Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa

Ashigarashimo District (足柄下郡, Ashigarashimo-gun) is a district of Japan located in western Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Most of the mountainous district is sparsely populated, and is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. The majority of the area of the city of Odawara was formerly part of Ashigarashimo District.

Map of Ashigarashimo District with Meiji period area in yellow, modern area in green

1 - Hakone, 2 - Manazuru, 3 - Yugawara

As of 2009, the district had an estimated population of 48,713 and a density of 346 persons per km². The total area was 140.73 km².

Towns and villages

• Hakone
• Manazuru
• Yugawara

History

Historic Map of Ashigaramshimo District

Ashigarashimo District was one of the ancient subdivisions of Sagami Province, per the Nara period Ritsuryō system, under the name as Ashinoshimo District (足下郡, Ashinoshimo-gun). The area was under control of the later Hōjō clan in the Sengoku period, and part of Odawara Domain during the Edo period. Following disasters caused by eruptions of nearby Mount Fuji, a portion also came to be held as tenryō territory administered by the Tokugawa shogunate.

Timeline

After the Meiji Restoration, it initially formed part of the short-lived Ashigara Prefecture, before was established as a district of Kanagawa Prefecture under the cadastral reform of 1878. In 1889, it was administratively divided into two towns (Odawara and Hakone) and 30 villages. On December 20, 1940, Odawara was elevated to city status. A planned merger of Yugawara into Odawara in 2005 was rejected by local voters in an August 8, 2004 referendum.

Merger table

before 1889	April 1, 1889	1889 - 1926	1926 – 1944		1945 - 1954		1955 - 1989		1989–Present	Present
	Shimonaka village	Shimonaka village	Shimonaka village		Shimonaka village		April 1, 1955 Tachibana town	April 1, 1971 merged with Odawara city	Odawara city	Odawara
	Maeha village	Maeha village	Maeha village		Maeha village
	Shimofuchu village	Shimofuchu village	Shimofuchu village		April 1, 1948 merged with Odawara city		Odawara city
	Kamifuchu village	Kamifuchu village	Kamifuchu village		December 1, 1954 merged with Odawara city
	Shimosoga village	Shimosoga village	Shimosoga village
	Toyokawa village	Toyokawa village	Toyokawa village		July 15, 1954 merged with Odawara city
	Tajima village	Tajima village	Tajima village		April 1, 1948 merged with Kōzu town	December 1, 1954 merged with Odawara city
	Kōzu village	April 1, 1924 Kōzu town	Kōzu town		Kōzu town
	Sakawa village	Sakawa village	Sakawa village	April 1, 1942 Sakawa town	Sakawa town
				December 20, 1940 Odawara city (Amiisshiki・Sannohara area)	Odawara city
	Odawara town	Odawara town	Odawara town	December 20, 1940 Odawara city
	Ashiko village	April 1, 1908 Ashigara village	February 11, 1940 Ashigara town
	Futakawa village
	Kuno village
	Tomizu village
	Ōkubo village	Ōkubo village	Ōkubo village
	Hayakawa village	Hayakawa village	Hayakawa village
	Ishibashi village	April 1, 1913 Kataura village	Kataura village		December 1, 1954 merged with Odawara city
	Yonegami village
	Nebukawa village
	Enoura village
	Yumoto village	Yumoto village	October 1, 1927 Yumoto town		Yumoto town		September 30, 1956 Hakone town		Hakone town	Hakone
	Onsen village	Onsen village	Onsen village		Onsen village
	Miyagino village	Miyagino village	Miyagino village		Miyagino village
	Sengokubara village	Sengokubara village	Sengokubara village		Sengokubara village
	Hakone town	Hakone town	Hakone town		January 1, 1954 Hakone town
	Motohakone village	Motohakone village	Motohakone village
	Ashinoyu village	Ashinoyu village	Ashinoyu village
	Manazuru village	Manazuru village	October 1, 1927 Manazuru town		Manazuru town		September 30, 1956 Manazuru town		Manazuru village	Manazuru
	Iwa village	Iwa village	Iwa village		Iwa village
	Doi village	July 1, 1926 Yugawara town	Yugawara town		Yugawara town		April 1, 1955 Yugawara town		Yugawara town	Yugawara
	Yoshihama village	Yoshihama village	April 1, 1940 Yoshihama town		Yoshihama town
	Fukuura village	Fukuura village	Fukuura village		Fukuura village