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'Komae' (狛江市; -shi) is a municipality administered as a city, in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of 30 municipalities in the western portion of Tokyo metropolis known as the Tama Area.
As of 2006, the city has an estimated population of 78,368. The total area is 6.39 km². It is the smallest administrative city in Tokyo both in area and population. Its density of 12,159 persons per km² makes it the third most densely populated municipality in Japan outside the 23 central wards of Tokyo.

Contents

History

Politics and government

Geography

Others

External links

History

The administrative boundaries of the farming village of Komae was founded in 1889. In 1893, it was transferred from Kanagawa Prefecture to Tokyo Prefecture. 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 1970, 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.

Politics and government

Komae is run by a city assembly of 22 elected members. The current mayor is Yutaka Yano, an independent affiliated with the Japanese Communist Party. The JCP is also the largest party in the assembly and forms a majority together with several smaller parties.

★ Komae local election, 2007

Geography

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 Chofu city and Setagaya Ward. It is mostly flat. It is a small municipality; its boundaries fit within a circle of 2km radius centred on the city hall. It is essentially a residential suburb of Tokyo which urbanised rapidly in the 1960s and 1970's, 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.
Rail access in and out of the city is mainly via Komae, Kitami and Izumi-Tamagawa stations, all of them minor stops on the Odakyu Odawara Line. Some areas in the north of the city have better access to Keio Line stations in neighbouring Chofu city.

Others

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.
Along with several Japanese actors, the following are from Komae:

★ Sadao Araki - a leading pre-war rightwing politician, convicted Class A war criminal.

★ Sumire Haruno - the current top star for the Flower Troupe of the Takarazuka Revue.
Annual events in Komae include a raft-race on Tama River every July, and a city fair in mid-November.
Komae is home to six local Shinto shrines and four local Buddhist temples, all of them minor.
The city's name is thought to originate from the word ''koma'', referring to migrants from the Korean peninsula who settled here more than 1000 years ago.

External links

★ Komae official website in Japanese