Chōfu (調布市, Chōfu-shi) is a city in the western side of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. As of 1 April 2021, the city had an estimated population of 238,087, and a population density of 11,000 per km2. the total area of the city is 21.58 square kilometres (8.33 sq mi).[1]

Chōfu
調布市
Chōfu City Hall
Chōfu City Hall
Flag of Chōfu
Official seal of Chōfu
Location of Chōfu in Tokyo Metropolis
Location of Chōfu in Tokyo Metropolis
Chōfu is located in Japan
Chōfu
Chōfu
 
Coordinates: 35°39′2.21″N 139°32′26.4″E / 35.6506139°N 139.540667°E / 35.6506139; 139.540667
CountryJapan
RegionKantō
PrefectureTokyo
First official recorded80 AD (official)
Town settledApril 1, 1889
City settledApril 1, 1955
Government
 • MayorYoshiki Nagatomo (since July 2002)
Area
 • Total21.58 km2 (8.33 sq mi)
Population
 (April 2021)
 • Total238,087
 • Density11,000/km2 (29,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
City symbols 
• TreeCinnamomum camphora
• FlowerLagerstroemia indica
• BirdJapanese white-eye
Phone number042-481-7111
Address2-35-1 Kojima-cho, Chōfu-shi, Tokyo-to 182-8511
WebsiteOfficial website
Ajinomoto Stadium
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Jindai Botanical Garden

Geography

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Chōfu is approximately in the south-center of Tokyo Metropolis, approximately 20 kilometers west from downtown Tokyo, on the Musashino Terrace bordered by the floodplains of the Tama River and the Iruma River.

Surrounding municipalities

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Tokyo Metropolis

Kanagawa Prefecture

Climate

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Chōfu has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Chōfu 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.[2]

Demographics

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Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Chōfu has grown steadily over the past century, and increased especially rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1920 8,619—    
1930 11,398+32.2%
1940 17,825+56.4%
1950 34,865+95.6%
1960 68,621+96.8%
1970 157,488+129.5%
1980 180,548+14.6%
1990 197,677+9.5%
2000 204,759+3.6%
2010 223,593+9.2%
2020 242,614+8.5%

History

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The area of present-day Chōfu has been inhabited since Japanese Paleolithic times, and numerous remains from the Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun periods have been discovered. During the Nara period, it became part of ancient Musashi Province. During the Sengoku period, the area was frequently contested between the Later Hōjō clan and Uesugi clan. During the Edo period, the area prospered as a post station on the Kōshū Kaidō and as a center for sericulture. The origin of the city name "Chōfu" comes from the fact that it was allowed to pay taxes in cloth instead of in rice.

In the post-Meiji Restoration cadastral reform of April 1, 1889, Chōfu Town and neighboring Jindai Village were established within Kanagawa Prefecture. The entire district was transferred to the control of Tokyo Metropolis on April 1, 1893. Jindai was elevated to town status on November 3, 1952, and merged with Chōfu Town on April 1, 1955, to form the present city of Chōfu.

Government

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Chōfu has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 28 members. Chōfu, together with the city of Komae, contributes three members to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of Tokyo 22nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy

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Chōfu is primarily a regional commercial center, and a bedroom community ("bed town" ベッドタウン, beddotaun) for central Tokyo. The headquarters of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are also located in the city.

Transportation

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Railway

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  Keio Corporation - Keiō Line

  Keio Corporation - Keiō Sagamihara Line

Highway

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Airport

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Education

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Colleges and universities:

Primary and secondary education

  • Chōfu has 20 public elementary schools and eight public junior high schools operated by the city government and two private elementary schools and three private middle schools. The city has four public high schools operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education and three private high schools.

Metropolitan high schools:

Municipal junior high schools:[4]

Municipal elementary schools:[4]

  • 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)
  • Chowa Elementary School (調和小学校)
  • Fuda Elementary School (布田小学校)
  • Fujimidai Elementary School (富士見台小学校)
  • Ishiwara Elementary School (石原小学校)
  • Jindaiji Elementary School (深大寺小学校)
  • Kashiwano Elementary School (柏野小学校)
  • Kitanodai Elementary School (北ノ台小学校)
  • Kokuryo Elementary School (国領小学校)
  • Midorigaoka Elementary School (緑ヶ丘小学校)
  • Somechi Elementary School (染地小学校)
  • Sugimori Elementary School (杉森小学校)
  • Takizaka Elementary School (滝坂小学校)
  • Tamagawa Elementary School (多摩川小学校)
  • Tobitakyu Elementary School (飛田給小学校)
  • Uenohara Elementary School (上ノ原小学校)
  • Wakaba Elementary School (若葉小学校)
  • Yakumodai Elementary School (八雲台小学校)

Private schools:

Local attractions

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The Chōfu City Fireworks Festival, attended by as many as 300,000 people along the banks of the Tamagawa River.

Chōfu has a large cultural centre that supports many groups encouraging the integration of foreigners into Japanese society, providing free Japanese, Shodo, Ikebana, Karate (and many other) lessons.

There is a park and memorial hall commemorating the life of novelist Mushanokōji Saneatsu, a former resident of Chōfu.

For the 1964 Summer Olympics, the city served as part of the route for the athletic 50-kilometer walk and marathon events.[5]

Notable people from Chōfu

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References

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  1. ^ "Chōfu city official statistics" (in Japanese). Japan.
  2. ^ Chōfu climate data
  3. ^ Chōfu population statistics
  4. ^ a b "1.xls". Chofu City. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  5. ^ 1964 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. Part 1. pp. 74-5.
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