Kōza District, Kanagawa


Kōza District is a district located in central Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It currently consists of only one town, Samukawa. The entire cities of Chigasaki, Fujisawa, Yamato, Ayase, Ebina, Zama; and parts of the city of Sagamihara, were formerly part of Kōza District.
As of 2009, the district has an estimated population of 47,812 and a density of 3,560 persons per km2. The total area is 13.42 km2.

Towns and villages

Kōza District was one of the ancient subdivisions of Sagami Province, extending from Sagami Bay north to the border of Musashi Province between the Sagami River and the Sakai River. It was mentioned in the Nihon Shoki records of 675 AD in the Nara period as Takakura District. The provincial capital of Sagami Province and its kokubunji were located within Kōza District, although its exact location is today unknown.
The area was under the control of various shōen from the Heian period through the Sengoku period, and was held as tenryō territory administered by the shōgun under the Tokugawa shogunate of the Edo period.

Timeline

After the Meiji Restoration, it was established as a district under the cadastral reform of 1878, with a district office built near what is now part of Chigasaki. This was moved to Fujisawa-Ōsaka Town in 1906.