Kawasaki, Kanagawa

Kawasaki
川崎市
Designated city
Kawasaki City


Flag
Seal

Location of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture
Kawasaki

 

Coordinates: 35°31′N 139°42′E / 35.517°N 139.700°E / 35.517; 139.700Coordinates: 35°31′N 139°42′E / 35.517°N 139.700°E / 35.517; 139.700
Country Japan
Region Kantō
Prefecture Kanagawa Prefecture
Government
 • Mayor Norihiko Fukuda
Area
 • Total 142.70 km2 (55.10 sq mi)
Population (June 1, 2012)
 • Total 1,437,266
 • Density 10,070/km2 (26,100/sq mi)
Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
- Tree Camellia
- Flower Azalea
Phone number 044-200-2111
Address 1 Miyamoto-chō, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa-ken 210-8577
Website www.city.kawasaki.jp/index_e.htm

Kawasaki (川崎市 Kawasaki-shi) is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, located between Tokyo and Yokohama. It is the 9th most populated city in Japan and one of the main cities forming the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area.

Kawasaki occupies a belt of land stretching about 30 kilometres (19 mi) along the south bank of the Tama River, which divides it from Tokyo. The eastern end of the belt, centered on JR Kawasaki Station, is flat and largely consists of industrial zones and densely built working-class housing, the Western end mountainous and more suburban. The coastline of Tokyo Bay is occupied by vast heavy industrial complexes built on reclaimed land.

The western area of Kawasaki, also known as the Tama Hills, largely consists of newly developed residential areas which are connected to Tokyo by the Odakyū Odawara Line and Tokyu Denentoshi Line. The area also houses several university campuses, suburban commercial developments and light industrial complexes.

Its name derives from 川 kawa = "river" and 崎 saki = "small peninsula" or "cape".

History

The region was orginally part of Musashi Province alongside Edo (now Tokyo), unlike Yokohama which was part of Sagami Province. During the Heian period Kawasaki was under the control of the Inage clan, and during the Kamakura period it was under the control of the late Hojo clan.

Kawasaki gained increased political importance during the Edo period as a stop for travelers on the Tōkaidō between Edo and points west. In the early Meiji era Japan's first railroad, the Tokaido Main Line, was built along the Tokaido route through eastern Kawasaki, spurring the area's growth as an industrial center.

Under Japan's first local government law enacted in 1899, eastern Kawasaki was designated as a town while the remainder of the present-day city was incorporated as twelve villages, two of them within the jurisdiction of Tokyo Prefecture. Kawasaki City was founded on July 1, 1924 by the merger of two towns and one village surrounding Kawasaki Station, and was expanded to its current size in 1939 (except for certain offshore areas which were reclaimed later).

Much of Kawasaki's industrial infrastructure was destroyed by American bombings in 1945, but the city rebounded following the war, especially in its western residential areas. Kawasaki became a designated city on April 1, 1972 and was divided into five wards, two of which were further subdivided in 1982 for a total of seven wards.

Wards

Wards of Kawasaki
Kawasaki has seven wards (ku):

Demographics

As of 1 June 2012, the city has an estimated population of 1,437,266—the ninth highest in Japan—with 666,306 households and a population density of 10,070 persons per km². The total area is 142.70 km². Area is constantly expanded due to construction of artificial islands in Tokyo Bay, though very little of the expanded zone is used for housing. Its population has risen dramatically in the 20th century. Kawasaki Town recorded 21,391 people in 1920 Census (#46 in Japan), but by 1930 it was the 19th largest at 104,351 people, and by 1970 the population had risen to was 973,000 at 9th place, the same as today.

Politics and government

Kawasaki is governed by mayor Norihiko Fukuda, an independent elected on 27 October 2013.[1] The city assembly has 63 elected members.

Elections

Sports

Facilities

Baseball

Field athletics & soccer

Golf

Indoor facilities

Cycling & horseracing

Professional sports

Nippon Professional Baseball

The first professional baseball team in Kawasaki were the Mainichi Orions, who used Kawasaki Stadium as their secondary homefield when the stadium was opened in 1952. The first official team to declare Kawasaki their home were the Takahashi Unions, established in 1954 as the eighth team in the Pacific League. The team was created from beer manufacturer Ryutaro Takahashi's own pocket money, and was mostly made up of players who had been cut from other teams, resulting in poor finishes each year. The team ended up becoming a huge financial mess, and was merged with the Taiei Stars team before the start of the 1957 season.

In 1955, the Taiyo Whales (current Yokohama BayStars) moved from Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi to Kawasaki, becoming the second professional baseball team to call Kawasaki home. The Whales team saw increased attendance at home games, but failed to make any impact in the standings until 1960, when the team won the pennant and swept the Pacific League champions in the Japan Series. The team went on to place a close second behind the Hanshin Tigers in 1964, but quickly dropped down into obscurity in the standings afterwards.

In 1978, the Taiyo Whales relocated to the newly erected Yokohama Stadium, overriding protest from Kawasaki citizens. The Lotte Orions (current Chiba Lotte Marines) had wanted a home stadium located near Tokyo (the Lotte team was based in Tokyo, but played most of their games in Sendai), and moved in the same year. The team saw low attendance, but Kawasaki Stadium was the site for several important records in Japanese baseball history, including Isao Harimoto's 3,000th hit, Hiromitsu Ochiai's consecutive triple crowns from 1984 to 1985, and the dramatic league championship game on October 19, 1988 against the Kintetsu Buffaloes. However, Lotte moved away to Chiba Marine Stadium in 1992, becoming the third and last professional baseball team to be based in Kawasaki.

In research conducted in the aftermath of the Great Hanshin earthquake, it was discovered that Kawasaki Stadium would not withstand an earthquake above magnitude 5. The stadium's stands were taken down, dimming any chances of it being used as a home field once again. The last professional game held at Kawasaki Stadium was a pre-season game between the Yokohama BayStars and Chiba Lotte Marines. Todoroki Baseball Stadium is also located in Kawasaki, but lack of equipment prevents it from being used in professional games.

J. League

Before the start of the J. League, there were several former Japan Soccer League teams already playing in the Kawasaki region. At the formation of the J. League in 1993, they refused to be merged into one team, resulting in Yomiuri Shimbun's football club becoming the professional football team of Kawasaki. Yomiuri had originally wanted to be based in Tokyo, but lack of adequate stadiums there forced them to hold most of their games in Todoroki Athletics Stadium.

The team was renamed to Verdy Kawasaki, and became the season champions for the first two seasons of J. League. The team enjoyed massive popularity, having star players such as Kazuyoshi Miura and Ruy Ramos. However, the city did very little to improve the sorry state of the team's home stadium until protest from citizens forced them to fix up the field. It took two years for the stadium to be expanded to a J. League regulation-size (25,000 capacity) stadium.

The former JSL teams in Kawasaki (Toshiba, NKK) were either disbanded or moved to other cities, and Verdy Kawasaki moved to Tokyo Stadium in 2000 to become Tokyo Verdy 1969 and leave Kawasaki without a J1 (J. League division 1) soccer team. Kawasaki Frontale, formed in 1997 from Fujitsu's old JSL team, was demoted to J2 in 2001, but returned to J1 in 2004. Frontale aims to reinforce its ties with the city through avid participation in community events.

Transportation

Further information: Transportation in Greater Tokyo
The railway network around Kawasaki (northeast area in this map)
The area around Kawasaki Station

Only one railway line links the east and western ends of Kawasaki city (JR Nambu Line), whereas a multitude of train lines traverse the city north to south, making access to central Tokyo much more convenient than travel within Kawasaki itself. A subway line is planned between Kawasaki station in the east and Shin-Yurigaoka in the west.

Major transit points are Musashi-Mizonokuchi Station, Musashi-Kosugi Station, Kawasaki Station area, and Shin-Yurigaoka Station.

The Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, a bridge-tunnel across Tokyo Bay, connects Kawasaki and the city of Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture.

Kawasaki city operates Municipal City Buses.

Railway stations

■ East Japan Railway Company
■ Tōkaidō Main Line
■ Keihin-Tōhoku Line
  • - Kawasaki -
■ Nanbu Line
■ Tsurumi Line
■ Yokosuka Line, Shōnan-Shinjuku Line
■ Odakyu Electric Railway
■ Odakyū Line
■ Tama Line
■ Keio Corporation
■ Sagamihara Line
■ Keikyu Corporation
■ Keikyū Main Line
■ Daishi Line
■ Tokyu Corporation
■ Tōyoko Line
■ Meguro Line
  • - Shin-Maruko - Musashi-Kosugi - Motosumiyoshi -
■ Den-en-toshi Line
■ Ōimachi Line
  • - Futako-Shinchi - Takatsu - Mizonokuchi

Economy

Fujitsu's Main Branch is located in Nakahara-ku.[4] It was formerly Fujitsu's headquarters.[5]

Kawasaki has several factories and development bases of the companies of heavy industry (e.g., JFE Group, Nippon Oil Corporation) and high technology (Fujitsu, NEC Corporation, Toshiba, Dell Japan and Sigma Corporation[6]).

Education

Kawasaki operates public elementary and junior high schools.

The public high schools in Kawasaki are operated by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education.

Places of interest

Kawasaki Daishi
The Fujiko･F･Fujio Museum

International relations

Twin cities

Kawasaki is twinned with the following cities in Japan and worldwide.

Japan

International

Friendship ports

References

  1. ↑ http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/28/national/suga-downplays-ldp-loss-in-kawasaki-poll/#.UtG_yNJdU1I
  2. ↑ Kawasaki Keirin
  3. ↑ Kawasaki Keiba
  4. ↑ "Contact." Fujitsu. Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Company Profile." Fujitsu. January 19, 1998. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Company Summary." Sigma Corporation. Retrieved on September 28, 2015
  7. ↑ "fujiko-museum". fujiko-museum. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  8. ↑ "Anime star Doraemon to have own museum". The Independent. 29 August 2011.
  9. ↑ "Baltimore City Mayor's Office of International and Immigrant Affairs - Sister Cities Program". Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-18.

External links

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