Marunouchi
town located in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Marunouchi (丸の内) is an area in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, located between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace. The name, meaning "inside the circle", derives from its location within the palace's outer moat. Marunouchi is the core of Tokyo's central business district as well as one of the main financial centres in Japan. 20 of the Fortune Global 500 companies are headquartered in the area as of 2021, while many other such companies based outside Japan have Asian or Japanese offices there. Together with the neighbouring districts of Yūrakuchō (有楽町) and Ōtemachi (大手町), Marunouchi is part of a larger business district sometimes referred to as Daimaruyū (大丸有).
History
In 1590, before shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu entered Edo Castle, the area now known as Marunouchi was an inlet of Tokyo Bay and had the name Hibiya. With the expansion of the castle, this inlet was filled, beginning in 1592. A new outer moat was constructed, and the earlier moat became the inner moat. The area took the name Okuruwauchi ("within the enclosure"). Daimyōs, particularly shinpan and fudai, constructed their mansions here, and with 24 such estates, the area also became known as daimyō kōji ("daimyō alley").
The public source identifies “Marunouchi” as town located in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Marunouchi, town and located.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Marunouchi”, the useful work is to connect “town located in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1196955. VIAF identifies the subject as 1617157100615772740009. Authority coordinates are 35.681, 139.766. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2021, 1590 and 1592.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Marunouchi”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Marunouchi primary sources, Marunouchi archive and Marunouchi research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Marunouchi” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.