Komae (狛江市, Komae-shi) is a city located in the western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It is one of 30 municipalities in the western portion of Tokyo known as the Tama Area. As of 1 April 2021[update], the city had an estimated population of 83,218, and a population density of 13,000 persons per km2.[1] The total area of the city is 6.39 square kilometres (2.47 sq mi). It is the smallest administrative city in Tokyo Metropolis both in area and population, and the second smallest in terms of area in the nation.
Geography
Satellite image of Komae.
Komae is nestled between the Tama River to the southwest, and the much smaller Nogawa River to the north and east which flows near its boundaries with Chōfu city and Setagaya Ward. It is mostly flat. It is a small municipality; its boundaries fit within a circle of 2 km radius centred on the city hall. It is essentially a residential suburb of Tokyo which urbanised rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s, with most of the working population commuting to central Tokyo. There are several neighbourhood shopping areas, mainly around the train stations. The City Hall is located near Komae Station.
Komae has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Komae is 14.8 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1647 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.8 °C.[2]
Demographics
Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Komae increased rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s and has continued to grow at a slower rate since then.
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1920
2,679
—
1930
3,957
+47.7%
1940
5,657
+43.0%
1950
10,124
+79.0%
1960
25,252
+149.4%
1970
60,297
+138.8%
1980
70,836
+17.5%
1990
74,189
+4.7%
2000
75,711
+2.1%
2010
78,751
+4.0%
2020
84,772
+7.6%
History
The city's name is thought to originate from the word koma, referring to migrants, especially Goguryeo from the Korean peninsula who settled here around the 5th century AD.[4][5][6] Numerous kofun burial mounds are located within the city borders.
The area of present-day Komae was part of ancient Musashi Province. In the post-Meiji Restoration cadastral reform of July 22, 1878, the area became part of Minamiitama District in Kanagawa Prefecture. The town of Komae was created on April 1, 1889, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system. Minamtama District was transferred to the administrative control of Tokyo Metropolis on April 1, 1893. Odakyu Railways's Odawara line was constructed through Komae in 1926, linking it with Shinjuku in central Tokyo. Expanding population led to Komae being upgraded to the status of a town in 1952, and to a city on October 1, 1970.
On September 1, 1974, Tama River's levee failed during a typhoon, and 19 houses were destroyed by torrential flooding. The riverbanks have now been strengthened. A small memorial stands at the location of the levee failure.
(Some areas in the north of the city have better access to Keiō Line stations in neighbouring Chōfu city.)
Highway
Komae is not served by any national highways or expressways.
Local attractions
Annual events in Komae include a raft-race on Tama River every July, and a city fair in mid-November.
The town has a group of festival mascots called Komarangers; their purpose is to cheer up the citizens of the town. They come in five colors: red, blue, green, yellow, and pink.
Notable people from Komae
Sadao Araki. Army general and pre-war rightwing politician
^Sumiko Enbutsu; Mimi LeBourgeois (April 2000). "Tokyo Water Walks". Tokyo On Foot hosted by Tokyoq. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2008-11-11. The city name, Komae, probably derived from "Koma," a word referring to Kogyo of ancient Korea, probable origin of the immigrants.
^東京都狛江市歴史探訪 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2008-11-11. 狛江の名前の由来> 古来、高麗人が日本の関東地方に帰化しましたが、狛江の地にも人々が渡来しました。このことから、地名の由来は「高麗（コマ）」に由来しているといわれています。
^Ayako Shinomiya Burton (November 1994). "Japanese Language Planning in Korea 1905-1945"(PDF). Simon Fraser University. pp. 11p. particularly around the 5th century, as many Koreans technically skilled in such areas as architecture, ceramics, weaving and iron casting settled in Japan. Korean cultural words such as fude (writing brush), tefu (notebook), and even place names such as Koma, Komae and Rebonri, and the most prominent, Nara ("country" in Korea), were introduced into Japan around that time.
^"中学校". Komae City Board of Education. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
^"小学校". Komae City Board of Education. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
