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 ...

. Located in the northeast of the city, Urawa is the governmental center of Saitama and houses most of the city's administrative offices including the city hall, as well as the offices of Saitama Prefectural government. Also, there are several newspaper branch offices and three broadcasting stations.

Geography

Urawa Ward is within the Ōmiya Plateau of 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 south-central portion of Saitama City.

Neighboring Municipalities

Urawa-ku is surrounded by Midori-ku (to the east), Minami-ku (south), Chūō-ku (west), Ōmiya-ku (north), and Minuma-ku (northeast) of Saitama city.

History

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 ...

, Urawa-ku flourished as

Urawa-shuku was the third of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in Urawa-ku in the present-day city of Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its stone ruins can be found 300 meters from Tsuki Shrine (調神社 ''Tsuki Jinja'').

, a post station on the

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the ''de facto'' ...

highway, which connected

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 ...

. Following 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 ...

, Urawa Prefecture was established, and in 1871 merged with Iwatsuki, Urawa, and Oshi Prefectures merged to form

, and Urawa as the capital. The modern town of Urawa was officially created within

Kitaadachi District, Saitama is a district located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. As of September 1, 2005, the district has an estimated population of 36,979 and a density of 2,498.58 persons per km2. The total area is 14.80 km2. (These numbers are excluding those of F ...

with the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889. After 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 ...

many intellectuals, especially painters, moved to Urawa from Tokyo,

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 ...

, and other cities in southern

Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...

. In 1932, Urawa annexed the neighboring villages of Yada and Kisaki, and was elevated to city status on February 11, 1934. Urawa expanded further by annexing the villages of Omagi and Mimuro on April 17, 1940 and town of Mutsuji on April 1, 1942. 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 ...

, Urawa was bombed twice by Allied forces in April and May 1945. Urawa continued to expand after the end of the war, absorbing the villages of Tsuchiai and Okubo on January 1, 1955 and part of the town of Toda on April 1, 1959 and part of the village of Misono on May 1, 1962. On May 1, 2001 Urawa merged with Ōmiya and

Yono Yono may refer to: * YONO, an integrated digital banking platform in India * Yono, Saitama, a former city, now part of Saitama, Japan ** Yono Station is a passenger railway station on the Keihin-Tohoku Line in Urawa-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefe ...

to form Saitama City. In April 2003 Saitama became a

city designated by government ordinance A , also known as a or , is a Cities of Japan, Japanese city that has a population greater than 500,000 and has been designated as such by order of the Cabinet of Japan under Article 252, Section 19, of the Local Autonomy Law. Designated cit ...

, and now the area of former Urawa City was divided between Sakura-ku, Urawa-ku, Minami-ku, and Midori-ku.

Demographics

, 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 166,322 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 14,000 persons per km². Its total area was . Urawa has the second largest population of any ward in Saitama, only behind Minami-ku. The population density is the highest of all the city's wards. As of 2013, the proportion of households with an annual income of 10 million yen (about $102,459) about or more is 15.3%. This is 13th largest of any city ward or municipality in Japan. As of 2010, university graduates account for 43.4% of the population age 25 or older. This ranks 15th in Japan.

Education

Urawa-ku has 12 elementary schools, five junior high schools, and six high schools. The City of Saitama operates Urawashi Junior and Senior High School ( 浦和中学校・高等学校). Public junior high schools: * Kizaki ( 木崎中学校) * Motobuto ( 本太中学校) * Ohara ( 大原中学校) * Tokiwa ( 常盤中学校) * Urawa Junior and Senior High School ( 浦和中学校・高等学校) Municipal elementary schools: * Daito ( 大東小学校) * Harigaya ( 針ヶ谷小学校) * Kami Kizaki ( 上木崎小学校) * Kishicho ( 岸町小学校) * Kita Urawa ( 北浦和小学校) * Kizaki ( 木崎小学校) * Motobuto ( 本太小学校) * Nakacho ( 仲町小学校) * Nakamoto ( 仲本小学校) * Takasogo ( 高砂小学校) * Tokiwa ( 常盤小学校) * Tokiwa Kita ( 常盤北小学校) The Embassy of South Korea in Tokyo maintains the Korea Education Institution (, ) in Urawa Ward.

Transportation

Railway

– Tohoku Main Line /

Takasaki Line The Takasaki Line () is a Japanese railway line which connects Ōmiya Station in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture and Takasaki Station in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. It is owned and operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). All service ...

* – Keihin Tohoku Line * - –

Highway

* *

Bus

* Tobu Bus West * Seibu Bus * International Kyogo Bus

Local attractions

*The

Urawa Red Diamonds The or simply Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ, ''Urawa Rezzu''), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, are a professional association football, football club in the city of Saitama (city), Saitama, part of t ...

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club in the J. League, arguably the biggest club in Japan and in Asia called the city home after strong support from its citizens. Although its official hometown recognized by the league is whole Saitama city and it is now the club is headquartered in

Saitama Stadium , the or simply , is a football stadium located in Midori-ku, Saitama, Japan. Currently, J1 League club Urawa Red Diamonds use this stadium for home games. It is the largest football-specific stadium in Japan and is one of the largest stadi ...

in Midori-ku, the hometown support are strong in the area of former Urawa city. When the team has a match at

Urawa Komaba Stadium The is an athletic stadium in Urawa-ku, Saitama, Japan. It accommodates 21,500 spectators. It was formerly known as Saitama Urawa Komaba Stadium (さいたま市駒場スタジアム). Since May 2012, it has been called Urawa Komaba Stadium. ...

in Urawa-ku or Saitama Stadium, the town becomes more and more crowded with the supporters.

References

External links

{{Authority control Wards of Saitama (city)