Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki

Nakahara

中原区
Nakahara 中原区
Ward
	Nakahara Ward
	Flag
	Location of Nakahara in Kanagawa
	Nakahara
	Coordinates: 35°34′34″N 139°39′21″E / 35.57611°N 139.65583°E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Kanagawa
City	Kawasaki
Established	April 1, 1972
Area
• Total	14.70 km2 (5.68 sq mi)
Population (November 2014)
• Total	244,565
• Density	16,637/km2 (43,090/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
- Flower	Pansy
Address	3-245 Kosugi-cho, Nakahara-ku Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa-ken; 211-8570
Website	Nakahara Ward Office

Nakahara-ku (中原区) is one of the 7 wards of the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of November 2014, the ward had an estimated population of 244,565^[1] and a density of 16,637 persons per km². The total area was 14.70 km².

Geography

Nakahara Ward is located in eastern Kanagawa Prefecture, in the center portion of the city of Kawasaki, bordering on Tokyo to the north and Yokohama to the south.

Surrounding municipalities

History

Archaeologists have found numerous Kofun period remains at numerous locations in what is now Nakahara-ku, indicating a long period of human settlement. Under the Nara period Ritsuryō system, it became part of Tachibana District Musashi Province. In the Edo period, it was administered as tenryō territory controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate, but administered through various hatamoto. After the Meiji Restoration, the area was divided into Nakahawa Village and Sumiyoshi Village within Tachibana District in the new Kanagawa Prefecture on April 1, 1889. The two villages merged in 1925 to form the town of Nakahara. The town was annexed by the neighboring city of Kawasaki in August 1933. In April 1972, the area became Nakahara Ward with the division of the city of Kawasaki into wards.

Economy

Nakahara Ward is largely a regional commercial center and bedroom community for central Kawasaki and Tokyo. The Ward hosts Fujitsu's Main Branch at Kamikodanaka 4-chome in Nakahara-ku.^[2] It was formerly Fujitsu's world headquarters.^[3] Other industries include factories operated by Mitsubishi Fuso^{[citation needed]} and NEC.^{[citation needed]}