 1947 as a merger of Akasaka, Tokyo, Akasaka, Azabu and Shiba, Tokyo, Shiba wards following Tokyo City's Local Autonomy Ac ...

in 2006. In the building the headquarters occupies the same space as its sales offices. Sumitomo Corporation is headquartered in the Harumi Island Triton Square Office Tower Y in Chūō. Daiichi Sankyo, a global pharmaceutical company is also headquartered in the ward, in the Daiichi Sankyo Building. Oji Paper Holdings and Hokuetsu Corporation, two pulp and paper manufacturing companies have their headquarters in Ginza and Nihonbashihongoku, respectively. J. Front Retailing has its headquarters in Yaesu.

Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...

, Mitsui E&S, and

Nihon Ad Systems , NAS for short, is a Japanese anime production and character merchandising company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the advertising agency Asatsu-DK. The "Ad" in its title is an abbreviation for "Animation Development". Along with Sony Pictures ...

have their headquarters in Tsukiji. Ajinomoto, Mitsui Fudosan, Shinsei Bank, Nomura Group and Meidi-Ya are also headquartered in the ward.

Shimizu Corporation is an architecture, architectural, civil engineering and General contractor, general contracting firm. It has annual sales of approximately US$15 billion and has been widely recognized as one of the top 5 contractors in Japan and among the top 2 ...

and Sumitomo Mitsui Construction, two construction companies are headquartered in the ward, the former in Kyōbashi and the latter in Tsukuda district. Orion Breweries and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company have their Tokyo-area offices in Chūō. Toray Industries, Denka and Kureha Corporation, three global chemical companies; Astellas Pharma, a global pharmaceutical company; KOSÉ, a personal care and cosmetics company; Nisshinbo Holdings, a diversified manufacturing company; and Akebono Brake Industry, an automobile component manufacturer have their headquarters in the Nihonbashi area of the ward. Sumitomo Chemical is also headquartered in the ward, in the Kyōbashi area. MODEC, a global supplier and operator of offshore floating platforms, T. Hasegawa, a flavors and fragrances company, and Nissan Chemical Corporation, have their corporate headquarters in the Nihonbashi district.

Foreign operations

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

has its Japan headquarters in Chūō.

Former economic operations

Dai-ichi Kikaku Senden Co., Ltd. opened in Chūō in Ginza, Chūō in December 1951. In January 1958 the company relocated to a new headquarters in Ginza. The company moved to another headquarters in Ginza in September 1961 and its name changed to Dai-ichi Kikaku Co. Ltd. In November 1974, after growth, the company moved to another headquarters in Ginza. In November 1981 Dai-ichi Kikaku moved its head office to a facility in Ginza and a facility in Uchisaiwaichō, Chiyoda. The headquarters of Asatsu moved to Ginza in July 1995. Asatsu and Dai-ichi Kikaku merged into Asatsu-DK on January 1, 1999. In the late 1990s GeoCities Japan was headquartered in the Nihonbashi Hakozaki Building in Nihonbashi. Tokyopop maintained its Japanese headquarters in Mid-Tower of the Tokyo Towers. File:RICOH Company Head Office Building 2007-1.jpg,

Building File:Ajinomoto headquarters 2009.jpg, Ajinomoto headquarters File:Oji Paper (headquarters 1).jpg, Oji Paper Holdings headquarters

Politics and government

Chuo is run by a city assembly of 30 elected members. The current mayor is Yoshihide Yada, an independent backed Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito.

Elections

* 2007 Chuo mayoral election

Transportation

Rail

At Tokyo Station, six

, seven ordinary railway, and one subway line serve Chūō. In addition, three Toei subway lines stop at various stations throughout the ward.

Highway

Shuto Expressway The is a network of Toll road, tolled expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the . Most routes are Grade separation, grade separated and have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that require cauti ...

* No. 1 Ueno Route (Edobashi JCT – Iriya) * No. 6 Mukojima Route (Edobashi JCT – Horikiri JCT) * No. 9 Fukagawa Route (Hakozaki JCT – Tatsumi JCT) * C1 Inner Loop (Edobashi–Takaracho–Kyōbashi–Ginza–Shiodome–Hamazakibashi–Shiba Park–Tanimachi–Kasumigaseki–Daikanmachi–Edobashi)

Education

Colleges and universities

* * St. Luke's International University * Waseda University Nihonbashi Campus

Primary and secondary education

Public elementary and junior high schools in Chūō are operated by the Chūō City Board of Education (中央区教育委員会). Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education. There is one prefectural high school in Chuo Ward, . Public junior high schools include: * Ginza Junior High School ( 銀座中学校) * Harumi Junior High School ( 晴海中学校) * Nihonbashi Junior High School ( 日本橋中学校) * Tsukuda Junior High School ( 佃中学校) Public elementary schools include: * Akashi Elementary School (明石小学校) - ** Its previous building opened in 1926. The Architectural Institute of Japan advocated for retaining the building, but the board of education chose to raze the building and build a new one. * Arima Elementary School ( 有馬小学校) - * Chuo Elementary School - ** Formed on April 1, 1993 ( Heisei 5) by the merger of Kyoka Elementary School (京華小学校) and Teppozu Elementary School (鉄砲洲小学校). * Hisamatsu Elementary School ( 久松小学校) - * Joto Elementary School ( 城東小学校) - Yaesu * Kyōbashi Tsukiji Elementary School ( 京橋築地小学校) - Tsukiji * Meisho Elementary School (明正小学校) - Shinkawa * Nihonbashi Elementary School ( 日本橋小学校) - * Sakamoto Elementary School ( 阪本小学校) - * Taimei Elementary School - Ginza * Tokiwa Elementary School ( 常盤小学校) - * Toyomi Elementary School (豊海小学校) - * Tsukishima Daiichi (No. 1) Elementary School (島第一小学校) * Tsukishima Daini (No. 2) Elementary School ( 島第二小学校) - * Tsukishima Daisan (No. 3) Elementary School ( 島第三小学校) - Harumi * Tsukudajima Elementary School ( 佃島小学校)

References

External links

Chūō City Official Website

Chūō City Tourism Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chuo, Tokyo Wards of Tokyo