Minami-ku, Yokohama

Minami-ku (南区) is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 197,019 and a density of 15,550 persons per km². The total area was 12.67 km².

Minami 南区
Ward
Minami Ward
Flag
Location of Minami in Kanagawa
Minami   Show map of Yokohama Minami Minami (Japan) Show map of Japan
Coordinates: 35°25′53″N 139°36′32″E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Kanagawa
City	Yokohama
Area
• Total	12.67 km2 (4.89 sq mi)
Population  (February 2010)
• Total	197,019
• Density	15,500/km2 (40,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Flower	Sakura
Address	3-48-1 Hananoki-chō, Minami-ku Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 232-0018
Website	Minami Ward Office

Minami Ward Office

It is located in the southeastern part of the city and has a mix of busy areas near train stations and quiet residential neighborhoods. The ward is crossed by the Ōoka River, and its riverside is popular among tourists and locals for cherry blossoms in the spring.

Minami Ward is home to Gumyō-ji, the oldest Buddhist temple in Yokohama.

Geography

Minami Ward is located in eastern Kanagawa Prefecture, and south of the geographic center of the city of Yokohama. Large buildings and apartment complexes are built up along the area surrounding the highways and railways in the Ward; and all other parts of the Ward are residential areas. The Ōoka River is the major river in the Ward, and in spring many cherry blossoms come into full bloom on its banks. Gumyō-ji, located in the southern part of the ward, is the oldest Buddhist temple in Yokohama.

Surrounding municipalities

• Hodogaya Ward
• Nishi Ward
• Isogo Ward
• Naka Ward
• Totsuka Ward
• Konan Ward

History

Part of the domains of the Miura clan during and after the Kamakura period, the area of present-day Minami Ward was part of the tenryō territory in Musashi Province controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate, but administered through various hatamoto. During the Bakumatsu period, the area was the site of the 1863 Idogaya Incident in which anti-foreign rōnin assassinated a soldier of the French mission in Yokohama, precipitating a diplomatic incident.

After the Meiji Restoration, the area was transferred to the new Kuraki District of Kanagawa Prefecture, and divided into numerous villages. The area was absorbed into the growing city of Yokohama in four phases: 1895, 1901, 1905 and 1927. On October 1, 1927, what is now Minami Ward became part of Naka Ward within Yokohama. On December 1, 1943, Naka Ward was divided into present-day Naka Ward and Minami Ward. In a major administrative reorganization of October 1, 1969, Minami Ward was further divided into the present-day Minami Ward and Kōnan Ward.

Koganecho, an area known since World War II for black marketing and brothels, was located along the Ōoka River in the ward. In preparation for Yokohama's 2009 150th anniversary celebrations of opening up as a port, police chased away the prostitutes from the area starting in 2005. Since then, the area has undergone redevelopment.^[1]

Economy

Minami Ward is largely a regional commercial center and bedroom community for central Yokohama and Tokyo due to its extensive commuter train infrastructure.

Transportation

Railroads

• Keihin Electric Express Railway - Keikyū Main Line
  • Koganechō – Minami-Ōta - Idogaya – Gumyōji
• Yokohama City Transportation Bureau – Blue Line
  • Bandōbashi – Yoshinochō – Maita – Gumyōji

Highways

• Shuto Expressway Kanagawa No. 3
• Yokohama Yokosuka Road
• Route 16

Prefecture roads

• Kanagawa Prefecture Road 21
• Kanagawa Prefecture Road 218

Education

Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education operates prefectural high schools:

• Seiryo High School [ja]
• Yokohama High School of International Studies [ja]

Yokohama Municipal Board of Education [ja] operates municipal high schools:

• Yokohama Shogyo High School [ja]
• Yokohama Sogo High School [ja]

Private schools:

• Aoyama Gakuin Yokohama Eiwa High School (formerly Yokohama Eiwa Girls' School)
• Kanto Gakuin Junior & Senior High School [ja]

The municipal board of education operates public elementary and junior high schools.

Municipal junior high schools:^[2]

• Fujinoki (藤の木)
• Heiraku (平楽)
• Kyoshin (共進)
• Maita (蒔田)
• Minami (南)
• Minamigaoka (南が丘)
• Mutsukawa (六ツ川)
• Nagata (永田)

Municipal elementary schools:^[3]

• Bessho (別所)
• Fujinoki (藤の木)
• Hie (日枝)
• Idogaya (井土ケ谷)
• Ishikawa (石川)
• Maita (蒔田)
• Minami (南)
• Minami Ota (南太田)
• Minami Yoshida (南吉田)
• Mutsukawa (六つ川)
• Mutsukawadai (六つ川台)
• Mutsukawa Nishi (六つ川西)
• Nagata (永田)
• Nagatadai (永田台)
• Nakamura (中村)
• Ooka (大岡)
• Ota (太田)

Fujimidai Elementary School (富士見台小学校), Sakuraoka Elementary School (桜岡小学校), Setogaya Elementary School (瀬戸ケ谷小学校), and Takigashira Elementary School (滝頭小学校), which have their campuses outside of Minami-ku, have zones that includes portions of Minami-ku.^[4]

Local attractions

Yokohama-Bashi Shopping district

• Gumyōji temple
• Yokohama Municipal Children's Botanical Garden
• Yokohamabashi Shopping District [ja] (in Maganechō [ja])
• Ōyamanezunomikoto Shinji Kyōkai headquarters

Noted people from Minami Ward

• Yuki Saito, actress
• Erika Umeda, singer
• Tadanobu Asano, singer
• Yuichi Nakamura, actor
• Akira Kamiya, voice actor
• Shunji Karube, Olympic runner