, known as the , or locally, in the Tokyo Metropolis consists of 30 ordinary municipalities (cities (市 shi), towns (町 machi) and one village (村 mura)), unlike the eastern part which consists of 23 special wards.Tokyo Metropolitan Government: Municipalities within Tokyo
Before it was transferred to Tokyo in 1893, the Tama area, then also still often referred to as the (referring to the West, North and South Tama counties it consisted of) had formed the Northern part of Kanagawa Prefecture.National Archives of Japan: 三多摩を東京府に編入
Overview Whereas in the east of Tokyo Metropolis the 23 special wards occupy the area that was formerly Tokyo City, the west consists of 30 other ordinary municipalities: cities (Nos. 1–26), towns (Nos. 27, 28, 30) and a village (No. 29).
List of cities, towns and village
No. Flag Name Japanese (kanji) Hiragana Population Density Area 1 Hachiōji 八王子市はちおうじし 2 Tachikawa 立川市たちかわし 3 Musashino 武蔵野市むさしのし 4 Mitaka 三鷹市みたかし 5 Ōme 青梅市おうめし 6 Fuchū 府中市ふちゅうし 7 Akishima 昭島市あきしまし 8 Chōfu 調布市ちょうふし 9 Machida 町田市まちだし 10 Koganei 小金井市こがねいし 11 Kodaira 小平市こだいらし 12 Hino 日野市ひのし 13 Higashimurayama 東村山市ひがしむらやまし 14 Kokubunji 国分寺市こくぶんじし 15 Kunitachi 国立市くにたちし 16 Fussa 福生市ふっさし 17 Komae 狛江市こまえし 18 Higashiyamato 東大和市ひがしやまとし 19 Kiyose 清瀬市きよせし 20 Higashikurume 東久留米市ひがしくるめし 21 Musashimurayama 武蔵村山市むさしむらやまし 22 Tama 多摩市たまし 23 Inagi 稲城市いなぎし 24 Hamura 羽村市はむらし 25 Akiruno あきる野市あきるのし 26 Nishitōkyō 西東京市にしとうきょうし 27 Mizuho 瑞穂町みずほまち 28 Hinode 日の出町ひのでまち 29 Hinohara 檜原村ひのはらむら 30 Okutama 奥多摩町おくたままち Overall:
The towns of Hinode, Mizuho, and Okutama, and the village of Hinohara make up the non-contiguous Nishitama District.
The offshore islands of Tokyo (including the Bonin, Volcano, Izu island chains, and the uninhabited islands of Okinotorishima and Minamitorishima) are not considered part of Western Tokyo.
History Under the Ritsuryō system, Western Tokyo was part of Musashi Province. The provincial capital was at Fuchū. The provincial temple (kokubunji) was at Kokubunji and the principal shrine (ichinomiya) was at Tama.
Western Tokyo previously consisted of three districts:
(lit. "Western Tama") encompassed the present-day cities of Akiruno, Fussa, Hamura, and Ōme; in addition to the four municipalities (3 towns and a village) that still remain a part of the district. (lit. "Southern Tama") covered the area now occupied by Hachiōji, Hino, Inagi, Tama, and Machida. With the formation of Inagi (the last city to be created in Tokyo in 1971), Minamitama District ceased to exist. (lit. "Northern Tama") consisted of the locations of the present-day cities of Akishima, Chōfu, Fuchū, Higashikurume, Higashimurayama, Higashiyamato, Kiyose, Kodaira, Koganei, Kokubunji, Komae, Kunitachi, Mitaka, Musashimurayama, Musashino, Nishitokyo, and Tachikawa, as well as some land now in Setagaya. With the establishment of the city of Musashimurayama in 1970, Kitatama District ceased to exist.
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