is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in the western portion of

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan. , the city had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 147,492 in 77,779 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of 13,000 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Based on the 2015 Kanto Ranking, Musashino was the fifth most desirable place to live in Central Japan. Popular attractions in Musashino include Kichijōji; a residential and shopping neighborhood with malls such as Atre Kichijoji, recreational areas such as Inokashira Park, Musashino Chuo Park,

Musashino Municipal Athletic Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. It is currently used mostly for football matches and athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jump ...

and Musashino Sports Complex.

Geography

Musashino is located in the

Musashino Terrace The , also translated as Musashino Platform and also named as Musashino Region, is a large tableland (known as a fluvial terrace) in the Kantō region of Honshu, Japan. The Musashino Plateau is a plateau that extends between the Arakawa and Tama R ...

of central Tokyo Metropolis. It is bordered by the 23

Special Wards of Tokyo are a special form of municipalities in Japan under the 1947 Local Autonomy Law. They are city-level wards: primary subdivisions of a prefecture with municipal autonomy largely comparable to other forms of municipalities. Although the auton ...

. Musashino is composed of the following neighborhoods: Kichijoji Kitamachi, Kichijoji Higashi Cho, Kichijoji Honcho, Kichijoji Minamicho, Kyonan Cho, Gotenyama, Sakai, Sakurazuki, Sekimae, Nakacho, Nishikubo, Midoricho, and Yahata Cho. Kichijōji includes the source of the

Kanda River The stretches 24.6 km from Inokashira Park in Mitaka to the Sumida River under the Ryōgoku Bridge at the boundary of Taitō, Chūō, and Sumida. Its entire length lies within Tokyo, Japan. It drains an area of 105.0 km². The gov ...

Surrounding municipalities

* Suginami *

Nerima is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Nerima City. , the ward has an estimated population of 721,858, with 323,296 households and a population density of 15,013 persons per km2, while 15,326 foreign residents are r ...

* Mitaka *

Koganei is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 123,698 in 61,832 households. The total area of the city is so the population density is about 11,000 persons per km². Geography Koganei appro ...

* Nishitōkyō

Climate

Musashino has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Musashino is 14.5 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1647 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 3.1 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Musashino increased rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, but has remained relatively constant for the past 40 years.

History

The area of present-day Musashino was part of ancient Musashi Province. In the post-

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

cadastral reform of July 22, 1878, the area became part of Kitatama District in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

. The village of Musashino was created on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of modern municipalities law. Kitatama District was transferred to the administrative control of Tokyo Metropolis on April 1, 1893. Musashino was elevated to town status in 1928.

Nakajima Aircraft Company The was a prominent Japanese aircraft manufacturer and aviation engine manufacturer throughout World War II. It continues as the car and aircraft manufacturer Subaru. History The Nakajima Aircraft company was Japan's first aircraft manufactur ...

had an aircraft engine plant in Musashino, which became a target for American bombers in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Musashino was elevated to city status on November 3, 1947.

Government

Musashino has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

city council of 26 members. Musashino contributes one member to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Tokyo 18th district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan. It is located in Western Tokyo and consists of the cities of Musashino, Koganei and Fuchū. Until 2002, it included Mitaka (now part of Tokyo 22nd district) instead of ...

of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

Musashino is largely a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many ...

for central Tokyo. The ''

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

'' and '' manga'' company Coamix has its headquarters in the Kichijōji neighborhood of Musashino. At one time

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...

was located in Kichijōji."The Animerica Interview: Takahata and Nosaka: Two Grave Voices in Animation." ''

Animerica ''Animerica'' was a monthly magazine published by Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ ...

''. Volume 2, No. 11. Page 11. Translated by ''Animerica'' from: Takahata, Isao. ''Eiga o Tsukurinagara, Kangaeta Koto'' ("Things I Thought While Making Movies") ''

Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, ...

'', 1991. Originally published in '' Animage'', June 1987. This is a translation of a 1987 conversation between Takahata and Akiyuki Nosaka. "Kichijoji is the Tokyo area where "Studio Ghibli," frequent Takahata collaborator Hayao Miyazaki's studio, is located. ..��Ed." Several other animation studios are located in Musashino, including

J.C.Staff , is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986 by Tomoyuki Miyata, who previously worked at Tatsunoko Production. The studio's first release was ''Yōtōden'' in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as '' Food ...

, Artland,

Studio Ponoc is a Japanese animation studio based in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The company was founded in April 2015 by Yoshiaki Nishimura, former lead film producer of Studio Ghibli. Its first feature film, ''Mary and The Witch's Flower'', was released on Ju ...

Production I.G is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise, founded on December 15, 1987, by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The letters I and G derive from the names of the company founders: producer Mitsuhisa Ish ...

, Bee Train, and

Tatsunoko Production and often shortened to , is a Japanese animation company. The studio's name has a double meaning in Japanese: "Tatsu's child" (Tatsu is a nickname for Tatsuo) and "sea dragon", the inspiration for its seahorse logo. Tatsunoko's headquarters are i ...

. The electrical engineering and software company

Yokogawa Electric is a Japanese multinational electrical engineering and software company, with businesses based on its measurement, control, and information technologies. It has a global workforce of over 19,000 employees, 84 subsidiary and 3 affiliated compa ...

has its headquarters in Nakacho, Musashino.

Tokyo Musashino City FC Tokyo Musashino United FC ( ja, 東京武蔵野ユナイテッドFC) is a football club based in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. They play in the Japan Football League. Their team colour is blue and yellow. History The club was founded as a footb ...

, a football (soccer) club, is also located there.

Education

Universities and colleges

* Asia University * Seikei University * Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University * Japanese Red Cross College of Nursing

Primary and secondary schools

*Musashino has 12 public elementary schools and six public middle schools operated by the Musashino city government. There are also three private elementary schools, two private middle schools and two private combined middle/high schools. *The city has two public high schools operated by the

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education (東京都教育委員会 ''Tōkyō-to Kyōiku Iinkai'') is the board of education in Tokyo, Japan. The board directly manages all of the public high schools in all 23 special wards, the Wester ...

. Metropolitan secondary and high schools: * * Municipal junior high schools: * No. 1 Junior High School ( 第一中学校) * No. 2 Junior High School ( 第二中学校) * No. 3 Junior High School ( 第三中学校) * No. 4 Junior High School ( 第四中学校) * No. 5 Junior High School ( 第五中学校) * No. 6 Junior High School ( 第六中学校) Municipal elementary schools: * No. 1 Elementary School ( 第一小学校) * No. 2 Elementary School ( 第二小学校) * No. 3 Elementary School ( 第三小学校) * No. 4 Elementary School ( 第四小学校) * No. 5 Elementary School ( 第五小学校) * Honjuku Elementary School ( 本宿小学校) * Inokashira Elementary School ( 井之頭小学校) * Kyonan Elementary School ( 境南小学校) * Onoden Elementary School ( 大野田小学校) * Sakurano Elementary School ( 桜野小学校) * Sekimae Minami Elementary School ( 関前南小学校) * Senkawa Elementary School ( 千川小学校) Private schools: * * (junior and senior high school) * *

International schools

*Little Angels International School (now Musashi International School Tokyo), a private international school, previously had a campus in Kichijōji, Musashino.Spring School Program 2011 Application Form
"
Archive
. Little Angels International School. Retrieved on March 9, 2015. "Little Angels International School 4-9-15, Honcho, Kichijoji, Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-0004 (〒180-0004 東京都武蔵野市吉祥寺本町4-9-15)"

Transportation

Railways

JR East –

Chūō Line (Rapid) The is the name given to rapid services on the eastern section of the Chūō Main Line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) between and stations. The official map shows services travel as far as Otsuki. Basic data *Operat ...

* - < ' > - 40px

Keio Corporation () is a private railway operator in Tokyo, Japan, and the central firm of the that is involved in transport, retail, real estate and other industries. The name is derived from taking one character each from the places through which the railw ...

Keio Inokashira Line The is a railway line operated by the Japanese private railway operator Keio Corporation in the western suburbs of Tokyo, connecting in Tokyo with in Musashino City. It is not physically connected to the Keio Main Line Network, but a transf ...

- Seibu Tamagawa Line *

Highways

*Musashino is not served by any national highways or expressways Inokasira Park

Local attractions

* Inokashira Park *Musashino Central Park *

*Musashino Sports Complex

Sister cities

* - Chungju,

Chungcheongbuk-do North Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청북도, ''Chungcheongbuk-do''), also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Hoseo region in the ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

* - Gangdong District,

Seoul, South Korea Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 o ...

* -

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

* - Khabarovsk, Khabarovsk Krai,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

* -

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Musashino in popular culture

Satoshi Kon was a Japanese film director, animator, screenwriter and manga artist from Sapporo, Hokkaido and a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association (JAniCA). He was a graduate of the Graphic Design department of the Musashino Art Univer ...

anime series is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

Paranoia Agent is a Japanese anime television series created by director Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse about a social phenomenon in Musashino, Tokyo caused by a juvenile serial assailant named Lil' Slugger (the English equivalent to ''Shōnen Bat' ...

'' and Oyuki Konno's shōjo novel series ''

Maria-sama ga Miteru , often shortened to , is a Japanese light novel series written by with illustrations by Reine Hibiki. Originally written as a short story in 1997, Shueisha published 37 light novel volumes from April 1998 to April 2012. The story f ...

'' take place in Musashino. *

Shōhei Ōoka was a Japanese novelist, literary critic, and lecturer and translator of French literature who was active during the Shōwa period of Japan. Ōoka belongs to the group of postwar writers whose World War II experiences at home and abroad figure p ...

's 1951 novel ''A Wife in Musashino (Musashino Fujin)'' is a drama in which a moral and stoic woman, trapped in a loveless marriage with a selfish and morally decadent man, becomes implicated against her will in what looks like an affair with her younger cousin. The story ends tragically as she is let down by him as well as by her husband.

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), '' The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Ugets ...

made the story into a film in 1951, starring

Kinuyo Tanaka was a Japanese actress and film director. She had a career lasting over 50 years with more than 250 acting credits, but was best known for her 15 films with director Kenji Mizoguchi, such as ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952) and ''Ugetsu'' (1953). W ...

and Masayuki Mori. * Innocent Grey's 2007

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

'' Kara no Shoujo'' features many scenes set in Musashino in 1956. Inokashira Park in particular serves as a pivotal setting for much of the story. * In the ''

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō is a Japanese science fiction manga series written and illustrated by Hitoshi Ashinano. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Monthly Afternoon'' magazine from June 1994 to February 2006, with a concluding postscript episode in July 2006, and c ...

'' manga by Hitoshi Ashinano, Musashino is the "former capital of the East" in a post-Apocalyptic Japan in which the ocean level continually rises, implying Tokyo itself had been submerged many years before it. * In the anime ''

Shirobako ''Shirobako'' is a 24-episode anime television series produced by P.A. Works and directed by Tsutomu Mizushima. It aired in Japan between October 9, 2014 and March 26, 2015. A manga adaptation began serialization in ASCII Media Works's '' ...

'' the animation studio is named Musashino Animation. *In the manga series ''

Great Teacher Onizuka ''Great Teacher Onizuka'', officially abbreviated as ''GTO'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tooru Fujisawa. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from January 1997 to February 20 ...

'', Onizuka lives in Musashino and his first job is at Musashino Public High School. He later gets a job at a private school in Kichijōji.

References

External links

*
Musashino City Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Tokyo Western Tokyo