is one of ten

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s of the city of Saitama, in

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

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 ...

, and is located in the northeastern part of the city. , 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 112,862 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 2,300 persons per km². Its total area was .

Geography

Iwasuki Ward is within the

Kantō Plain The , in the Kantō region of central Honshu, is the largest plain in Japan. Its 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Tochigi Prefe ...

, in the northeast portion of Saitama City.

Neighboring Municipalities

Iwatsuki-ku is surrounded by Minuma-ku (west), Midori-ku (southwest), and the cities of Kawaguchi (south), Koshigaya (southeast), Kasukabe (northeast), Shiraoka (north), and Hasuda (northwest).

History

Iwatsuki developed from the

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 ...

as a

castle town A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, ...

next to

Iwatsuki Castle is a Japanese castle located in Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama, in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Tateyama Castle was home to the Ōoka clan, ''daimyō'' of Iwatsuki Domain, however the castle dates from the Muromachi period and ...

and the center of

Iwatsuki Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in Musashi Province (modern-day Saitama Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Iwatsuki Castle in what is now part of Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama. History Iwatsuki was a ...

under 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 ...

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 ...

. It was also a

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

on the Nikkō Onari Kaidō 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 Nikko. The modern town of Iwatsuki created within Minamisaitama District, Saitama with the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On May 3, 1954, Iwatsuki merged with the neighboring villages of Niiwa, Wado, Kawadori, Kashiwazaki, Kawai and Jionji and was elevated to city status on July 1, 1954. On April 1, 2005, Iwatsuki merged with the city of Saitama, becoming Iwatsuki Ward. Iwatsuki is known as the "City of Dolls" (人形のまち ''Ningyō no Machi'') due to a history of doll-making that dates back to the 17th century.

Education

* Mejiro University – Saitama campus * University of Human Arts and Sciences * Iwatsuki-ku has 14 elementary schools, eight junior high schools, and four high schools, and one special education school. Municipal junior high schools: * Hakuyo ( 柏陽中学校) * Iwatsuki ( 岩槻中学校) * Jionji ( 慈恩寺中学校) * Jouhoku ( 城北中学校) * Jounan ( 城南中学校) * Kawadoori ( 川通中学校) * Nishihara ( 西原中学校) * Sakurayama ( 桜山中学校) Municipal elementary schools: * Higashi Iwatsuki ( 東岩槻小学校) * Iwatsuki ( 岩槻小学校) * Jionji ( 慈恩寺小学校) * Jouhoku ( 城北小学校) * Jounan ( 城南小学校) * Kamisato ( 上里小学校) * Kashiwazaki ( 柏崎小学校) * Kawadoori ( 川通小学校) * Kawai ( 河合小学校) * Niiwa (新和小学校) * Nishihara ( 西原小学校) * Ota ( 太田小学校) * Tokuriki ( 徳力小学校) * Wado (和土小学校)

Transportation

Railway

35px Tōbu Railway – Noda Line * -

Highway

* – Iwatsuki Interchange * * *

Sister cities

Nanaimo, British Columbia Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

, Canada (1996)

Local attractions

Noted people from Iwatsuki

Takeru Satoh is a Japanese actor. He is best known for his leading role as Kamen Rider Den-O (character)#Ryotaro Nogami, Ryotaro Nogami in the ''Kamen Rider Den-O'' franchise, and as Himura Kenshin in the live-action ''Rurouni Kenshin (film), Rurouni Kenshin ...

, actor

References

External links

* {{Authority control Wards of Saitama (city)