is the capital of
Kanagawa Prefecture and, with a population of 3.6 million,
Japan's largest
city after
Tokyo[1], located in the
KantÅ region of the main island of
Honshū. Yokohama is a major commercial hub of the
Greater Tokyo Area.
It developed rapidly as Japan's prominent port city following the end of Japan's isolation in the late 19th century, and is today one of its major
ports along
Kobe,
Osaka,
Nagoya,
Hakata,
Tokyo and
Chiba.
History
Yokohama was a small fishing village up to the end of the feudal
Edo period, a time when Japan held a policy of national seclusion, having little contact with Western foreigners. A major turning point in Japanese history happened in 1853 and again in 1854, when Commodore
Matthew Perry arrived just south of Yokohama with a fleet of
American warships, demanding
that Japan open several ports for commerce, getting the ruling
Tokugawa shogunate to agree in 1853. It was initially agreed that one of the ports to be opened to foreign ships would be the bustling town of
Kanagawa-juku (in what is now
Kanagawa Ward) on the
TÅkaidÅ, a strategic highway which linked
Edo to
Kyoto and
Osaka. However, the
Tokugawa shogunate decided that the location of Kanagawa-juku was too close to the TÅkaidÅ for comfort, and port facilities were built across the inlet in the sleepy fishing village of Yokohama instead. The
Port of Yokohama was opened on
2 June,
1859.
Landing of Commodore Perry, officers & men of the squadron, to meet the Imperial commissioners at Yoku-Hama (Yokohama?)
July 14,
1853. Lithograph by Sarony & Co., 1855, after
Wilhelm Heine.
The Port of Yokohama quickly became the base of foreign trade in Japan. Japan's first English language newspaper, the ''Japan Herald'', was first published in Yokohama in 1861. Foreigners occupied a district of the city called "Kannai" ("inside the barrier"), which was surrounded by a
moat, and were protected by their
extraterritoriality status both within and outside the moat. Many individuals crossed the moat, causing a number of problems. The
Namamugi Incident, one of the events that preceded the downfall of the shogunate, took place in what is now
Tsurumi Ward in 1862.
Ernest Satow wrote about the incident in his ''A Diplomat in Japan''.
After the
Meiji Restoration of 1868, the port was developed for trading
silk, with the main trading partner being
Great Britain. Many Western influences first reached Japan in Yokohama, including Japan's first daily newspaper (1870) and Japan's first gas-powered street lamps (1872). Japan's first railway was constructed in the same year to connect Yokohama to Shinagawa and Shimbashi in Tokyo. In 1887, a British merchant,
Samuel Cocking, built the city's first power plant, a coal burning plant, at first for his own use, but it became the basis for the Yokohama Cooperative Electric Light Company. The city was officially incorporated on
April 1,
1889. By the time the extraterritoriality of foreigner areas was abolished in 1899, Yokohama was the most international city in Japan, with foreigner areas stretching from Kannai to the
Yamate Bluff area and the large
Yokohama Chinatown.
The early 20th century was marked by rapid growth of industry. Entrepreneurs built factories along reclaimed land to the north of the city towards
Kawasaki, which eventually grew to be the
Keihin Industrial Area. The growth of Japanese industry brought affluence to Yokohama, and many wealthy trading families constructed sprawling residences there, while the rapid influx of population from Japan and Korea also led to the formation of Kojiki-Yato, the largest slum in Japan at the time.
Much of Yokohama was destroyed on
1 September,
1923 by the
Great KantÅ earthquake, killing an estimated 23,000 people within the city boundaries. In the aftermath of the quake, mass murder of Koreans by vigilante mobs occurred in the Kojiki-yato slum, fuelled by rumours of rebellion and sabotage.
Martial law was in place until
19 November. Rubble from the quake was used to reclaim land for parks, the most famous of which is the Yamashita Park on the waterfront which opened in 1930.
Yokohama was rebuilt, only to be destroyed again by 30-odd U.S. air raids during
World War II. An estimated 7,000–8,000 people were killed in a single morning on
29 May,
1945 in what is now known as the Great Yokohama Air Raid, when
B-29s dropped firebombs over the city and in the space of just 1 hour and 9 minutes reduced 34% of the city to rubble.
During the
American occupation, Yokohama was a major transshipment base for American supplies and personnel, especially during the
Korean War. After the occupation, most local U.S. naval activity moved from Yokohama to an American base in neighboring
Yokosuka.
The city was designated by
government ordinance on
September 1,
1956.
The city's
tram and
trolleybus system was abolished in 1972, the same year as the opening of the first line of
Yokohama Municipal Subway.
Construction of
Minato Mirai 21 ("Port Future 21"), a major urban development project on reclaimed land, started in 1983. Minato Mirai 21 hosted the Yokohama Exotic Showcase in 1989, which saw the first public operation of
maglev trains in Japan and the opening of CosmoClock 21, at the time the largest
ferris wheel in the world. 1989 also saw the opening of the 860m-long
Yokohama Bay Bridge.
In 1993, Minato Mirai saw the opening of the
Yokohama Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan.
The
2002 FIFA World Cup final was held in June at the
International Stadium Yokohama.
Geography
Landmarks of Yokohama
Yokohama is centered on an inlet on the western side of
Tokyo Bay, 30 kilometers (18 miles) from
Tokyo, to which it is connected by a half-dozen railway lines as well as expressways and surface streets via the city of
Kawasaki. Neighboring cities include
Yokosuka ,
Kamakura,
Fujisawa,
Zushi,
Yamato, and
Machida of Tokyo.
A major industrial zone known as the Keihin Industrial Area stretches along the reclaimed coastline to the north of the central area towards Kawasaki and Tokyo beyond.
The historic port area of
Kannai used to be the centre of Yokohama, but the area around the transportation hub of
Yokohama Station is now the most prominent commercial district. In between is a major harbourside redevelopment called
Minato Mirai 21. Much of the suburban areas are comprised of hills. A major residential development called Kohoku New Town, housing about 300,000, is located 12 km north of the city centre.
[1]
Economy
The city has a strong local economic base, especially in the shipping,
biotechnology, and
semiconductor industries.
Nissan will move its headquarters to Yokohama from
ChÅ«Å, Tokyo by 2010.
[2]
Places of interest
The places of interest are mainly around the historic port area of
Kannai. Next to the waterfront Yamashita Park is
Yokohama Marine Tower, the tallest lighthouse in the world. Further inland lies
Yokohama Chinatown, the largest
Chinatown in Japan and one of the largest in the world. Also in the vicinity is the
Yokohama Stadium, the Silk Center, the Yokohama Doll Museum.
[2] There is also a large immigration office, near Yamashita Park. Nearby
Isezakicho and Noge areas offer many colourful shops and bars and, with their restaurants and stores catering to residents from
China,
Thailand,
South Korea, and other countries, have an increasingly international flavour.
The small but fashionable
Motomachi shopping area (where there are various shops starting with Cyrillus, Godiva, and so on) leads up to
Yamate, or "The Bluff" as it used to be known, a pleasant 19th/early 20th century Westerners' settlement overlooking the harbour, scattered with foreigners' mansions. A foreigners' cemetery and the Harbour View Park is in the area. The Rose Garden can be found in the park.
There are various points of interest in the futuristic Minato Mirai 21 harbourside redevelopment. The highlights are the
Landmark Tower which is the tallest building in Japan, Queen's Square Yokohama (a shopping mall) and the Cosmo Clock, which was the largest ferris wheel in the world when it was built in 1989 and which also doubles as "the world's biggest clock".
The Shin-Yokohama district, where the
Shinkansen station is located, is some distance away from the harbour area, and features the 17,000 capacity
Yokohama Arena, the
Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, and
Nissan Stadium, once known as the International Stadium Yokohama when it was the setting for the final for the
2002 FIFA World Cup held on
June 30,
2002.
The city is also home to the
Central League baseball team, the
Yokohama BayStars, and the
soccer teams,
Yokohama F Marinos and
Yokohama FC.
Politics and government
The Yokohama Municipal Assembly consists of 92 members elected from 18 Wards. The
LDP has minority control with 30 seats with
Democratic Party of Japan with a close 29. The mayor is Hiroshi Nakada.
Wards
During the
Korean War, the
United States Navy used Yokohama's port as a transshipment base. This ship departed Yokohama in 1951, carrying war dead home to the U.S.
Yokohama has 18
wards (''ku''):
Map of Tokyo Bay, 1917, showing Yokohama
Sister cities
Yokohama has
sister city agreements with the following cities:
[3]
★
Constanţa,
Romania
★
Lyon,
France
★
Odessa,
Ukraine
★
Manila,
Philippines
★
Mumbai,
India
★
San Diego, California,
USA
★
Shanghai,
China
★
Vancouver,
Canada
Education
Public elementary and middle schools are operated by the city of Yokohama.
Public high schools are operated by the
Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education.
See also
★
Foreign cemeteries in Japan
★
Osanbashi Pier
★
Yokohama Rubber Company, manufacturer of tyres
References
1. Tokyo is not a single incorporated city. See the Tokyo article for more information on the definition and makeup of Tokyo.
2. Official Yokohama city website
3. Official Yokohama city tourism website
External links
★
Official website
★
City of Yokohama New York Representative Office
★
Naka Ward Office
★
The Yokohama Times —Upcoming events and announcements, by the Yokohama Conventions & Visitors Bureau
★
Wikitravel: Yokohama
★
Yokohama Hostel Village
★
Yokohama guide in Pictures ( Minato Mirai, Chinatown, Yamashita park, Sakuragicho, Stadium, Cosmo World )
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