Suginami

Geography

Suginami occupies the western part of the ward area of Tokyo. Its neighbors include these special wards: to the east, Shibuya and Nakano; to the north, Nerima; and to the south, Setagaya. Its western neighbors are the cities of Mitaka and Musashino.

The Kanda River passes through Suginami. The Zenpukuji river originates from Zenpukuji Park in western Suginami, and the Myōshōji River originates in Myōshōji Park, to the north of Ogikubo station.

History

The name Suginami dates back to the early Edo period and is a shortened version of Suginamiki ("avenue of cedars"). This name came about when an early land baron, Lord Tadayoshi Okabe, planted a row of cedar trees to mark the bounds of his property.

In 1970, 40 high school students in the area were exposed to photochemical smog and required hospitalization. The incident attracted national attention and increased awareness of the dangers of pollution.

Districts and neighborhoods

The following neighborhoods make up Suginami-ku:

Politics

Historically, Suginami has leaned toward liberal activism. In 1954, local housewives launched the "Suginami Appeal" against nuclear weapons, a petition that spread nationwide and ultimately collected 20 million signatures. More recently in 2005, Suginami became part of Japan's fight against nationalist textbook revisionism when residents petitioned Tokyo's courts to prevent the adoption of a controversial textbook published by Fusosha Publishing which claimed to justify Japanese actions during World War II. The ward has also passed an ordinance placing limits on the installation of security cameras.

To combat burglaries, which reached a record number of 1,710 in 2002, the ward created an unconventional anti-crime program called Operation Flower. The ward urged residents to plant flowers facing the street, with the long-term goal of increasing neighborhood watchfulness (necessitated by watering and otherwise attending to the plants). In addition, 9,600 volunteers were recruited for neighborhood safety patrols, 200 security cameras were placed at crime-vulnerable areas, and a daily email update was created for residents. Subsequent to the start of the program, burglaries were down 80% to 390 in 2008.

Suginami refused to connect to Japan's Residents Basic Registry Network. As of 2005, it is implementing a measure to make registry optional.

On June 19, 2022, Satoko Kishimoto was elected mayor despite being a long-time resident of Belgium and not having any connections to the ward. She narrowly defeated 3-term incumbent Ryō Tanaka by less than 200 votes. Kishimoto had come to prominence through online political debates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kishimoto has opposed building new road extensions through Kōenji district and the privatization of public facilities. Kishimoto was the ward's first female leader, and at the time, one of only 3 female mayors of Tokyo's 23 special wards.

Transportation

Rail

JR East

Chūō Main Line (Chūō-Sobu Line): Koenji, Asagaya, Ogikubo, Nishi-Ogikubo Stations

Keio Corporation

Keio Line: Hachiman-yama Station, Roka-kōen Station

Keio Inokashira Line: Eifuku-cho, Nishi Eifuku, Hamada-yama, Takaido, Fujimi-ga-oka, Kuga-yama Stations

Seibu Railway

Seibu Shinjuku Line: Shimo-Igusa, Iogi, Kami-Igusa Stations

Tokyo Metro

Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line: Honancho (branch line); Higashi Koenji, Shin-Koenji, Minami Asagaya, Ogikubo Stations

Road

National highways: Route 20, the Kōshū Kaidō

Kan-nana Dori (Number 7 Ring Road)

Kan-pachi Dori (Number 8 Ring Road)

Itsukaichi Kaidō (Suginami Akiruno Line, Tokyo Metropolitan Road Route 7)

Ōme Kaidō

Shopping streets and commercial facilities

Koenji Station Plaza

Koenji Junjo Shopping Street - Koenji Station. This is also the title of the novel of the same name by Shoichi Nishime.

Asagaya Pearl Center - It is also famous as the venue for the Asagaya Tanabata Festival every summer.

Ogikubo Lumine - JR Ogikubo Station

City Seven - Ogikubo Ekimae

Education

Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.

Suginami City operates public elementary and junior high schools.

Municipal combined elementary and junior high schools:

Koenji Gakuen (高円寺学園)

Suginami Izumi Gakuen (杉並和泉学園)

Municipal junior high schools:

Municipal elementary schools:

International schools:

Bunka Suginami Canadian International School

Tokyo Korean 9th Elementary School (東京朝鮮第九初級学校) - North Korean school

Higher Education:

Meiji University, Izumi Campus

Economy

Agriculture

There are approximately 46 hectares of farmland and nearly two hundred farmers in the hall, and vegetables, flowers, plants and fruits are produced.

Animation

Several animation studios are located in Suginami. Bones is headquartered in Igusa, while Sunrise has its headquarters near the Kami-Igusa Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line. Bones was founded by former members of Sunrise, and staff at each company often help each other on projects. The Satelight studio, founded in Sapporo, relocated to the Asagaya neighborhood in 2006 (an earlier Tokyo office, at a different location in Suginami, had been in existence since 2003). In addition, many smaller studios are based here; as of 2006, over 70 studios (of 400 throughout Japan) were located in Suginami.

Japanese operations

The communications and electronics giant Iwatsu Electric is headquartered in Kugayama.

Foreign operations

American Express used to have its Japanese headquarters south of Ogikubo station, but it moved to Toranomon in central Tokyo in 2020.

Microsoft has a branch office in the Daitabashi Asahi Seimei Building in Izumi.

Former economic operations

Prior to its disestablishment, Data East had its headquarters in Suginami.

Culture

Ōmiya Hachiman Shrine

Suginami Kokaido: a concert hall and the home of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. It is also the same place where Birth of Ultraman (ウルトラマン誕生, Urutoraman Tanjō), the pre-premiere special of Ultraman was held which recorded on July 9, 1966 and later aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System (the Ultra Series' original network before TV Tokyo) the next day in 7:00 pm. In fact, as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Ultra Series, "Ultraman Day" (ウルトラマンの日, Urutoraman no Hi) was held in Suginami Kokaido on July 10, 2016.

Suginami Animation Museum: a small museum which includes a screening theater, library, and historical overview of Japanese animation, with English language explanations.

Za Koenji Theater

Suginami has attracted artists for a long time. Among those living there are: Hayao Miyazaki, writer and radio anchor Shoichi Ozawa, or painter Hiroshi Senju.

Annual Events

Koenji Engei Festival

Koenji Surprise Street Performance

Kogayama Bullring Festival - 1st Saturday and Sunday of June

Asatani Tanabata Festival - August 5th, 9th, Asatani Pearl Center

Tokyo Koenji Awa Odori - Around Koenji Station on the last Saturday and Sunday of August

Asagaya Jazz Street - October 3rd or 4th, Friday and Saturday

Koenji Festival - Adult Cultural Festival

Suginami Local Performing Arts Competition

Ogikubo Music Festival

Troll Forest - Outdoor Art Exhibition (Nishi-Ogikubo, Zenpukuji Pond)

Suvarami Festa - Kumin Matsuri (festival) held in Momoiharabana Park