Asao-ku, Kawasaki
Encyclopedia
is one of the 7 wards
Wards of Japan
A is a subdivision of one of the cities of Japan that is large enough to have been designated by government ordinance. Wards are used to subdivide each city designated by government ordinance...

 of the city of Kawasaki
Kawasaki, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, 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....

 in Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 167,792 and a density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 7,210 persons per km². The total area was 23.28 km².

Geography

Asao Ward is located in eastern Kanagawa Prefecture, in the far western corner of the city of Kawasaki, bordering on Tokyo. It is bordered to the north by the Tama River
Tama River
The is a major river in Yamanashi, Kanagawa and Tokyo Prefectures on Honshū, Japan. It is officially classified as a Class 1 river by the Japanese government....

. In March 1913, a fossil tooth from a Parastegodon (similar to the Stegodon
Stegodon
Stegodon , is a genus of the extinct subfamily Stegodontinae of the order Proboscidea. It was assigned to the family Elephantidae , but has also been placed in Stegodontidae . Stegodonts were present from 11.6 mya to 4,100 years ago...

 genus) was found in what is now Yurigaoka
Yurigaoka
Yurigaoka is a neighborhood in Asao-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture which consists of 1 to 3-chōme.The population was 8009 as of March 2009.-Name:...

 2-19 in the upper sedimentary layers of mudstone. It is thought to have been from the late Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...

 period. Most of what is now the city of Kawasaki was under water during this period, so the fossil indicates that the Asao area was above water and perhaps marked the shoreline.

Surrounding municipalities

  • Tama-ku, Kawasaki
    Tama-ku, Kawasaki
    is one of the 8 wards of the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 211,221 and a density of 10,310 persons per km². The total area was 20.49 km².-Geography:...

  • Miyamae-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...

  • Aoba-ku, Yokohama
    Aoba-ku, Yokohama
    is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 302,643 and a density of 8,610 persons per km². The total area was 35.14 km².-Geography:...

  • Machida, Tokyo
    Machida, Tokyo
    is a city located in the western part of the greater metropolis of Tokyo, Japan. The city was founded on February 1, 1958.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 424,669 and a population density of 5,928.65 persons per km². The total area is 71.63 km²...

  • Tama, Tokyo
    Tama, Tokyo
    is a municipality classified as a city, located in Tokyo, Japan.Its southern half forms part of the Tama New Town project, Japan's largest residential development, constructed in the 1970s....

  • Inagi, Tokyo
    Inagi, Tokyo
    is a city located in Tokyo, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 81,134 and the density of 4,096.33 persons per km². The total area is 17.97 km².The city was founded on November 1, 1971.-History:...


History

Rice was grown in the area as early as the Yayoi period
Yayoi period
The is an Iron Age era in the history of Japan traditionally dated 300 BC to 300 AD. It is named after the neighbourhood of Tokyo where archaeologists first uncovered artifacts and features from that era. Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new...

. The name “Asao” appears in Heian period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 records, and as the name implies, the area was noted for its production of hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...

. Under Ritsuryō
Ritsuryo
is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei"...

 system, it was part of Musashi Province
Musashi Province
was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Prefecture, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama...

. By the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 It was administered as tenryō territory controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

, but administered through various hatamoto
Hatamoto
A was a samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as gokenin. However, in the Edo period, hatamoto were the upper vassals of the Tokugawa...

, and was noted for its production of charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...

. After the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, the area was divided between Tachibana District and Tsuzuki District in the new Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...

 on April 1, 1889. These areas were annexed by the neighboring city of Kawasaki from 1938-1939.

The area became part of a huge government sponsored housing project from the 1950s and 1960s, resulting in the Yurigaoka Danchi and other suburban developments. The area became part of 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

Asao Ward is largely a regional commercial center and bedroom community for central Kawasaki and Tokyo. Traditionally (through the Meiji period, the area was known for its production of Japanese persimmons
Kaki
Kaki may refer to:* Diospyros kaki, better known as Japanese Persimmon, a fruit tree* the Japanese word for oyster* the Māori name for the Black Stilt* Kaki, Iran, a city in Bushehr Province...

.

Railroads

  • Keiō Corporation –Keiō Sagamihara Line
    Keio Sagamihara Line
    The is a Japanese railway line operated by Keio Corporation, connecting Hashimoto Station in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture and Chōfu Station in Chōfu, Tokyo.-History:...

    • Wakabadai Station
      Wakabadai Station
      is a railway station operated by the Keio Electric Railway’s Sagamihara Line, located in Asao-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is 8.8 kilometers from the terminus of the Sagamihara Line at Chōfu Station.-History:...

  • Odakyu Electric Railway
    Odakyu Electric Railway
    , or OER, 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....

     –Odakyū Odawara Line
    • - - -
  • Odakyu Electric Railway
    Odakyu Electric Railway
    , or OER, 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....

     –Odakyū Tama Line
    • - - - -

Prefecture roads

  • Kanagawa Prefectural Road 3
  • Kanagawa Prefectural Road 12
  • Kanagawa Prefectural Road 19
  • Kanagawa Prefectural Road 124
  • Kanagawa Prefectural Road 137

Education

  • Den-en Chofu University
    Den-en Chofu University
    is a private university in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. The predecessor of the school, a women's school, was founded in 1926. It was chartered as a women's junior college in 1967 and became coeducational in 1998. In 2002 the school became a four-year college....

  • Showa Academia Musicae
  • Tokyo City University – Department of Nuclear Engineering

External links

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