is one of the ten 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 Saitama

Saitama, Saitama

' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...

 located in Saitama Prefecture

Saitama Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...

, 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...

.

Geography

Midori-ku is located at the south-eastern corner and covers an area part of former Misono Village and an eastern section of former Urawa City

Urawa, Saitama

was a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, until it merged into the city of Saitama together with two other cities, Omiya and Yono, on May 1, 2001. In 2003, the former area of Urawa became Urawa-ku, Midori-ku, Minami-ku, and Sakura-ku, which are wards of the city of Saitama...

. A wide area of green farmland, Minuma Rice Paddies

Minuma

or is an area of paddy fields and other agricultural fields along the Minuma Irrigational Canal. The area encompasses 1260 hectares and straddles across five wards of the city of Saitama...

, forms the central part of the ward. The major river system includes the Shiba River, the Ayanose River, and the Minuma Irrigational Canal. In the southern section of the ward runs the Tōhoku Expressway

Tohoku Expressway

The is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned by Japan Expressway Holding and Debt Repayment Agency and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company.-Naming:Tōhoku refers to the Tōhoku region, the northernmost region on the island of Honshū....

.

History

• The first people who stayed permanently in this area is considered to have arrived approximately twenty five thousand years ago.
• Paleolithic archaeological sites found in the area include , , , , and the like. In the subsequent periods up to Ancient history, many sites have been found in the Ōmiya Plateau.　
• In the Early modern period, the area witnessed large-scale civil engineering projects: the construction of , the demolition of the reservoir, and the creation of . became one of the post stations or shukuba
  Shukuba
  were post stations during the Edo period in Japan, generally located on one of the Edo Five Routes or one of its sub-routes. They were also called shukueki . These post stations were places where travelers could rest on their journey around the nation...
  
   of and known as .

• In 1889 (Meiji 22), a policy change in the governmental administrative system set up five villages , , , and . Subsequently, each of them in turn merges into former Urawa City.
• In 2001, Former Urawa City, Yono City, and Ōmiya City merged and created Saitama City.
• In 2003, Midori-ku was established as a ward when Saitama City was designated by government ordinance.

Controversy over name

During the merging process that established Saitama City, the proposed name , which has traditionally been referring to the region, met public opposition, for it conveys images of backwardness. In particular, the second Kanji character attracted negative reactions from residents. In a referendum, "Urawahigashi-ku" and "Higashiurawa-ku" were voted to be in first and third place, respectively. Nevertheless, they were eliminated on the ground that they contained a name of former Urawa City. The second place "Misono-ku" was also rejected because the major area of the new ward was not part of former Misono Village. "Higashi-ku", meaning "East Ward", ranked fourth in the vote was also eliminated, since Iwatsuki City, located east of Saitama City was expressing a desire to join the new city. As a result, the fifth tier choice "Midori-ku," meaning "Green Ward," became the name of the ward.

External links

• Midori-ku

This article incorporates material from (Midori-ku (Saitama City)) in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on September 4, 2008.