is a special ward in the

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In English, it is called Itabashi City. Itabashi has sister-city relations with

Burlington, Ontario Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is a city and List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region at the west end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Can ...

, in Canada;

Shijingshan District Shijingshan District () is an urban district of the city of Beijing. It lies to the west of the urban core of Beijing, and is part of the Western Hills area, bordering the districts of Haidian to the northeast and east, Fengtai to the south, an ...

of Beijing in the People's Republic of China; and

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in Italy. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 547,270, and a population density of 16,990 persons per km². The total area is 32.22 km².

Geography

Itabashi lies on the

Kantō plain The , in the Kantō region of central Honshu, is the largest plain in Japan. Its 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Tochigi Prefe ...

. The Arakawa River, a major river, forms part of the boundary with

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

. Surrounding the ward are, in Saitama, the cities of Wakō and Toda; and in Tokyo, the wards of

Nerima is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in 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 ...

Toshima is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita in the north and N ...

, and Kita.

Districts and neighborhoods

;Akatsuka Area * Akatsuka * Akatsukashin * Daimon * Misono * Narimasu * Shingashi * Takashimadaira^a * Tokumaru * Yotsuba ;Itabashi Area * Chūmaru * Fujimi * Futaba * Hikawa * Honchō * Inaridai * Itabashi * Kaga * Kumano * Minami * Nakaitabashi * Nakajuku * Naka * Ōyamachō * Ōyamahigashi * Ōyamakanai * Ōyamanishi * Saiwai * Sakae * Yamato ;Kamiitabashi Area * Higashishin * Higashiyama * Kamiitabashi * Komone * Minamitokiwadai * Mukaihara * Ōyaguchi * Ōyaguchikami * Ōyaguchikita * Sakuragawa * Tokiwadai * Yayoi ;Shimura Area * Aioi * Azusawa * Funado * Hasune * Hasunuma * Izumi * Maeno * Miyamoto * Nakadai * Nishidai * Ōhara * Sakashita * Sakogi * Shimizu * Shimura * Shingashi^b * Takashimadaira^{b, c} * Wakaki Notes: ^a – (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
^b – (formerly part of Shimura Nishidai area)
^c – (1 & 9)

History

The name of the ward means "plank bridge" and derives from the wooden span over the

Shakujii River The is a river which flows through the northwest quadrant of central Tokyo, Japan. Course The Shakujii River is one of the tributaries of the Arakawa River. With a total length of and a drainage basin of , it is categorized as a Class A ri ...

that dates from the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. Such a bridge was remarkable at the time, and the name has lasted since. The

current bridge Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (hydr ...

in that location is made of

ferroconcrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having ...

. In the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, the

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the centrally administered Edo Five Routes, five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected the ''de facto'' ...

crossed the nearby Shimo Itabashi, and the name came to apply to that area as well. Itabashi was one of the Four Edo Post Towns, and travellers first lodged there after leaving the shogunal capital.

Kaga Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1583 to 1871.Itabashi execution grounds The {{nihongo, Itabashi execution grounds, 板橋刑場, Itabashi Keijō were one of the three sites in the vicinity of Edo (the forerunner of present-day Tokyo, Japan) where the Tokugawa shogunate executed criminals in the Edo period. Located near ...

at Itabashi. On October 1, 1932, nine towns and villages of Kita-Toshima District were merged and became part of

Tokyo City was a Cities of Japan, municipality in Japan and capital of Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943), Tokyo Prefecture (or ''Tokyo-fu'') which existed from 1 May 1889 until the establishment of Tokyo Metropolis on 1 July 1943. The historical boundari ...

as Itabashi Ward. It became a special ward May 3, 1947. On August 1 of that year, the localities of Nerima, Kami-Nerima, Naka-Arai, Shakujii and Ōizumi were split off from Itabashi to create

Ward.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population growth has remained stable since 1970.

Education

Universities

Itabashi is home to four universities. Tokyo Kasei University has a campus in the Kaga neighborhood. Also in Kaga is the main campus of

Teikyo University is a private university headquartered in the Itabashi, Tokyo, Itabashi ward of Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1931 as Teikyo shogyo, Commercial High School (帝京商業高等学校). It became Teikyo University in 1966. It is part of Teik ...

Daito Bunka University is a private university with two campuses: one at Itabashi in Tokyo and the other at Higashi Matsuyama in Saitama, Japan. The university is known for its sports program, which is renowned in rugby and distance running, with the Ekiden team c ...

has one campus in Takashima-daira, and another in

Higashimatsuyama, Saitama is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 90,456 in 41,124 households and a population density of 1400 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Higashimatsuyama is located in the ...

. The fourth is the medical college of

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice, in 1889. The university's name is derived from the Ja ...

Public schools

Public high schools are operated by the

Tokyo Metropolitan 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 most of the Public school (government funded), public secondary schoo ...

. * * * * * * Public elementary and junior high schools are operated by the Itabashi City Board of Education (板橋区教育委員会). Public junior high schools: * Akatsuka No. 1 Junior High School (赤塚第一中学校) * Akatsuka No. 2 Junior High School (赤塚第二中学校) * Akatsuka No. 3 Junior High School ( 赤塚第三中学校) * Itabashi No. 1 Junior High School ( 板橋第一中学校) * Itabashi No. 2 Junior High School ( 板橋第二中学校) * Itabashi No. 3 Junior High School (板橋第三中学校) * Itabashi No. 5 Junior High School (板橋第五中学校) * Kaga Junior High School ( 加賀中学校) * Kami Itabashi No. 1 Junior High School ( 上板橋第一中学校) * Kami Itabashi No. 2 Junior High School ( 上板橋第二中学校) * Kami Itabashi No. 3 Junior High School ( 上板橋第三中学校) * Nakadai Junior High School (中台中学校) * Nishidai Junior High School ( 西台中学校) * Sakuragawa Junior High School ( 桜川中学校) * Shimura No. 1 Junior High School ( 志村第一中学校) * Shimura No. 2 Junior High School (志村第二中学校) * Shimura No. 3 Junior High School (志村第三中学校) * Shimura No. 4 Junior High School ( 志村第四中学校) * Shimura No. 5 Junior High School (志村第五中学校) * Takashima No. 1 Junior High School (高島第一中学校) * Takashima No. 2 Junior High School (高島第二中学校) * Takashima No. 3 Junior High School (高島第三中学校) Public elementary schools: * Akatsuka Elementary School (赤塚小学校) * Akatsuka Shin Elementary School (赤塚新町小学校) * Fujimidai Elementary School ( 富士見台小学校) * Funado Elementary School ( 舟渡小学校) * Hasune Elementary School (蓮根小学校) * Hasune No. 2 Elementary School (蓮根第二小学校) * Itabashi No. 1 Elementary School ( 板橋第一小学校) * Itabashi No. 2 Elementary School ( 板橋第二小学校) * Itabashi No. 4 Elementary School (板橋第四小学校) * Itabashi No. 5 Elementary School (板橋第五小学校) * Itabashi No. 6 Elementary School ( 板橋第六小学校) * Itabashi No. 7 Elementary School (板橋第七小学校) * Itabashi No. 8 Elementary School ( 板橋第八小学校) * Itabashi No. 10 Elementary School (板橋第十小学校) * Kaga Elementary School ( 加賀小学校) * Kamiitabashi Elementary School ( 上板橋小学校) * Kamiitabashi No. 2 Elementary School (上板橋第二小学校) * Kamiitabashi No. 4 Elementary School (上板橋第四小学校) * Kanazawa Elementary School ( 金沢小学校) * Kita Maeno Elementary School (北前野小学校) * Kitano Elementary School (北野小学校) * Kobai Elementary School ( 紅梅小学校) * Maeno Elementary School ( 前野小学校) * Midori Elementary School ( 緑小学校) * Misono Elementary School (三園小学校) * Mukaihara Elementary School (向原小学校) * Nakadai Elementary School (中台小学校) * Nakanebashi Elementary School ( 中根橋小学校) * Narimasu Elementary School ( 成増小学校) * Narimasugaoka Elementary School (成増ケ丘小学校) * Oyaguchi Elementary School (大谷口小学校) * Sakuragawa Elementary School (桜川小学校) * Shimo Akatsuka Elementary School (下赤塚小学校) * Shimura Elementary School (志村小学校) * Shimura No. 1 Elementary School (志村第一小学校) * Shimura No. 2 Elementary School (志村第二小学校) * Shimura No. 3 Elementary School (志村第三小学校) * Shimura No. 4 Elementary School (志村第四小学校) * Shimura No. 5 Elementary School (志村第五小学校) * Shimura No. 6 Elementary School (志村第六小学校) * Shimura Sakashita Elementary School (志村坂下小学校) * Shingashi Elementary School (新河岸小学校) * Takashima No. 1 Elementary School (高島第一小学校) * Takashima No. 2 Elementary School (高島第二小学校) * Takashima No. 3 Elementary School (高島第三小学校) * Takashima No. 5 Elementary School (高島第五小学校) * Takashima No. 6 Elementary School (高島第六小学校) * Tokiwadai Elementary School (常盤台小学校) * Tokumaru Elementary School (徳丸小学校) * Wakagi Elementary School (若木小学校) * Yayoi Elementary School (弥生小学校)

Private schools

* – North Korean school().

Points of interest

Akatsuka Botanical Garden The is a botanical garden located at 5-17-14 Akatsuka, Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan. It is open daily. The garden is located in Akatsuka's hills and contains over 600 varieties of trees and plants. The Manyo Yakuyo Garden is a Manyo Botanical Garden c ...

* Itabashi Botanical Garden * Jorenji temple and the Daibutsu of Tokyo *

Jōhoku-Chūō Park is a public park that straddles the Nerima and Itabashi wards of Tokyo in Japan. The western half of the park lies in Nerima, Nerima Ward, while the eastern half is in Itabashi, Itabashi Ward. The park opened on 1 April 1957. Sports facilities ...

Transportation

Rail

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East)

Saikyō Line The Saikyō Line () is a Japanese railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Ōsaki Station in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and Ōmiya Station (Saitama), Ōmiya Station in Saitama Prefecture. The line's name is a portmant ...

Itabashi Station is a railway station on the Saikyo Line in Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Itabashi Station is served by the Akabane Line between Ikebukuro and Akabane stations, which forms part of the Saikyo Line ...

, Ukima-Funado Station *

Toei Mita Line The is a rapid transit, subway line of the municipal Toei Subway network in Tokyo, Japan. The line runs between Nishi-Takashimadaira Station, Nishi-Takashimadaira in Itabashi, Tokyo, Itabashi and Meguro Station, Meguro in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Shi ...

: Shin-Itabashi, Itabashi Kuyakusho-mae, Itabashi-Honchō, Moto-Hasunuma, Shimura Sakaue, Shimura-Sanchōme, Hasune, Nishidai, Takashimadaira, Shin-Takashimadaira, Nishi-Takashimadaira Stations *

Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line The is a rapid transit, subway line in Japan owned and operated by Tokyo Metro. The line connects Wakōshi Station in Wakō, Saitama and Shin-Kiba Station in Kōtō, Tokyo. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using the color "go ...

: Chikatetsu Narimasu Station *

Tōbu Tōjō Line The is a suburban railway line in Japan which runs from Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, Tokyo to Yorii Station in Yorii, Saitama, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. Its official name is the , but it is referred to as on T ...

: Ōyama, Naka-Itabashi, Tokiwadai, Kami-Itabashi, Tobu-Nerima, Shimo-Akatsuka, Narimasu Stations Some of these stations straddle the boundaries with other wards, or are within walking distance of Itabashi. The addresses of some stations are in neighboring wards. Shimo-Itabashi Station is in Toshima; Kotake Mukaihara Station and Akatsuka Subway Station are in Nerima; Ukima-Funado Station is actually in Kita.

Highways

Shuto Expressway The is a network of Toll road, tolled expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the . Most routes are Grade separation, grade separated and have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that require cauti ...

**No.5 Ikebukuro Route (Takebashi JCT – Bijogi JCT) **C2 Central Loop (Itabashi JCT – Kasai JCT)

Sister cities

, Beijing, China *

Bologna, Italy Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, Canada

Notable people from Itabashi

Tsubasa Akimoto is a Japanese actress. External links *JMDb profile (in Japanese)
1974 births Living people People from Itabashi Actresses from Tokyo {{Japan-actor-stub ...

, actress *

Noriyuki Asakura is a Japanese composer and vocalist, best known for composing the soundtracks to the anime series ''Rurouni Kenshin'' and the video game franchises '' Tenchu'' and '' Way of the Samurai''. He is well known for combining traditional Japanese mu ...

, composer and vocalist *

Yasuhiko Fukuda is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. History and career Born in Tokyo's Itabashi prefecture, Fukuda began playing piano at the age of 4, and while at school became interested in anime ("We were the first anime generation"). He graduated ...

, Japanese composer and keyboardist *

Tomoko Ikuta , better known as , is a Japanese actress. Her skills are dancing and horseback riding. She is a regular model for Mart. Her husband is footballer Masashi Nakayama. Biography Ikuta was born in Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan. After starring in some work a ...

, actress *

Shō Ishikawa is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Chunichi Dragons. On 20 October 2017, Ishikawa was selected as the 2nd draft pick for the Chunichi Dragons at the 2017 NPB Draft and on 10 November signed a provisional contr ...

, Japanese baseball player *

Seizō Katō was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator who worked for Haikyo (Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society). Kato was born in Tokyo. He was noted for his role as Megatron and Galvatron from the 1st Transformers series until '' Transfor ...

, actor,

voice actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

and narrator * Masakatsu Koike,

Japanese politician The politics of Japan are conducted in a framework of a dominant-party bicameral parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy. A hereditary monarch, currently Emperor Naruhito, serves as head of state while the Prime Minist ...

* Jin Matsubara,

Junko Mihara is a Japanese politician and former singer, actress, and racing driver. She is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. Entertainment career Mihara made her debut as a teenager in the 1979 television series '' Kinpachi-sensei'', and began a ...

, singer, actress, and

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

Kayo Noro is a Japanese singer and entertainer who is represented by the talent agency, Ohta Production. She is a former member of idol groups AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akiha ...

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese popular culture, Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in other performance skills such as acting, dancing, and modeling. Idol ...

, singer and entertainer *

Takurō Ōno (also spelt Ohno), born November 14, 1988, is a Japanese actor and tarento, talent. He has had roles in such films as ''The Incite Mill'' and ''Liar Game: Reborn''. Filmography Film * ''The Incite Mill'' (2010) – Yukito Maki * ''Liar Gam ...

, Japanese actor and talent * Koichi Oshima, baseball player *

Maaya Sakamoto is a Japanese actress and singer. She made her debut as a Voice acting in Japan, voice actress in 1992 as the voice of Chifuru in the anime ''Little Twins'', and became known as the voice of Hitomi Kanzaki in ''The Vision of Escaflowne''. Other ...

, singer and voice actress *

Yosuke Santa Maria , better known under the ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Dragon Gate. An ''exótico'', she is a former Open the Brave Gate Champion and Open the Owarai Gate Champion. Professional wrestling career Drago ...

, Japanese professional wrestler *

Jin Shirosaki , better known as , is a Japanese entertainer and radio personality who is represented by the talent agency, Sun Music. Shirosaki worked at a host club. Biography Shirosaki served as a host of host club Club Ai for five years in Kabukichō, Shin ...

, entertainer and radio personality *

Kento Yamazaki is a Japanese actor and model. He is best known for starring in manga adaptations, including the films '' L DK'' (2014), '' Orange'' (2015), ''Your Lie in April'' (2016), '' JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable Chapter I'' (2017), ...