was a city in
Saitama Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū. 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 floods of residents commute each day....
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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...
, until it merged into the city of
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...
together with two other cities,
OmiyaŌmiya was a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In 2001 it merged with two other cities to form the city of Saitama. Since 1 April 2003, the area of former Ōmiya city is Kita-ku, Minuma-ku, Nishi-ku, and Ōmiya-ku of Saitama city.-Origin and pre-modern history:...
and
YonoYono was a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The town of Yono began on April 1, 1889. On July 15, 1958, Yono became a city. The city existed between cities of Urawa and Ōmiya. On May 1, 2001 it merged with Ōmiya and Urawa to form the new capital City of Saitama...
, on May 1, 2001. In 2003, the former area of Urawa became
Urawa-kuUrawa is a ward of Saitama City, Japan. It is surrounded by Midori-ku , Minami-ku , Chūō-ku , Ōmiya-ku , and Minuma-ku of Saitama city....
, Midori-ku, Minami-ku, and Sakura-ku, which are
wardsA 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 Saitama. The city hall and the prefectural government building are located in Urawa-ku.
In the
Edo periodThe , or , is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 and is the premodern era. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the...
, the area that became Urawa flourished as a posting station of the
NakasendōThe was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo to Kyoto in Japan. There were 69 stations between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces...
, a highway connecting
Edo, literally: bay-door, "estuary", ), also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
(modern-day
Tokyo, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the city of Tokyo in the eastern part of the prefecture, totaling over 8 million people....
) and
Kyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area....
.
was a city in
Saitama Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū. 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 floods of residents commute each day....
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of 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...
, until it merged into the city of
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...
together with two other cities,
OmiyaŌmiya was a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In 2001 it merged with two other cities to form the city of Saitama. Since 1 April 2003, the area of former Ōmiya city is Kita-ku, Minuma-ku, Nishi-ku, and Ōmiya-ku of Saitama city.-Origin and pre-modern history:...
and
YonoYono was a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The town of Yono began on April 1, 1889. On July 15, 1958, Yono became a city. The city existed between cities of Urawa and Ōmiya. On May 1, 2001 it merged with Ōmiya and Urawa to form the new capital City of Saitama...
, on May 1, 2001. In 2003, the former area of Urawa became
Urawa-kuUrawa is a ward of Saitama City, Japan. It is surrounded by Midori-ku , Minami-ku , Chūō-ku , Ōmiya-ku , and Minuma-ku of Saitama city....
, Midori-ku, Minami-ku, and Sakura-ku, which are
wardsA 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 Saitama. The city hall and the prefectural government building are located in Urawa-ku.
History
In the
Edo periodThe , or , is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 and is the premodern era. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the...
, the area that became Urawa flourished as a posting station of the
NakasendōThe was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo to Kyoto in Japan. There were 69 stations between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces...
, a highway connecting
Edo, literally: bay-door, "estuary", ), also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
(modern-day
Tokyo, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the city of Tokyo in the eastern part of the prefecture, totaling over 8 million people....
) and
Kyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area....
. But it was not as big a town as
Iwatsukiis a ward of Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan since April 1, 2005 when the city of Iwatsuki was incorporated into Saitama City.-Population and Area:The first population count was held on July 1, 2006 and the ward had an estimated population of 111,723...
, which was the only
castle townA castle town is a town or city built adjacent to or surrounding a castle.Castle towns are common in Medieval Europe, where towns would form around ancient Roman fortresses...
in the area of the modern-day city of Saitama.
In 1869, the Prefectural Government of Urawa Prefecture was set up, and the Government's Office was located in Urawa. In 1871, Iwatsuki, Urawa, and Oshi Prefectures merged to form
Saitama Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū. 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 floods of residents commute each day....
, and Urawa became the capital of this new Prefecture.
The
1923 Great Kantō earthquakeThe struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes....
heavily damaged Tokyo and many nearby cities. Although Urawa is not far from Tokyo, it suffered less damage than to Tokyo,
Yokohamais the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshū. It is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area....
, and other cities in
Kantō regionThe is a geographical area of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. The region encompasses seven prefectures which overlaps the Greater Tokyo Area: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain...
, so many intellectuals, especially painters, moved to Urawa, and this old posting station started to change into a modern city.
Several neighboring villages then merged into Urawa, and in 1934, the town became a city.
The city existed up until the 2001 merger with
ŌmiyaŌmiya was a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In 2001 it merged with two other cities to form the city of Saitama. Since 1 April 2003, the area of former Ōmiya city is Kita-ku, Minuma-ku, Nishi-ku, and Ōmiya-ku of Saitama city.-Origin and pre-modern history:...
and
YonoYono was a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The town of Yono began on April 1, 1889. On July 15, 1958, Yono became a city. The city existed between cities of Urawa and Ōmiya. On May 1, 2001 it merged with Ōmiya and Urawa to form the new capital City of Saitama...
to form Saitama. At that time the city had a population of 488,000.
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