Yurigaoka


Yurigaoka is a neighborhood in Asao-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture which consists of 1 to 3-chōme.
The population was 8009 as of March 2009.

Name

Yurigaoka is said to be named after the Yurigaoka Danchi housing development project in the 1950s, which was in turn named after the Goldband lily which once grew in abundance around the district. The Goldband lily is the official flower of Kanagawa Prefecture.

History

In March 1913, a fossil tooth from a Parastegodon was found in what is now Yurigaoka 2-19 in the upper sedimentary layers of mudstone. It is thought to have been from the late Pliocene period. Most of what is now the city of Kawasaki was under water during this period, so the fossil indicates that the Yurigaoka area was above water and perhaps marked the shoreline.
Rice was grown in the area as early as the Yayoi period. Around the 8th century, hemp grown in the district was offered as tribute to the Japanese Imperial Court.
First undergoing large-scale housing development in the 1950s, the area saw a population increase after the completion of Yurigaoka Station in 1960.

Geography

The southern end of the neighborhood is marked by the Yurigaoka Danchi; in the north lies the main shopping strip and the Odakyu Railway. The highest point is at Kōbō no matsu Park in Yurigaoka 2-10, opposite the Yurigaoka Catholic Church.

Transportation