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, Hodogaya 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 205,887 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 . The total area was .

Geography

Hodogaya Ward is located in eastern Kanagawa Prefecture, and near the geographic center of the city of Yokohama. The area is largely flatland, with scattered small hills.

Surrounding municipalities

* Kanagawa Ward * Nishi Ward *

Minami Ward Minami (kanji 南, hiragana みなみ) is a Japanese word meaning "south". Places Japan There are several Minami wards in Japan, most of them appropriately in the south part of a city: * Minami, Tokushima, a village in Tokushima Prefectu ...

* Asahi Ward * Totsuka Ward * Midori Ward

History

The area around present-day Hodogaya has been inhabited for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found stone tools from the

Japanese Paleolithic The is the period of human inhabitation in Japan predating the development of pottery, generally before 10,000 BC. The starting dates commonly given to this period are from around 40,000 BC, with recent authors suggesting that there is good evi ...

period and ceramic shards from the

Jōmon period In Japanese history, the is the time between , during which Japan was inhabited by the Jōmon people, a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united by a common culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism an ...

at numerous locations in the area. Under the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

Ritsuryō is the historical Japanese legal system, legal system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Legalism (Chinese philosophy), Chinese Legalism in Feudal Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (). ''Kya ...

system, it became part of Tachibana District and 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. ...

. By the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

it was part of a huge ''

shōen A was a field or Manorialism, manor in Japan. The Japanese language, Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese language, Chinese term "莊園" (Mandarin: ''zhuāngyuán'', Cantonese: ''zong1 jyun4''). Shōen, from about the 8th to th ...

'' controlled by

Ise Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami and the grain goddess Toyouke-hime (Toyouke Omikami). Also known simply as , Ise Shrine is a shrine complex composed of many Shi ...

and administered by the Hangaya clan, a subsidiary of the

Hatakeyama clan The was a Japanese samurai clan. Originally a branch of the Taira clan and descended from Taira no Takamochi, they fell victim to political intrigue in 1205, when Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, first, and his father Shigetada later were killed in batt ...

. By the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

, the Hatakeyama clan ruled as local warlords until their territories were seized by the

Later Hōjō clan The was one of the most powerful samurai families in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region. Their last name was simply , but were called "Later Hōjō" to differentiate between the earlier Hōjō clan who h ...

from

Odawara is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in ...

in the late

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

. After the defeat of the Hōjō at the Battle of Odawara, the territory came under the control of

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 ...

. It was administered 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 ...

''. The area prospered 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 ...

as Hodogaya-juku, a post station on the Tōkaidō connecting

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

with

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. 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 was transferred to the new

, and Hodogaya Town was established on April 1, 1889, two years after the completion of Hodogaya Station on the

Tōkaidō Main Line The Tōkaidō Main Line () is one of the most important railway corridors in Japan, connecting the major cities of Tokyo and Kobe via Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. The line, with termini at Tokyo Station, Tokyo and Kōbe St ...

railway connecting

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 ...

with

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. Hodogaya suffered severe damage from the

1923 Great Kantō earthquake The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake (, or ) was a major earthquake that struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshu at 11:58:32 JST (02:58:32 UTC) on Saturday, 1 September 1923. It had an approximate magnitude of 8.0 on the mom ...

. On October 1, 1927 it was annexed by the neighboring city of Yokohama, becoming Hodogaya Ward. The area suffered greatly again during the Yokohama air raid of May 29, 1945. In a major administrative reorganization of October 1, 1969, Hodogaya gave up a large area the new Asahi Ward, and gained a portion of the territory of Kōhoku Ward.

Economy

Hodogaya 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. Formerly a number of chemical, glass and electronics companies maintained factories in Hodogaya, but with the exception of the head offices of Furakawa Battery Company Ltd., all have relocated to less densely populated areas. There is some residual agriculture in Hodogaya Ward, primarily potatoes and cabbage.

Transportation

Railroads

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 ...

Yokosuka Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The Yokosuka Line connects Tokyo Station with in Yokosuka, Kanagawa. Officially, the name Yokosuka Line is assigned to the segment between and Kurihama sta ...

/ Shōnan-Shinjuku Line ** *

Sotetsu Main Line The , or , is a private railway company operating three lines in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of holding company Sōtetsu Holdings, Inc. Sōtetsu Holdings is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange; 6.58% of it is own ...

** - - - - *The

Tōkaidō Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the San'yō Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opening in 19 ...

and

pass through Hodogaya, but without any stations.

Bus services

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 ...

Municipal Bus *

Sagami Railway The , or , is a private railway company operating three lines in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of holding company Sōtetsu Holdings, Inc. Sōtetsu Holdings is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange; 6.58% of it is own ...

Bus * Kanagawa Chuo Kotsu

Highways

Expressways

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 ...

Kanagawa No. 2 Mitsuzawa Line **- Hodogaya IC *Shuto Expressway Kanagawa No. 3 Kariba Line **Kariba IC - * Yokohama Shindō (a bypass of Route 1) **Hodogaya IC - Tokiwadai IC - Mineoka IC - Hoshikawa IC - Fujitsuka IC - Shin-Hodogaya IC - Imai IC - *Hodogaya Bypass (a bypass of Route 16) ** - Shin-Sakuragaoka IC - Shin-Hodogaya IC * Yokohama Yokosuka Road

National Highways

Route 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

* Route 16 * Route 466 (Daisan Keihin Road)

Prefecture roads

*Kanagawa Prefecture Road 21 Yokohama-Kamakura Line *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 109 Aoto-Kamihoshikawa Line *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 201 Hodogaya Stop Line

City roads

*Yokohama Loop Line 2

Education

University: * Yokohama National University

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. Prefectural senior high schools: * * * Municipal high schools of the : Private high schools: * The board of education operates public elementary and junior high schools. Junior high schools: *Arai (新井) *Hodogaya (保土ケ谷) *Iwaihara (岩井原) *Iwasaki ( 岩崎) *Kamisugeta ( 上菅田) *Miyata (宮田) *Nishiya (西谷) *Tachibana ( 橘) Additionally Karuisawa Junior High School (軽井沢中学校), which has its campus outside of Hodogaya-ku, has a zone that includes portions of Hodogaya-ku. Elementary schools:
From this link
/ref> *Arai (新井) *Bukkō (仏向) *Fujimidai ( 富士見台) *Fujizuka (藤塚) *Gontazaka (権太坂) *Hatsunegaoka (初音が丘) *Hodogaya ( 保土ケ谷) *Hoshikawa (星川) *Imai ( 今井) *Iwasaki (岩崎) *Kamihoshikawa (上星川) *Kamisugeta Sasa no Oka ( 上菅田笹の丘) *Katabira ( 帷子) *Kawashima ( 川島) *Mine (峯) *Sakamoto (坂本) *Sakuradai ( 桜台) *Setogaya (瀬戸ケ谷) *Tokiwadai (常盤台) Former: *Sasayama Additionally, the zones of Higashi Shinano Elementary (東品濃小学校), Mitsuzawa Elementary ( 三ツ沢小学校), Miyagaya Elementary ( 宮谷小学校), and Sakaigi Elementary ( 境木小学校), schools not in Hodogaya-ku, include portions of Hodogaya-ku.

Noted people from Hodogaya Ward

* Setsuko Hara, actress *

Kanako Mitsuhashi is a Japanese actress and voice actress from the Hodogaya-ku ward of Yokohama. Mitsuhashi is best known for her roles as Killua Zoldyck from ''Hunter × Hunter'', Rico from ''Gunslinger Girl'', and Suzuka Asahina from '' Suzuka''. She was marrie ...

, voice actress *

Risa Niigaki is a Japanese actress and singer. She was a fifth-generation member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined Morning Musume in 2001 along with 3 others- Ai Takahashi, Asami Konno and Makoto Ogawa. She grew up in Yokohama after mo ...

, singer * Akira Terao, actor * Hiroshi Yamamoto, Olympic medal archer *

Masahiro Matsuoka is a Japanese drummer and actor. He is a member of Tokio, a musical group of Starto Entertainment formerly known as Johnny & Associates. His nicknames are Mabo and Maa-kun. He starred as Shinichi Ozaki in '' Godzilla: Final Wars'', and comedy ...

, idol

Song of Ward

* "Waga Machi Hodogaya" (Our Town, Hodogaya): Lyrics by Monami Kaihara, Music by Masaoki Okajima

References

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

External links

Hodogaya Ward Office Official Website
in English * {{Authority control Wards of Yokohama