Western Tokyo
CountryJapan
RegionKantō
IslandHonshū
PrefectureTokyo
Area total1160 km²
Population as ofOctober 1, 2018
Population total4233493

Western Tokyo (東京都西部, Tōkyō-to seibu), known as the Tama area (多摩地域, Tama chiiki), Tama region (多摩地方, Tama-chihō) or toka (都下) locally, in the Tokyo Metropolis consists of 30 ordinary municipalities (cities (市 shi), towns (町 machi) and one village (村 mura)), unlike the eastern part which consists of 23 special wards.[1]

Before it was transferred to Tokyo in 1893, the Tama area, then also still often referred to as the "three Tama" (三多摩, san-Tama) (referring to the West, North and South Tama counties it consisted of) had formed the Northern part of Kanagawa Prefecture.[2]

Overview

Whereas in the east of Tokyo Metropolis the 23 special wards occupy the area that was formerly Tokyo City, the west consists of 30 other ordinary municipalities: cities (Nos. 1–26), towns (Nos. 27, 28, 30) and a village (No. 29).

List of cities, towns and village

No.FlagNameJapanese (kanji)HiraganaPopulation
(As of October 2016)
Density
(/km²)
Area
(km²)
1Hachiōji八王子市はちおうじし
2Tachikawa立川市たちかわし
3Musashino武蔵野市むさしのし
4Mitaka三鷹市みたかし
5Ōme青梅市おうめし
6Fuchū府中市ふちゅうし
7Akishima昭島市あきしまし
8Chōfu調布市ちょうふし
9Machida町田市まちだし
10Koganei小金井市こがねいし
11Kodaira小平市こだいらし
12Hino日野市ひのし
13Higashimurayama東村山市ひがしむらやまし
14Kokubunji国分寺市こくぶんじし
15Kunitachi国立市くにたちし
16Fussa福生市ふっさし
17Komae狛江市こまえし
18Higashiyamato東大和市ひがしやまとし
19Kiyose清瀬市きよせし
20Higashikurume東久留米市ひがしくるめし
21Musashimurayama武蔵村山市むさしむらやまし
22Tama多摩市たまし
23Inagi稲城市いなぎし
24Hamura羽村市はむらし
25Akirunoあきる野市あきるのし
26Nishitōkyō西東京市にしとうきょうし
27Mizuho瑞穂町みずほまち
28Hinode日の出町ひのでまち
29Hinohara檜原村ひのはらむら
30Okutama奥多摩町おくたままち
Overall:

The towns of Hinode, Mizuho, and Okutama, and the village of Hinohara make up the non-contiguous Nishitama District.

The offshore islands of Tokyo (including the Bonin, Volcano, Izu island chains, and the uninhabited islands of Okinotorishima and Minamitorishima) are not considered part of Western Tokyo.

History

Under the Ritsuryō system, Western Tokyo was part of Musashi Province. The provincial capital was at Fuchū. The provincial temple (kokubunji) was at Kokubunji and the principal shrine (ichinomiya) was at Tama.

Western Tokyo previously consisted of three districts:

  • Nishi-Tama District (西多摩郡, Nishi-Tama-gun) (lit. "Western Tama") encompassed the present-day cities of Akiruno, Fussa, Hamura, and Ōme; in addition to the four municipalities (3 towns and a village) that still remain a part of the district.
  • Minami-Tama District (南多摩郡, Minami-Tama-gun) (lit. "Southern Tama") covered the area now occupied by Hachiōji, Hino, Inagi, Tama, and Machida. With the formation of Inagi (the last city to be created in Tokyo in 1971), Minamitama District ceased to exist.
  • Kita-Tama District (北多摩郡, Kita-Tama-gun) (lit. "Northern Tama") consisted of the locations of the present-day cities of Akishima, Chōfu, Fuchū, Higashikurume, Higashimurayama, Higashiyamato, Kiyose, Kodaira, Koganei, Kokubunji, Komae, Kunitachi, Mitaka, Musashimurayama, Musashino, Nishitokyo, and Tachikawa, as well as some land now in Setagaya. With the establishment of the city of Musashimurayama in 1970, Kitatama District ceased to exist.

References

  1. ^ Tokyo Metropolitan Government: Municipalities within Tokyo Archived 2017-12-13 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ National Archives of Japan: 三多摩を東京府に編入