Shinagawa

• Japanese: 品川 (Shinagawa)

Shinagawa is one of the 23 wards that comprise the core of the metropolitan prefecture of Tokyo. The placename also refers more precisely to a smaller area within Shinagawa Ward (J: Shinagawa-ku) surrounding Shinagawa Station, one of three shinkansen (bullet train) stations in the metropolis. In the Edo period, Shinagawa was a successful fishing village, and the first station on the Tôkaidô beyond its starting point at Nihonbashi; at that time, the neighborhood also contained one of the Tokugawa shogunate's chief execution grounds.

The neighborhood of Shinagawa is located in the northeastern part of Shinagawa-ku, where the Meguro River spills into Tokyo Bay. The western portion of the area is part of the Musashino plain, while the eastern portion is alluvial and reclaimed land. It was incorporated into Tokyo-fu (prefecture) in 1878, and then became one of the 20 wards when "Tokyo City" (Tôkyô-shi) was established in 1932. After absorbing Ebara-ku which used to be its neighbor to the west, Shinagawa-ku achieved its current borders. Shinagawa Station, built in 1872, was a station on the first train line in Japan, connecting Shinbashi and Yokohama. The area, being located on the coast, was also a major domestic port in the Meiji period which saw the arrivals and departures of numerous prominent government officials on official missions to other parts of the country.

Preceded by: Nihonbashi

Stations of the Tôkaidô

Succeeded by: Kawasaki

References

• "Shinagawa." Sekai daihyakka jiten 世界大百科事典. Hitachi Solutions, 2012.