Musashino, city in Japan, on east central Honshu Island, in central Tokyo Prefecture about 21 km (about 13 mi) west of downtown Tokyo. Musashino is in the Tama District of the Tokyo metropolis. Musashino has mainly developed as a residential area for commuters to other districts of Tokyo. It also has an employment base of its own with several local industries, including a factory that manufactures industrial electric equipment. Musashino is well connected by passenger rail. It has a reputation as an established suburb with excellent public services and facilities. It has five colleges and universities, including Seikei University (founded in 1906). A popular attraction is Inokashira Park, which has a zoo and botanical garden. Musashino has been the home of a number of famous intellectuals and writers of the 20th century, most notably the historian Maruyama Masao and the writers Niwa Fumio and Kunikida Doppo. The Tama River Canal, which formerly provided irrigation water to local farms, flows through the city's western side. Musashino was once a farming village in a productive agricultural area. The large-scale development of residential land uses began shortly after the Tokyo earthquake of 1923, when many residents of Tokyo relocated to more spacious and secure surroundings west of the city. Musashino was established as a city in 1947. Population (1999) 130,376.
