is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The ward refers to itself as Suginami City in English.
As of June 1, 2022, Suginami has an estimated population of 588,354 and a population density of 17,274 persons per km2. The total area is 34.06 km2.
Suginami occupies the western part of the ward area of Tokyo. Its neighbors include these special wards: to the east, Shibuya and Nakano; to the north, Nerima; and to the south, Setagaya. Its western neighbors are the cities of Mitaka and Musashino.
The Kanda River passes through Suginami. The Zenpukuji river originates from Zenpukuji Park in western Suginami, and the Myōshōji River originates in Myōshōji Park, to the north of Ogikubo station.
The name Suginami dates back to the early Edo period and is a shortened version of Suginamiki ("avenue of cedars"). This name came about when an early land baron, Lord Tadayoshi Okabe, planted a row of cedar trees to mark the bounds of his property.
The ward was founded on March 15, 1947.
In 1970, 40 high school students in the area were exposed to photochemical smog and required hospitalization. The incident attracted national attention and increased awareness of the dangers of pollution.
The following neighborhoods make up Suginami-ku:
Iogi Area
Igusa
Imagawa
Kamiigusa
Kamiogi
Minamiogikubo
Momoi
Nishiogikita
Nishiogiminami
Ogikubo
Shimizu
Shimoigusa
Zenpukuji
Suginami Area
Amanuma
Asagayakita
Asagayaminami
Hon'amanuma
Kōenjikita
Kōenjiminami
Naritahigashi
Naritanishi
Umezato
Takaido Area
Hamadayama
Kamitakaido
Kugayama
Miyamae
Shimotakaido
Shōan
Takaido
Takaidohigashi
Takaidonishi
Wadabori Area
Eifuku
Hōnan
Horinouchi
Izumi
Matsunoki
Ōmiya
Wada
Historically, Suginami has leaned toward liberal activism. In 1954, local housewives launched the "Suginami Appeal" against nuclear weapons, a petition that spread nationwide and ultimately collected 20 million signatures. More recently in 2005, Suginami became part of Japan's fight against nationalist textbook revisionism when residents petitioned Tokyo's courts to prevent the adoption of a controversial textbook published by Fusosha Publishing which claimed to justify Japanese actions during World War II.