is a town

Towns of Japan

A town is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture , city , and village...

 located in Kōza District

Koza District, Kanagawa

is an administrative district of Japan located in central Kanagawa Prefecture. It currently consists of only one town, Samukawa.- History :Kōza District was one of the ancient subdivisions of Sagami Province, extending from Sagami Bay north to the border of Musashi Province between the Sagami River...

, Kanagawa Prefecture

Kanagawa Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. As of 2010, the town had an estimated population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 47,739 and a density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 3,560 persons per km². The total area was 13.42 km².

Geography

Samukawa is located in the flatlands of central Kanagawa Prefecture. The Sagami River

Sagami River

The is a river in Kanagawa and Yamanashi Prefectures on the island of Honshū, Japan.The upper reaches of the river in Yamanashi prefecture are also sometimes known as the , and the portion near the river mouth as the...

 passes through the town.

Surrounding municipalities

• Chigasaki
  Chigasaki, Kanagawa
  is a city located in central, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 234,400 and a density of 6,540 persons per km²...
  
  
• Fujisawa
  Fujisawa, Kanagawa
  is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 407,731 and a population density of 5,870 people per km². The total area is 69.51 km²-Geography:...
  
  
• Ebina
  Ebina, Kanagawa
  is a city located in central Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the town has an estimated population of 127,062 and a density of 4,800 persons per km². The total area is 26.48 km².-Geography:...
  
  
• Atsugi
  Atsugi, Kanagawa
  is a city located in central Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 225,622 and a population density of 2,410 persons per km². The total area was 93.83 km²...
  
  
• Hiratsuka
  Hiratsuka, Kanagawa
  is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 259,991 and the density of 3,830 persons per km²...
  
  

History

The village of Samukawa was founded in 1889. It was linked with Chigasaki Station

Chigasaki Station

is a station in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the East Japan Railway Company. It is 56.8 rail kilometers from Tokyo Station.-History:...

 by the Sagami Line in 1921. A spur line extending from Samukawa to the west led to development of housing and industry, increasing the population of Samukawa such that by 1940 it was granted town status. The Sagami Naval Arsenal of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 was located in Samukawa until the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. In 2002, a large quantity of mustard gas was found buried under its former site.

Economy

Samukawa has a mixed economy. Industry includes factories operated by Nissan Kohki, a subsidiary of Nissan Motors

Nissan Motors

, usually shortened to Nissan , is a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn ....

 producing automotive engines.

Railway

• JR East
  East Japan Railway Company
  is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....
  
   - Sagami Line

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Tourist Attraction

• Samukawa Shrine
  Samukawa Shrine
  is a Shinto shrine in the town of Samukawa in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is located on the bank of the Sagami River, about eight kilometers from the river’s mouth.-History:...
  
  , the first shrine (ichinomiya
  Ichinomiya (disambiguation)
  Ichinomiya is historically the supreme shrine in each of the old provinces of Japan, and currently the name of several places in Japan:*a city:**Ichinomiya, Aichi containing the shrine of the old province Owari...
  
  ) of former Sagami Province
  Sagami Province
  was an old province in the area that is today the central and western Kanagawa prefecture. It was sometimes called . Sagami bordered on Izu, Musashi, Suruga provinces; and had access to the Pacific Ocean through Sagami Bay...
  
  

External links

• Official website in Japanese