Suginami

Suginami (杉並区, Suginami-ku) is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Suginami City in English.

Suginami

杉並区
Special ward
Suginami City
Wadabori Koen Park, spring cherry blossom
Flag
Seal
Location of Suginami in Tokyo
Suginami
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 35°41′N 139°37′E
CountryJapan
RegionKantō
PrefectureTokyo
First official recorded4th century
As Tokyo CityOctober 1, 1932
As Special ward of TokyoJuly 1, 1943
Government
 • MayorRyo Tanaka (since June 2010)
Area
 • Total34.06 km2 (13.15 sq mi)
Population
 (April 1, 2017)
 • Total562,065
 • Density16,502/km2 (42,740/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
Postal code(s)
166-xxxx
City hall address1-15-1 Asagaya Minami, Suginami-ku, Tokyo
165-8570
Websitewww.city.suginami.tokyo.jp
Symbols
TreePine, Dawn Redwood, Sasanqua

As of April 1, 2017, Suginami has an estimated population of 562,065, and a population density of 16,502 persons per km2. The total area is 34.06 km2.

Geography

Suginami occupies the western part of the ward area of Tokyo. Its neighbors include these special wards: to the east, Shibuya and Nakano; to the north, Nerima; and to the south, Setagaya. Its western neighbors are the cities of Mitaka and Musashino.

The Kanda River passes through Suginami. The Zenpukuji river originates from Zenpukuji Park in western Suginami, and the Myōshōji River originates in Myōshōji Park, to the north of Ogikubo station.

History

The name Suginami dates back to the early Edo period and is a shortened version of Suginamiki ("avenue of cedars”). This name came about when an early land baron, Lord Tadayoshi Okabe, planted a row of cedar trees to mark the bounds of his property.[1]

The ward was founded on March 15, 1947.

In 1970, 40 high school students in the area were exposed to photochemical smog and required hospitalization. The incident attracted national attention and increased awareness of the dangers of pollution.[1]

Districts and neighborhoods
Autumn colors in a park Suginami
Autumn colors in a High School Suginami

The following neighborhoods make up Suginami-ku.

Politics

Historically, Suginami has leaned toward liberal activism. In 1954, local housewives launched the "Suginami Appeal" against nuclear weapons, a petition that spread nationwide and ultimately collected 20 million signatures.[1] More recently in 2005, Suginami became part of Japan's fight against nationalist textbook revisionism when residents petitioned Tokyo's courts to prevent the adoption of a controversial textbook published by Fusosha Publishing which claimed to justify Japanese actions during World War II.[1] The ward has also passed an ordinance placing limits on the installation of security cameras.[1]

To combat burglaries, which reached a record number of 1,710 in 2002, the ward created an unconventional anti-crime program called Operation Flower. The ward urged residents to plant flowers facing the street, with the long-term goal of increasing neighborhood watchfulness (necessitated by watering and otherwise attending to the plants). In addition, 9,600 volunteers were recruited for neighborhood safety patrols, 200 security cameras were placed at crime-vulnerable areas, and a daily email update was created for residents. Subsequent to the start of the program, burglaries were down 80% to 390 in 2008.[2]

As of 2006, the mayor of Suginami is Hiroshi Yamada.[1]

Suginami refused to connect to Japan's Residents Basic Registry Network.[1] As of 2005, it is implementing a measure to make registry optional.

Transportation

Rail

Road

Education

Suginami operates public elementary and junior high schools.

Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.

  • Nishi High School[3]
  • Nogei High School[4]
  • Ogikubo High School[5]
  • Suginami High School[6]
  • Suginami Sogo High School[7]
  • Suginami Technical High School[8]
  • Toyotama High School[9]

International schools:

  • Tokyo Korean 9th Elementary School (東京朝鮮第九初級学校) - North Korean school[10]
  • Bunka Suginami Canadian International School[11]

Higher Education:

Economy

Animation

Several animation studios are located in Suginami. Bones is headquartered in Igusa,[12] while Sunrise has its headquarters near the Kami-Igusa Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line.[13] Bones was founded by former members of Sunrise, and staff at each company often help each other on projects. The Satelight studio, founded in Sapporo, relocated to the Asagaya neighborhood in 2006 (an earlier Tokyo office, at a different location in Suginami, had been in existence since 2003).[14] In addition, many smaller studios are based here; as of 2006, over 70 studios (of 400 throughout Japan) were located in Suginami.[1]

Japanese operations

The communications and electronics giant Iwatsu Electric is headquartered in Kugayama.[15]

Foreign operations

American Express has an office

Microsoft has a branch office in the Daitabashi Asahi Seimei Building in Izumi.[16]

Former economic operations

Prior to its disestablishment, Data East had its headquarters in Suginami.[17]

Culture
Asagaya Tanabata Festival, held in August
  • Ōmiya Hachiman Shrine
  • Suginami Kokaido: a concert hall and the home of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.[1] It is also the same place where Birth of Ultraman (ウルトラマン誕生, Urutoraman Tanjō), the pre-premiere special of Ultraman was held which recorded on July 9, 1966 and later aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System (the Ultra Series' original network before TV Tokyo) the next day in 7:00 pm. In fact, as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Ultra Series, "Ultraman Day" (ウルトラマンの日, Urutoraman no Hi) was held in Suginami Kokaido on July 10, 2016.[18][19]
  • Suginami Animation Museum: a small museum which includes a screening theater, library, and historical overview of Japanese animation, with English language explanations

References
  1. "Getting animated in Suginami". The Japan Times. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  2. Kubota, Yoko (June 12, 2009). "Residents fight burglars with flower power". Reuters. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  3. Archived October 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. 都立農芸高等学校：Tokyo Metropolitan Nogei High School. Nogei-h.metro.tokyo.jp. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  5. http://www.ogikubo-h.metro.tokyo.jp/
  6. 東京都立杉並高等学校. Suginami-h.metro.tokyo.jp. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  7. http://www.suginamisogo-h.metro.tokyo.jp/
  8. 東京都立杉並工業高等学校. Suginamikogyo-h.metro.tokyo.jp. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  9. http://www.toyotama-h.metro.tokyo.jp/
  10. ウリハッキョ一覧. Chongryon. Retrieved October 14, 2015. (Archive).
  11. "| Bunka Suginami Canadian International School". bscis.bunsugi.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  12. "company info." Bones. Retrieved on March 10, 2010.
  13. "Company Outline." Sunrise. Retrieved on February 26, 2010.
  14. "Satelight Corporate History." Satelight. Retrieved on July 9, 2010.
  15. "Corporate Profile." Iwatsu Electric. December 8, 2002. Retrieved on July 9, 2010.
  16. "Microsoft Careers - Our Japan Locations." Microsoft. Retrieved on July 9, 2010.
  17. "データイースト." Data East. December 8, 2002. Retrieved on October 20, 2009.
  18. ウルトラマン放送開始50年記念『ウルトラマンの日 in 杉並公会堂』2DAYS開催決定!! 7/9(土)「THE ROCK 2016」・10(日)「THE LEGENDS 1966」 (in Japanese). m-78.jp. 2016-05-12. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
  19. ウルトラマンの日 (in Japanese). m-78.jp. Retrieved 2016-05-25.
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