is one of the 18 ku ( 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, 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 270,433 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 8,140 persons per km². The total area is 33.23 km².

Geography

Tsurumi-ku is located in eastern Kanagawa Prefecture, in the northeast corner of the city of Yokohama.

Surrounding municipalities

* Kanagawa Ward * Kōhoku Ward * Kawasaki

History

The area around present-day Tsurumi Ward has been inhabited continuously 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 ...

, and tombs from the

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

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

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. ...

. 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 ...

, 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 ...

''. During the Bakumatsu period, nearby

Kanagawa-juku was the third of the fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō. It was located in Kanagawa-ku in the present-day city of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It was close to Kanagawa Port. Many of its historical artifacts were destroyed by the G ...

was the location of the signing of the

Convention of Kanagawa The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the or the , was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March 31, 1854. Unequal treaty#Japan, Signed under threat of force, it effectively meant the end of Japan's 220-ye ...

, which ended Japan’s national isolation policy and led to the normalization of

diplomatic relations Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

between the

United States 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 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and Japan. The subsequent Treaty of Amity and Commerce led to the establishment of a

treaty port Treaty ports (; ) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Qing dynasty of China (before the ...

for foreign commerce and settlement, which was initially stipulated to be Kanagawa. However, for security reasons, the actual settlement was established at neighboring Yokohama (present day Naka-ku). The Namamugi Incident, which led to the 1863 Anglo-Satsuma War, occurred in what is now part of Tsurumi Ward. Under the Ritsuryō system of antiquity, the area was part of the Tachibana District of Musashi Province. In 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 district became part of

in 1868. Tsurumi was connected to Yokohama and Tokyo by train in 1872, and the area rapidly urbanized.

Sōji-ji is one of two of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism. The other is Eihei-ji temple in Fukui Prefecture. ''Fodor's'' calls it "one of the largest and busiest Buddhist institutions in Japan". The temple was founded in 740 as a Shingon Buddhist temp ...

, the head temple of the

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Caodong school, Cáodòng school, which was founded during the ...

sect of

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

relocated to Tsurumi from

Ishikawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,096,721 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,186 Square kilometre, km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Pr ...

in 1911. Tsurumi 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 ...

. In April 1924, Tsurumi became a town within Tachibana District. On October 1, 1927 Tsurumi became a ward within the city of Yokohama. The area suffered greatly again 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 ...

, and was completely devastated during the massive Yokohama air raid of May 29, 1945. The area soon rebuilt after the end of the war, assisted by an influx of educational facilities in the 1950s and rapid re-industrialization of the area in the 1950s and 1960s. The Tsurumi railway accident occurred near Tsurumi Station on November 9, 1963, killing 161 people. The population of Tsurumi Ward surpassed 260,000 people in 2007, and celebrated the 80th anniversary of its foundation in 2009.

Economy

Tsurumi Ward is 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. The coastal area is part of the Keihin Industrial Zone, and is the most industrialized region within Yokohama. Major factories are operated by: *

ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...

(Anzencho 2-chome) * JFE Steel (Oogijima) - JFE's main plant for eastern Japan is on the border of Tsurumi-ku and Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki. * Kirin Brewery (Namamugi 1-chome) *

Nissan Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and '' Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house performance tuning ...

(Kanagawa) *

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

(Suehirocho 2-chome) - Toshiba's largest factory is located on Tokyo Bay and has its own JR train station, Umi-Shibaura Station. *

Morinaga & Company is a Japanese confectionery company headquartered in Tokyo, and founded in 1899. Their products include candy, such as Hi-Chew, and other confectioneries. Morinaga is loosely affiliated with Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd., a public compa ...

* Asahi Glass Co. * J-OIL MILLS, Inc *

Tokyo Electric Power Company is a Japanese electric utility holding company servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture. This area includes Tokyo. Its headquarters are located in Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, an ...

Daikokufuto, an artificial island in

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

, is a major warehousing center.

Transportation

Railroads

East Japan Railway Company 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 ...

– Keihin-Tohoku Line ** *

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 ...

**, *

Keihin Electric Express Railway (), also known as or, more recently, , is a private railroad that connects inner Tokyo to Kawasaki, Yokohama, Yokosuka and other points on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture. It also provides rail access to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. ...

Keikyū Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the private railway operator Keikyu. The line connects the Tokyo wards of Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Shinagawa, Tokyo, Shinagawa, Ōta, Tokyo, Ōta, and the Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa municipalities o ...

** Tsurumi-ichiba Station, , , *

Tsurumi Line The Tsurumi Line () is a group of 3 railway lines operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Originally built to service the port and adjacent industrial area, the lines provide passenger services (especia ...

** , , , , , , ,

Highways

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 ...

B, K1 and K5 Routes * National Route 1 (No. 2 Keihin Route) * National Route 15 (No. 1 Keihin Route)

Prefecture roads

* Kanagawa Prefecture Road 6 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 14 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 101 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 111 *Kanagawa Prefecture Road 140

Sightseeing spots

Sojiji Temple - Soji-ji was founded in 740. It is one of the two biggest head

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

(daihonzan) of the Soto school of

Zen Buddhism Zen (; from Chinese: '' Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka ph ...

. The temple ground covers an area of nearly 50000 square meters. Soji-ji was rebuilt in Yokohama in 1911, after it burned down at its old location in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture. Address: Sojiji Temple, 2-1-1 Tsurumi, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken Tsurumi University - The university was founded in 1925. It has a great campus with lots of greenery. The total student population is 3099. It is located very close to the Soji-ji Temple. Mitsuike Park - Mitsuike Koen is a beautiful place for a relaxing stroll. The best time to visit is during the cherry blossom season, when 1600 trees from 78 different species are in full bloom. You will find there a Korean Garden, three ponds and two nice walking trails.

Education

Colleges and universities *

RIKEN is a national scientific research institute in Japan. Founded in 1917, it now has about 3,000 scientists on seven campuses across Japan, including the main site at Wakō, Saitama, Wakō, Saitama Prefecture, on the outskirts of Tokyo. Riken is a ...

br>Yokohama Institute
* Tsurumi University * Yokohama College of Commerce Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education operates prefectural high schools. * * operates municipal high schools: * * Private high schools: * * * * The municipal board of education operates municipal elementary and junior high schools. Junior high schools: * Kaminomiya ( 上の宮) * Kansei ( 寛政) * Ichiba ( 市場) * Namamugi ( 生麦) * Sueyoshi ( 末吉) * Terao ( 寺尾) * Tsurumi ( 鶴見) * Ushioda ( 潮田) * Yakou ( 矢向) * Elementary schools: * Asahi ( 旭) * Baba (馬場) * Heian ( 平安) * Higashidai (東台) * Ichiba ( 市場) * Irifune ( 入船) * Kamisueyoshi (上末吉) * Kamiterao (上寺尾) * Kishiya ( 岸谷) * Komaoka (駒岡) * Namamugi ( 生麦) * Shimosueyoshi (下末吉) * Shin Tsurumi ( 新鶴見) * Shioiri ( 汐入) * Shishigaya (獅子ケ谷) * Shitanoya ( 下野谷) * Sueyoshi (末吉) * Terao (寺尾) * Toyooka ( 豊岡) * Tsurumi ( 鶴見) * Ushioda ( 潮田) * Yako (矢向) Additionally, the zone of Kikuna Elementary School ( 菊名小学校), not in Tsurumi-ku, includes a part of Tsurumi-ku. International schools: * Tsurumi Korean Primary School ( 鶴見朝鮮初級学校) - North Korean international school - Kindergarten and primary schoolInternational schools
" City of Yokohama. Retrieved on October 13, 2015.
Horizon Japan International School

Noted people from Tsurumi Ward

* Kanna Arihara, singer *

Antonio Inoki (born ; 20 February 1943 – 1 October 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, professional wrestling trainer, martial arts, martial artist, politician, and Promoter (entertainment), promot ...

, professional wrestler, politician *

Shingo Katori is a Japanese actor, singer, television host, and radio personality. He was the youngest member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy band, boy bands in Asia. Early life Katori was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa and moved to Tokyo to pursue his car ...

, singer, actor * Yasuhiro Kojima, professional wrestler * Akina Minami, gravure idol and actress *

Yutaka Niida is a retired professional boxer in the minimumweight (105 lb) division and former WBA world minimumweight champion. Professional boxing career Niida belonged to the Yokohama Hikari Boxing Gym, his trainer was Mitsunori Seki and Hidefumi Oika ...

, professional boxer * Yakkun Sakurazuka, comedian, voice actor * Junpei Shinoda, professional baseball player * Fumie Suguri, professional figure skater * Kota Takai, professional football player * Miri Yu, author *Jo Asakura, singer from Japanese Boy group

&TEAM &Team (; , stylized in all caps) is a Japanese boy band based in Japan and South Korea formed by YX Labels. The group is composed of nine members: K, Fuma, Nicholas, EJ, Yuma, Jo, Harua, Taki, and Maki. They were formed through the reality/sur ...

References

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

External links

Tsurumi Ward Office

* {{Authority control Wards of Yokohama