is one of the seven wards of the city of Kawasaki in

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. As of 2010, 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 211,221 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 10,310 persons per km². The total area is 20.49 km².

Geography

Tama Ward is located in eastern Kanagawa Prefecture, in the far northwestern corner of the city of Kawasaki, bordering on Tokyo. It is bordered to the north by the

Tama River The is a major river in Yamanashi Prefecture, Yamanashi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa and Tokyo Prefectures on Honshū, Japan. It is officially classified as a Class 1 river by the Government of Japan, Japanese government. It is long, an ...

Surrounding municipalities

* Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki *

Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki is one of the 7 wards of the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 217,251 and a density of 11,670 persons per km². The total area was 18.61 km². Geography Miyamae Ward is l ...

Asao-ku, Kawasaki is one of the 7 Wards of Japan, wards of the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 167,792 and a population density, density of 7,210 persons per km². The total ar ...

* Setagaya-ku, Tokyo * Chōfu, Tokyo *

Komae, Tokyo is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It is one of 30 municipalities in the western portion of Tokyo known as the Tama Area. , the city had an estimated population of 83,218, and ...

Inagi, Tokyo file:Inagi City Hall.jpg, 270px, Inagi City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 92,585 in 41,592 households, and a population densi ...

History

The area around present-day Tama Ward has been inhabited for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found

kofun are megalithic tombs or tumulus, tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century AD.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞 ...

along the banks of the Tama River and at other locations in the Ward. 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 was divided between Tachibana District, Tama 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 ''

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 the Inage clan. 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 ...

, it was controlled by their descendants, the Ozawa clan, and in 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 ...

by the Terao clan. During the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

, the area was a contested territory between the

Uesugi clan The is a Japanese samurai clan which was at its peak one of the most powerful during the Muromachi period, Muromachi and Sengoku periods (14th to 17th centuries).Georges Appert, Appert, Georges. (1888) ''Ancien Japon,'' p. 79./ref> At its heigh ...

and 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 ...

, who emerged in control by 1530. The area was devastated by flooding when the Tama River shifted course to the north in 1590. 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 ...

''. From 1725, the 52 villages of the area were a designated zone for

Falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...

by the Tokugawa shōguns, but suffered from repeated natural disasters: an earthquake in 1782, floods in 1786, famine in 1787, floods in 1790, 1791 and 1809 and earthquake in 1855. 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 divided into several villages within Tachibana District and Tsuzuki District, Kanagawa on April 1, 1889. These areas were annexed by the neighboring city of Kawasaki from 1938 to 1939. The area became Tama Ward with the division of the city of Kawasaki into wards from April 1972. In July 1982, Asao Ward was separated from Tama Ward. A new Ward Office was completed in 1997.

Economy

Tama 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 Kawasaki and Tokyo. Several factories producing chemical, glass, and electronics are located in the ward, and there is some residual agriculture (primarily horticulture and market vegetables).

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 ...

Nambu Line The Nambu Line () is a Japanese railway line which connects Tachikawa Station in Tachikawa, Tokyo and Kawasaki Station in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. For most of its length, it parallels the Tama River, the natural border between Tokyo and Kanagawa prefec ...

** Shukugawara - Noborito -

Nakanoshima is a 3 km long and 50 hectares narrow sandbank in Kita-ku, Osaka city, Japan, that divides the Kyū-Yodo into the Tosabori and Dōjima rivers. Many governmental and commercial offices (including the city hall of Osaka), museums and oth ...

- Inadazutsumi * Keiō Corporation –

Keiō Sagamihara Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway operator Keio Corporation, connecting Hashimoto Station in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture and Chōfu Station in Chōfu, Tokyo. Station list Rapid and Semi express services st ...

** Keiō-Inadazutsumi Station *

Odakyu Electric Railway , commonly known as Odakyū, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for its '' Romancecar'' series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone. The Odakyu Electric Railway Company f ...

–

Odakyū Odawara Line The is the main line of Japanese private railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway. It extends from Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku in central Tokyo through the southwest suburbs to the city of Odawara, Kanagawa, Odawara, the gateway to Hakone in Ka ...

** - - -

Highways

Prefecture roads

* Kanagawa Prefectural Road 3 * Kanagawa Prefectural Road 9 * Kanagawa Prefectural Road 13 * Kanagawa Prefectural Road 124

Local attractions

* Nihon Minka-en Museum * Taro Okamoto Museum of Art * Yomiuriland * Fujiko F. Fujio Museum

Education

Tertiary: * Senshu University – Ikuta campus *

Meiji University is a Private university, private research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Originally founded as Meiji Law School () by three lawyers in 1881, it became a university in April 1920. As of May 2023, Meiji has 32,261 undergradu ...

– Ikuta campus *

Japan Women's University is the oldest and largest of private Japanese women's universities. The university was established on 20 April 1901 by education reformist . The university has around 6000 students and 200 faculty. It has two campuses, named after the neighbo ...

– Nishiikuta campus Municipal junior high schools: * Ikuta (生田中学校) * Inada ( 稲田中学校) * Masugata (枡形中学校) * Minamiikuta ( 南生田中学校) * Minamisuge ( 南菅中学校) * Nakanoshima ( 中野島中学校) * Suge ( 菅中学校) Municipal elementary schools: * Higashi Ikuta (東生田小学校) * Higashi Suge (東菅小学校) * Ikuta (生田小学校) * Inada ( 稲田小学校) * Minami Ikuta ( 南生田小学校) * Minami Suge ( 南菅小学校) * Mita (三田小学校) * Nagao ( 長尾小学校) * Nakanoshima (中野島小学校) * Nishi Suge (西菅小学校) * Noborito (登戸小学校) * Shimofuda ( 下布田小学校) * Shukugawara (宿河原小学校) * Suge (菅小学校) Private primary and secondary * Caritas Girls' Junior and Senior High School (private)

Notable people from Tama Ward

* Koji Miyoshi, Football player *

Shigefumi Matsuzawa is a Japanese politician and a current member of the House of Councillors for the Kanagawa at-large district in the Diet of Japan. Early life Matsuzawa is a native of Kawasaki, Kanagawa and graduated from Keio University with a bachelor's ...

, politician *

Hikaru Nishida is a Japanese pop singer and actress. She was born in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and made her singing debut on April 6, 1988 with the release of the single "Fifteen", named after her age at the time. Nishida is affiliated with Manase ...

, actress * Yūji Oda, actor * Takayuki Ohira, engineer, inventor

References

External links

Tama Ward Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tama-Ku, Kawasaki Wards of Kawasaki, Kanagawa