was a municipality in Japan which existed from May 1, 1889 until its merger with Tokyo Prefecture in July 1, 1943. The historical boundaries of Tokyo City are now occupied by independent special wards.

History

See also: History of Tokyo

In 1868, the medieval city Edo, seat of the Tokugawa government, was renamed Tokyo, and the offices of Tokyo Prefecture (-fu) were opened. The extent of Tokyo Prefecture was initially limited to the former Edo city (15 wards listed below), but rapidly augmented to be comparable with the present Tokyo Metropolis.

Tokyo City initially did not maintain a separate mayor or city council; instead, the governor of Tokyo Prefecture served as mayor of Tokyo, and each ward had its own assembly. Tokyo began electing its own mayor in 1898 but retained ward-level legislation, which continues to this day in the special ward system. The city hall of Tokyo was located in the Yurakucho district, on a site now occupied by the Tokyo International Forum.

Tokyo became the second-largest city in the world (population 4.9 million) upon absorbing several outlying districts in July 1932, giving the city a total of 35 wards.

In 1943, the city was abolished and merged with Tokyo Prefecture to form the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which was functionally a part of the central government of Japan: the governor of Tokyo became a Cabinet minister reporting directly to the Prime Minister. This system remained in place until 1947 when the current structure of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government was formed.

Wards

1889 - 1920 (15 wards)		1920 - 1932 (15 wards)		1932 - 1936 (35 wards)	1936 - 1947 (35 wards)	23 special wards of Tokyo Metropolis
Kojimachi						Chiyoda
Kanda
Nihombashi						Chuo
Kyobashi
Shiba						Minato
Azabu
Akasaka
Yotsuya		Yotsuya				Shinjuku
Naito-shinjuku Town, Toyotama District
Ushigome
Yodobashi town, Toyotama District				Yodobashi
Okubo Town, Toyotama District
Totsuka Town, Toyotama District
Ochiai Town, Toyotama District
Koishikawa						Bunkyo
Hongo
Shitaya						Taito
Asakusa
Honjo						Sumida
Terashima Town, Minami-Katsushika District				Mukojima
Azuma Town, Minami-Katsushika District
Sumida Town, Minami-Katsushika District
Fukagawa						Koto
Kameido Town, Minami-Katsushika District				Joto
Ojima Town, Minami-Katsushika District
Suna Town, Minami-Katsushika District
Shinagawa Town, Ebara District				Shinagawa		Shinagawa
Oi Town, Ebara District
Osaki Town, Ebara District
Ebara Town, Ebara District				Ebara
Meguro Town, Ebara District				Meguro
Hibusuma Town, Ebara District
Omori Town, Ebara District				Omori		Ota
Iriarai Town, Ebara District
Magome Town, Ebara District
Ikegami Town, Ebara District
Higashi-Chofu Town, Ebara District
Kamata Town, Ebara District				Kamata
Yaguchi Town, Ebara District
Rokugo Town, Ebara District
Haneda Town, Ebara District
Setagaya Town, Ebara District				Setagaya	Setagaya
Komazawa Town, Ebara District
Matsuzawa Village, Ebara District
Tamagawa Village, Ebara District
Kinuta Village, Kita-Tama District
Chitose Village, Ebara District
Shibuya Town, Toyotama District				Shibuya
Sendagaya Town, Toyotama District
Yoyohata Town, Toyotama District
Nakano Town, Toyotama District				Nakano
Nogata Town, Toyotama District
Suginami Town, Toyotama District				Suginami
Wadabori Town, Toyotama District
Iogi Town, Toyotama District
Takaido Town, Toyotama District
Sugamo Town, Kita-Toshima District				Toshima
Nishi-Sugamo Town, Kita-Toshima District
Nagasaki Town, Kita-Toshima District
Takada Town, Kita-Toshima District
Takinogawa Town, Kita-Toshima District				Takinogawa		Kita
Ouji Town, Kita-Toshima District				Oji
Iwabuchi Town, Kita-Toshima District
Minami-Senju Town, Kita-Toshima District				Arakawa
Mikawashima Town, Kita-Toshima District
Nippori Town, Kita-Toshima District
Ogu Town, Kita-Toshima District
Itabashi Town, Kita-Toshima District				Itabashi		Itabashi
Kami-Itabashi Village, Kita-Toshima District
Shimura Village, Kita-Toshima District
Akatsuka Village, Kita-Toshima District
Nerima Town, Kita-Toshima District						Nerima
Kami-Nerima Village, Kita-Toshima District
Nakaarai Village, Kita-Toshima District
Shakujii Village, Kita-Toshima District
Oizumi Village, Kita-Toshima District
Senju Town, Minami-Adachi District				Adachi
Umejima Town, Minami-Adachi District
Nishiarai Town, Minami-Adachi District
Kohoku Village, Minami-Adachi District
Toneri Village, Minami-Adachi District
Ikou Village, Minami-Adachi District
Fuchie Village, Minami-Adachi District
Higashi-Fuchie Village, Minami-Adachi District
Hanahata Village, Minami-Adachi District
Ayase Village, Minami-Adachi District
Honden Town, Minami-Katsushika District				Katsushika
Okudo Town, Minami-Katsushika District
Minami-Ayase Town, Minami-Katsushika District
Kameao Village, Minami-Katsushika District
Niijuku Town, Minami-Katsushika District
Kanamachi Town, Minami-Katsushika District
Mizumoto Village, Minami-Katsushika District
Komatsugawa Town, Minami-Katsushika District				Edogawa
Matsue Village, Minami-Katsushika District
Mizue Village, Minami-Katsushika District
Kasai Village, Minami-Katsushika District
Shikamoto Village, Minami-Katsushika District
Shinozaki Village, Minami-Katsushika District
Koiwa Town, Minami-Katsushika District

References

1. 東京都年表, Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
2. Map of Tokyo City, 1913