Higashimurayama

Higashimurayama is a city in the western part of the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan, with a small area of about 17 square kilometres and a dense population of roughly 148,000 as of March 2021. It sits almost at the centre of the Musashino Terrace on the eastern edge of the Sayama Hills, and most of its land is flat apart from hills in the northwest. People have lived in the area since the Japanese Paleolithic, and remains from the Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun periods have been found; the Battle of Kumegawa was fought here in 1333 during the Kamakura period. Several villages merged into Higashimurayama Village in 1889, it became a town in 1942 and was raised to city status in 1964. Formerly an agricultural area known for sweet potatoes, it is now mainly a regional commercial centre and a residential suburb.