Minami-ku, Yokohama

Minami

南区
Minami 南区
Ward
	Minami Ward
	Flag
	Location of Minami in Kanagawa
	Minami
	Coordinates: 35°25′53″N 139°36′32″E / 35.43139°N 139.60889°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-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.

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

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.