Shinagawa, Tokyo

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Shinagawa
品川区
Location of Shinagawa
Shinagawa's location in Tokyo, Japan.
Location
Country Japan
Region Kantō
Prefecture Tokyo
Physical characteristics
Area 22.77 km² (8.79 sq mi)
Population (as of 2008)
     Total 344,461
     Density 15,740 /km² (40,766 /sq mi)
Symbols
Symbol of Shinagawa
Flag
Shinagawa Government Office
Official website: Shinagawa (Japanese)

Shinagawa (品川区 Shinagawa-ku?) is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself Shinagawa City. The ward is home to nine embassies.

As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 344,461 and a density of 15740 persons per km². The total area is 22.72 km².

Contents

[edit] Geography

Shinagawa house boats with high rise apartments in the background
Shinagawa house boats with high rise apartments in the background

Shinagawa includes natural uplands and lowlands, as well as reclaimed land. The uplands are the eastern end of the Musashino hills. They include Shiba Shiroganedai north of the Meguro River, Megurodai between the Meguro and Tachiai Rivers, and Ebaradai south of the Tachiai River.

The ward lies on Tokyo Bay. Its neighbors on land are all special wards of Tokyo: Kōtō to the east, Minato to the north, Meguro to the west, and Ōta to the south.

The ward consists of five districts:

  • the Shinagawa district, including the former Shinagawa post on the Tōkaidō
  • the Ōsaki district, formerly a town, stretching from Ōsaki Station to Gotanda and Meguro Stations
  • the Ebara district, formerly a town of that name
  • the Ōi district, previously the town
  • the Yashio district, consisting of reclaimed land

[edit] History

Most of Tokyo east of the Imperial Palace is reclaimed land. A large portion of reclamation happened during the Edo period. The ward was founded on March 15, 1947, through the administrative amalgamation of the former Ebara Ward with the former Shinagawa Ward. Both Ebara Ward and Shinagawa Ward had been created in 1932, with the outward expansion of the municipal boundaries of the Tokyo City following the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake.

In the Edo period, Shinagawa was the first post town a traveler would reach after setting out from Nihombashi on the Tōkaidō highway from Edo to Kyoto. The post-town function is retained today with several large hotels near the train station offering 6,000 hotel rooms, the largest concentration in the city. The Tokugawa shogunate maintained the Suzugamori execution grounds in Shinagawa. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen began serving Shinagawa Station from 2003, and the nearby Shinagawa Intercity office complex will be served by a new subway station in a few years' time.

[edit] Politics and government

Shinagawa is run by a city assembly of 40 elected members. The mayor as of 2007 is Takeshi Hamano, an independent. Liberal Democratic Party together with New Komeito currently forms government.

[edit] Places

[edit] Education

[edit] Universities

[edit] Special colleges

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education operates two special colleges in Shinagawa:

  • Tokyo Metropolitan College of Technology [1]
  • Tokyo Metropolitan College of Industrial Technology [2]

[edit] Primary and secondary

Public elementary and junior high schools are operated by the Shinagawa Ward Board of Education. Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.

Public high schools in Shinagawa include:

  • Koyamadai High School [3]
  • Osaki High School [4]
  • Yashio High School [5]

[edit] Transportation

For more details on this topic, see Transportation in Greater Tokyo .

[edit] Important train stations

Exterior of Shinagawa Station in Minato
Exterior of Shinagawa Station in Minato
Night view
Night view

Shinagawa Station in neighboring Minato also serves Shinagawa, and is a stop on the high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen line.

[edit] Rail

[edit] Road

Shinagawa is also home to the main motor vehicle registration facility for central Tokyo (located east of Samezu Station). As a result, many license plates in Tokyo are labeled with the name "Shinagawa."

[edit] Companies

[edit] People

[edit] Events

The Kariya Kiyoshi Abduction took place in Shinagawa. On February 28, 1995, members of Aum Shinrikyo abducted Kariya, a public employee, and took him to their facility in Kamikuishiki, Yamanashi, where one of their members, Hayashi Ikuo, gave him an overdose of sodium thiopental of which he died. They incinerated his body and dumped his ashes in Lake Kawaguchi.

[edit] Sister cities

[edit] External links

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Coordinates: 35°36′30″N, 139°44′07″E