is an area in

Shinjuku , officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropol ...

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 ...

, that previously was a ward (四谷区 ''Yotsuya-ku'') in the now-defunct

Tokyo City was a Cities of Japan, municipality in Japan and capital of Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943), Tokyo Prefecture (or ''Tokyo-fu'') which existed from 1 May 1889 until the establishment of Tokyo Metropolis on 1 July 1943. The historical boundari ...

. In 1947, when the 35 wards of Tokyo were reorganized into 23, it was merged with

Ushigome is a neighborhood in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and a former ward (牛込区 ''Ushigome-ku'') in the now-defunct Tokyo City. The name Ushigome refers to a former cattle ranch in the area that was next to a horse ranch, Komagome . In 1947, when the 35 wards ...

ward of Tokyo City and

Yodobashi is one of the 35 former wards of Tokyo-Fu, Tokyo City. On October 1, 1932, the towns of Yodobashi, Okubo, Totsuka, and Ochiai were merged into Yodobashi ward. In 1947, it was merged with Yotsuya and Ushigome wards of Tokyo City to form the pr ...

suburban ward of Tokyo-fu to form the modern Shinjuku ward.

Geography

Yotsuya is located in the southeastern part of Shinjuku. Prior to 1943, when Tokyo was still a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, Yotsuya was one of its wards and had definite boundaries, but it is less clearly defined today. Yotsuya is generally defined as coinciding with the jurisdiction of the Shinjuku City Yotsuya Branch Office and the Yotsuya Police Station, which includes most of Shinjuku east of Meiji-dōri and south of Yasukuni-dōri. To the east lies the neighborhoods of

Banchō is an area in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, consisting of the six "-banchō" districts, to , as well as parts of Kudanminami and Kudankita, and Fujimi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Fujimi. The Banchō area is located to the west of the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imp ...

in Chiyoda. For addressing purposes, the name Yotsuya is used for a part of Shinjuku located immediately west of Yotsuya Station; it is divided into four ''

chōme The Japanese addressing system is used to identify a specific location in Japan. When written in Japanese characters, addresses start with the largest geographical entity and proceed to the most specific one. The Japanese system is complex, th ...

''.

History

Before the growth of

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 ...

, Yotsuya was a farming village outside the city. In 1634, with the digging of the outer moat around

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established th ...

, many temples and shrines moved to Yotsuya. The moat had stone walls, and a ''mitsuke,'' or watch tower, was also built. Yotsuya Mitsuke stood near the present-day Yotsuya Station. The relocation of the temples and construction of the ''mitsuke'' brought settlements of workers, and following the devastating

Meireki was a of the Edo period, after the '' Jōō'' era and before '' Manji'' era. This era's period spanned the years from April 1655 to July 1658. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Change of era * 1655 : The era name was changed to mark the ...

fire, many more people moved to Yotsuya, which had been spared. Gradually the area became part of the city of Edo. In 1695, the

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis- ...

ordered the establishment of a vast kennel. The purpose was to board stray dogs as part of his policy of showing mercy to animals. The facility outside the Yotsuya Gate occupied . Yotsuya developed rapidly due to its central location. In 1894, the Kōbu Railway, predecessor of the present-day Chūō Line, extended its existing railway line between

and

Tachikawa file:Autumn colors in Showa memorial park.jpg, 250px, Showa Memorial Park 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 184,383 in 93,428 househ ...

to Ushigome and opened Yotsuya and Shinanomachi stations. The railway enabled the easy transport of raw materials into the area; soon, pencil, tobacco and other industries moved in and began Yotsuya's rapid industrial development.

Culture

Many historic temples and graves are located in Yotsuya. Among them are Sainen-ji, where the grave of the ninja

Hattori Hanzō or ''Second Hanzō'', nicknamed , was a famous samurai of the Sengoku era, who served the Tokugawa clan as a general, credited with saving the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu and then helping him to become the ruler of united Japan. He is often a ...

and his lance are interred. The Korea Center is located in Yotsuya, and the Korea Education Institution (, ), affiliated with the Embassy of South Korea, is inside.

Education

The Shinjuku City (the Shinjuku Ward) Board of Education (新宿区教育委員会) operates public elementary and junior high schools. Most portions of Yotsuya are zoned to Yotsuya Elementary School ( 四谷小学校), which is in Yotsuya 2-chōme. Sections zoned to Yotsuya ES include all of 1 and 2-chōme and portions of 3 and 4-chōme. The remainder of Yotsuya 3 and 4-chōme are zoned to Yotsuya 6th (Dairoku) Elementary School (四谷第六小学校) in Daikyōchō. All sections of Yotsuya, 1 to 4-chōme included, are zoned to Yotsuya Junior High School ( 四谷中学校) in Yotsuya 1-chōme. - Yotsuya is listed under "よ", with the chōme delineated. Most area public high schools are operated by the

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education (東京都教育委員会 ''Tōkyō-to Kyōiku Iinkai'') is the board of education in Tokyo, Japan. The board directly manages most of the Public school (government funded), public secondary schoo ...

. File:Yotsuya_Elementary_School-1.jpg, Yotsuya Elementary School ( 四谷小学校)

Notable people

Prime Minister Saito Makoto lived in Yotsuya. He was assassinated at his home on February 26, 1936. This was one of the events of the February 26 Incident. Other notable residents include: *

Futabatei Shimei was a Japanese writer, translator, and literary critic. His writings are in the realist style popular in the mid to late 19th century. His work '' The Drifting Cloud'' (''Ukigumo'', 1887) is widely regarded as Japan's first modern novel. Bi ...

, author * San'yūtei Enchō, writer and ''

rakugo is a form of Japanese verbal comedy, traditionally performed in '' yose'' theatres. (Bibliographyvolume 38(1)article
T ...

ka''

In fiction

Yotsuya has figured prominently in various works of fiction. The

kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

play ''

Yotsuya Kaidan , the story of Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon, is a tale of betrayal, murder and onryou, ghostly revenge. Arguably the most famous Kaidan (parapsychology), Japanese ghost story of all time, it has been adapted for film over 30 times and continues to be ...

'' took place there, as did the novel ''Teisō Mondō'' by

Kan Kikuchi , also known as Kan Kikuchi (which uses the same kanji as his real name), was a Japanese author and publisher. He established the publishing company Bungeishunjū, the monthly magazine of the same name, the Japan Writer's Association and both ...

. Yotsuya was the setting for the Shōtarō Ikenami

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

''Kenkaku Shōbai'' and the ''

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "historical drama, period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. ''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, crafts ...

'' television series based on it. It was also featured in the novel Norwegian Wood by

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been best-sellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for hi ...

References

External links

Shinjuku City official site

{{Authority control Neighborhoods of Tokyo Districts of Shinjuku