URAWA

capital, Saitama ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies along the Tohoku railway line north of Tokyo. During the Tokugawa period (16031867) Urawa was a post town on the Nakasendo Road. It was designated the prefectural capital in 1876. Urawa is a commercial and residential suburb of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area, with a growing industrial sector. In the city's environs are Tajimagahara, Japan's largest primrose garden, and Sagiyama, a sanctuary for migratory herons. Pop. (1992 est.) 434,976.