Curious about a place called Tamami? Tamami is a female name of Japanese origin. It means beautiful gem. It’s a name that resonates with the charm of its origin.
Tamami is also a place. Tama is a city located in the western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. Tama is part of ancient Musashi Province. It became part of Minamitama District in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1878. Tama Village was founded in 1889. It merged 11 pre-Meiji period hamlets. Minamitama District transferred to Tokyo Metropolis in 1893. Tama elevated to town status in 1964. Construction of Tama New Town started in 1966. The first occupants started moving in 1971. Tama Town reclassified as Tama City in 1971. It dissolved Minamitama District. Tama was the last town in the former Minamitama District.
Tama sits in the foothills of the Okutama Mountains. These mountains are in southwestern Tokyo. They are known as Tama Hills. The Tama River marks the city’s northern boundary. Kanagawa Prefecture is to the south.
Tama has a humid subtropical climate. Summers are warm. Winters are cool with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Tama is 14.0 degrees Celsius. The average annual rainfall is 1647 mm. September is the wettest month. August has the highest temperatures at 25.3 degrees Celsius. January has the lowest at 2.8 degrees Celsius.
The population of Tama increased rapidly in the late 20th century. It has plateaued in the early 21st. As of March 2021, the city had an estimated population of 148285. This lived in 73167 households. The population density was 7100 inhabitants per square kilometre. The total area of the city was 21.01 square kilometres.
Tama has a mayor-council form of government. There is a directly elected mayor. There is also a unicameral city council of 26 members. Tama together with the city of Inagi contributes two members to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.
In 2018, Michihito Matsuda ran for mayor in the Tama city area of Tokyo. He acted as a human proxy for an artificial intelligence program. The AI mayor was a machine learning algorithm. It was trained using Tama city datasets. Tetsuzo Matsumoto of Softbank and Norio Murakami of Google backed the project. Michihito Matsuda came third in the election. Hiroyuki Abe defeated him. Organisers claimed the AI mayor would analyze citizen petitions. It would do this in a fairer and more balanced way than human politicians.
Tama has several universities and colleges. These include Keisen University Tama Campus and Kokushikan University Tama Campus. Others are Otsuma Women’s University Tama Campus and Tama University Tama Campus. Teikyo University Hachioji Campus is also here.
Tama is served by the Keiō Sagamihara Line and the Odakyū Tama Line.
Sanrio Puroland Amusement Park is one of Tama’s local attractions. There is also the Thirteen Buddhas of Tama.
Fujimi in Nagano is one of Tama’s sister cities.
So, whether you see Tamami as a beautiful name or think of Tama as a dynamic city, remember its blend of nature and urban life. It is a place where tradition meets innovation.