Shinagawa (品川区, Shinagawa-ku) is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. It is home to eleven embassies.
As of 1 April 2016, Shinagawa had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density of 16,510 persons per km2. The total area is 22.84 km2.
Shinagawa is also commonly used to refer to the business district around Shinagawa Station, which is not in Shinagawa Ward. This Shinagawa is in the Takanawa and Konan neighborhoods of Minato Ward, directly north of Kita-Shinagawa.
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Geography
Shinagawa Ward includes natural uplands and lowlands, as well as reclaimed land. The uplands are the eastern end of the Musashino Terrace. They include Shiba-Shirokanedai north of the Meguro River, Megurodai between the Meguro and Tachiai Rivers, and Ebaradai south of the Tachiai River.
The Ward lies on Tokyo Bay. Its neighbors on land are all special wards of Tokyo: Kōtō to the east, Minato to the north, Meguro to the west, and Ōta to the south.
Districts and neighborhoods
Shinagawa Ward consists of five areas, each consisting of multiple districts and neighborhoods:
Shinagawa District, including the former Shinagawa-juku on the Tōkaidō.
Ōsaki (大崎) District, formerly a town of that name, stretching from Ōsaki Station to Gotanda and Meguro Stations.
Ebara (荏原) District, formerly a town of that name.
Ōi (大井) District, formerly a town of that name.
Yashio (八潮) District, consisting of reclaimed land, including Higashiyashio on Odaiba.
History
Most of Tokyo east of the Imperial Palace is on reclaimed land. A large proportion of the reclamation took place during the Edo period, when Shinagawa-juku was the first shukuba (post town) in the "53 Stations of the Tōkaidō" that a traveler would reach after setting out from Nihonbashi to Kyoto on the Tōkaidō. The Tokugawa shogunate maintained the Suzugamori execution grounds in Shinagawa.
Following the Meiji Restoration and the abolition of the han system, Shinagawa Prefecture was instituted in 1869. The prefectural administration was to be set up in the Ebara District, but in 1871 Shinagawa Prefecture was integrated into Tokyo Prefecture. In 1932, during the reorganisation of the municipal boundaries of Tokyo City following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, a smaller version of Shinagawa Ward was created. On March 15, 1947, this was merged with the neighboring Ebara Ward to create the present Shinagawa Ward.
The Ward's historic post-town function is retained today with several large hotels near the train station offering 6,000 rooms, the largest concentration in Tokyo.
The Tōkaidō Shinkansen high-speed rail line began serving Shinagawa Station in 2003.
Economy
Former economic operations
Sony had its headquarters and related facilities in Kitashinagawa from 1947, the next year of its founding, until 2007. They were relocated to Minato, Tokyo, and the site was redeveloped into an upscale residential area and office buildings.
Nikon developed and manufactured products at factories in Nishiōi, Shinagawa from 1918 to 2016. In 2024, the company built its headquarters building on the site of those former factories.
Politics and government
The mayor of Shinagawa Ward is Kyoko Morisawa, elected on December 4, 2022. She is an independent politician born in 1978.
The Shinagawa Ward Assembly, consisting of 40 seats, held its last election on April 23, 2023.
Places
Museums
ARCHI-DEPOT Museum
Kume Museum of Art
The Museum of Package Culture
Nikon Museum
O Art Museum
Shinagawa Historical Museum, a public local museum of Shinagawa
Sugino Costume Museum
SHINAGAWA AQUARIUM
The Galaxy Theatre
Ohi Racecourse
Togoshi Ginza Shopping District
Musashi Koyama Shopping District "PALM"
Historic sites
Ōmori Shell Mounds
Former Tōkaidō Road
Former Shinagawa-juku Station
Site of Suzugamori Execution Grounds
The Bridge of Tears
Former Shinagawa Port
Site of Hamakawa Gun Battery
Parks
Rinshi-no-mori Park
Shinagawa Kumin Park
Ikedayama Park, site of a daimyō's villa
Education
Higher education
Hoshi University
Rissho University
Seisen University
Showa University
Tokyo Healthcare University
Sugino Fashion College
Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology – a graduate school
Tokyo Metropolitan College of Industrial Technology – a college of technology (kōsen)
Primary and secondary education
Public elementary and junior high schools are operated by the Shinagawa Ward Board of Education. Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.
Metropolitan high schools
Tokyo Metropolitan Koyamadai High School
Tokyo Metropolitan Ōsaki High School
Tokyo Metropolitan Yashio High School
Private high schools
The Junior High and Senior High School affiliated to the Bunkyo University
Hoyu-Gakuin High School
Kogyokusha Junior High and Senior High School
Shinagawa Gakugei High School
St. Hilda's School (Kōran Jogakkō Junior High and Senior High School)
Shinagawa Etoile Girls' High School
Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin Junior High and Senior High School
Shinagawa Shouei Junior High School & Senior High School
Seiryo Junior High and Senior High School
International schools
Canadian International School in Tokyo
KAIS International School
Special education schools
Transport
Important railway stations
Gotanda Station
Meguro Station
Ōimachi Station
Ōsaki Station
Shinagawa Station is in fact located in neighboring Minato but also serves the northern part of Shinagawa, and is a stop on the high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen line.
Rail
East Japan Railway Company (JR East)
Yamanote Line: Ōsaki, Gotanda and Meguro Stations
Keihin-Tōhoku Line: Ōimachi Station
Saikyō Line: Ōsaki Station
Tōkaidō Main Line: does not stop at the stations in Shinagawa
Yokosuka Line: Nishi-Ōi Station
Shōnan-Shinjuku Line: Ōsaki and Nishi-Ōi Stations
Tokyu Corporation (Tōkyū)
Tōkyū Meguro Line: Meguro, Fudō-mae, Musashi-Koyama and Nishi-Koyama Stations
Tōkyū Ōimachi Line: Shimo-Shinmei and Togoshi-kōen, Nakanobu, Ebaramachi and Hatanodai Stations
Tōkyū Ikegami Line: Gotanda, Ōsaki-Hirokōji, Togoshi-Ginza, Ebara-Nakanobu and Hatanodai Stations
Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit (Rinkai Line): Tennōzu Isle, Shinagawa Seaside, Ōimachi and Ōsaki Stations
Tokyo Monorail: Tennōzu Isle and Ōi Keibajō Mae Stations
Keikyu Corporation (Keikyū)
Keikyū Main Line: Kitashinagawa, Shimbamba, Aomono-yokochō, Samezu, Tachiaigawa and Ōmorikaigan Stations
Tokyo Metro
Namboku Line: Meguro Station
Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei)
Road
Shuto Expressway (Shutokō)
Route 1 "Haneda Sen"
Route 2 "Meguro Sen"
Bayshore Route "Wangan Sen"
Central Circular Route "Chūō Kanjō Sen"
National highways
Route 1 "Sakurada Dōri", "Dai-Ni Keihin"
Route 15 "Dai-Ichi Keihin"
Route 357 "Tokyo Wangan Dōro"
Shinagawa is also home to the main motor vehicle registration facility for central Tokyo (located east of Samezu Station). As a result, many license plates in Tokyo are labeled with the name "Shinagawa."
Major incidents / accidents
1863 – British Liberines burning case
1964 – Shinagawa Katsushima warehouse explosion fire
1987 – Explosion accident at the Ōi Thermal Power Plant
1995 – Death case of arrest and detention of public affairs notary public office
International relations
Sister city and friendship cities
Sister city
Portland, Maine, the United States of America (since 1984)
Friendship cities
Geneva, Swiss Confederation (since 1991)
Auckland, New Zealand (since 1993)
Diplomatic missons in Shinagawa
Embassies
Consulates-general
In popular culture
Godzilla, Shin Godzilla
Haguregumo
Lucky Seven
Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate
Notable people from Shinagawa
Tadasuke Akiyama, photographer
Shizuka Arakawa, figure skater
Nobutoshi Canna (Real Name: Nobutoshi Hayashi, Nihongo: 林 延年, Hayashi Nobutoshi), actor, voice actor, singer and narrator
Char (Real Name: Hisato Takenaka, Nihongo: 竹中 尚人, Takenaka Hisato), musician, singer-songwriter and record producer
Osamu Dezaki, anime director and screenwriter
Renji Ishibashi (Real Name: Renji Ishida, Nihongo: 石田 蓮司, Ishida Renji), actor
Kenji Kawai, composer and arranger
Momoko Kikuchi, Japanese actress, entertainer, idol, and scholar
Yun Kōga (Real Name: Risa Kimura, Nihongo: 木村 理沙, Kimura Risa), manga artist
Akira Kurosawa, film director, screenwriter, and producer
Taiki Matsuno (Real Name: Tatsuya Matsuno, Nihongo: 松野 達也, Matsuno Tatsuya), actor and voice actor
Takeshi Mori, December 2, 1959, in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan), television announcer and tarento
Keiji Nishikawa, professional shogi player ranked 8-dan
Riho (Real Name Unknown), female professional wrestler and idol
Yuki Sato, actor