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Shinjuku Ku (新宿区) is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major
commercial and administrative centre, housing the busiest train station in the
world (Shinjuku Station), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the
administration center for the Tokyo Metropolis. The area around Shinjuku Station
is home to a large concentration of department stores, specialist electronic and
camera shops, cinemas, restaurants and bars. Many international hotels have a
large presence here.
As of 2005, the ward has an estimated population of 305,352 and a density of
16710 persons per km². The total area is 18.23 km².
Shinjuku has the highest numbers of registered foreign nationals of any
community in Tokyo. As of October 1, 2005, 29,353 people with 107 nationalities
were registered in Shinjuku. The top five nationalities are Korea (including North
and South), China, France, Myanmar, and the Philippines.
History
In 1634, as the outer moat of the Edo castle was built, a number of temples and
shrines moved to the Yotsuya area on the western edge of Shinjuku. In 1698,
during the Edo period, Naitō Shinjuku had developed as a new (shin) station
(shuku or juku) on the Kōshū Kaidō, one of the major highways of that era. Naitō
was a daimyo whose mansion stood in the area; his land is now a public park, the
Shinjuku Gyoen.
Shinjuku began to develop into its current form after the Great Kantō earthquake
in 1923, since the seismically stable area largely escaped the devastation.
Consequently, West Shinjuku is one of the few areas in Tokyo with many
skyscrapers.
The Tokyo Air Raids from May to August 1945 destroyed almost 90% of the
buildings in the area in and around Shinjuku Station. The pre-war form of
Shinjuku, and the rest of Tokyo, for that matter, was retained after the war
because the roads and rails, damaged as they were, remained, and these
formed the heart of the Shinjuku in the post-war construction. Only in Kabuki-cho
was a grand reconstruction plan put into action (Ichikawa, 2003).
The present ward was established on March 15, 1947, with the merger of the
former wards of Yotsuya, Ushigome, and Yodobashi.
In 1991, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government moved from the Marunouchi district
of Chiyoda to the current building in Shinjuku. (The Tokyo International Forum
stands on the site vacated by the government.)
Geography
Tokyo wards around Shinjuku are: Chiyoda to the east; Bunkyo and Toshima to
the north; Nakano to the west, and Shibuya and Minato to the south. In addition,
Nerima is only a hundred meters away. The highest point in Shinjuku is Hakone
Hill, 44.6m, in Toyama Park east of Takadanobaba and Shin-Okubo stations.
The lowest point is 4.2m in the Iidabashi area.
commercial and administrative centre, housing the busiest train station in the
world (Shinjuku Station), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the
administration center for the Tokyo Metropolis. The area around Shinjuku Station
is home to a large concentration of department stores, specialist electronic and
camera shops, cinemas, restaurants and bars. Many international hotels have a
large presence here.
As of 2005, the ward has an estimated population of 305,352 and a density of
16710 persons per km². The total area is 18.23 km².
Shinjuku has the highest numbers of registered foreign nationals of any
community in Tokyo. As of October 1, 2005, 29,353 people with 107 nationalities
were registered in Shinjuku. The top five nationalities are Korea (including North
and South), China, France, Myanmar, and the Philippines.
History
In 1634, as the outer moat of the Edo castle was built, a number of temples and
shrines moved to the Yotsuya area on the western edge of Shinjuku. In 1698,
during the Edo period, Naitō Shinjuku had developed as a new (shin) station
(shuku or juku) on the Kōshū Kaidō, one of the major highways of that era. Naitō
was a daimyo whose mansion stood in the area; his land is now a public park, the
Shinjuku Gyoen.
Shinjuku began to develop into its current form after the Great Kantō earthquake
in 1923, since the seismically stable area largely escaped the devastation.
Consequently, West Shinjuku is one of the few areas in Tokyo with many
skyscrapers.
The Tokyo Air Raids from May to August 1945 destroyed almost 90% of the
buildings in the area in and around Shinjuku Station. The pre-war form of
Shinjuku, and the rest of Tokyo, for that matter, was retained after the war
because the roads and rails, damaged as they were, remained, and these
formed the heart of the Shinjuku in the post-war construction. Only in Kabuki-cho
was a grand reconstruction plan put into action (Ichikawa, 2003).
The present ward was established on March 15, 1947, with the merger of the
former wards of Yotsuya, Ushigome, and Yodobashi.
In 1991, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government moved from the Marunouchi district
of Chiyoda to the current building in Shinjuku. (The Tokyo International Forum
stands on the site vacated by the government.)
Geography
Tokyo wards around Shinjuku are: Chiyoda to the east; Bunkyo and Toshima to
the north; Nakano to the west, and Shibuya and Minato to the south. In addition,
Nerima is only a hundred meters away. The highest point in Shinjuku is Hakone
Hill, 44.6m, in Toyama Park east of Takadanobaba and Shin-Okubo stations.
The lowest point is 4.2m in the Iidabashi area.
