No.88 130th Anniversary of the Implementation of Village System in Inagi

This year, Heisei 31, there is great interest in the era change accompanying the abdication of His Majesty the Emperor, but did you know that it is also a significant milestone year marking the 130th anniversary of the village of "Inagi"?
Inagi was established in Meiji 22 (1889) through the merger of Higashi-Naganuma Village, Yanokuchi Village, Omaru Village, Momura Village, Sakahama Village, and Hirao Village, becoming a new village with a population of 3,750. At that time, the six villages were not significantly different in scale, and since it was an equal merger rather than an absorption, the new village was named "Inagi".
At that time, Oshitate Village was under the jurisdiction of Kitatama District and was incorporated into the newly established Tama Village (now part of Fuchu City due to merger) in the same year, Meiji 22. Later, in Showa 24, parts of Oshitate and Tokuhisa were incorporated into Inagi Village, forming the current Inagi City area.
By the way, many municipalities across the country have significantly reduced in number after undergoing three mergers. Originally, there were "natural villages" as communities for living since before the Edo period, and it is said that there were 71,314 municipalities as of Meiji 21. In the same year, the city and town system was promulgated, and since small towns and villages lacked administrative capacity, the "Great Merger of Meiji" was implemented, reducing the number to 15,859 by Meiji 22.

Next, the "Great Merger of Showa" was implemented due to the enforcement of the Local Autonomy Act in 1947, the Promotion of Mergers of Towns and Villages Act in 1953, and the subsequent Promotion of New Municipalities Act in 1956, resulting in a decrease to 3,472 by 1961.
Furthermore, due to the amendment of the Merger Special Measures Act under the Comprehensive Decentralization Law in 1995, the "Great Merger of Heisei" was implemented from 1999 to 2006, reducing the number to 1,821, and it currently stands at 1,718.
From this history, it is rare for municipalities nationwide to have never experienced a merger since 1889, and Inagi City is one of them, sometimes referred to as a "municipality that upholds pure blood principles." However, due to geographical factors and the rapid population increase, it is not necessarily uncommon in the Tama area of Tokyo, with cities such as Musashino, Mitaka, Koganei, Kokubunji, Higashimurayama, Kiyose, Kunitachi, Komae, Tama, and Hamura being applicable.
Considering this mini-knowledge, I believe the citizens' affection for Inagi City will deepen even further.
Inagi City will celebrate its 50th anniversary of city status in 2021, but before that, I hope to implement a few projects in the new fiscal year to help everyone learn about the 130th anniversary of the village system, which is the root of Inagi, even if it may be a bit modest.