is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,020, and a population density of 9100 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Higashikurume is in the north-center of Tokyo Metropolis, on the Musashino Terrace, approximately 25 kilometers from downtown Tokyo. The Kurome River flows through the western end of the city, and the Ochiai River flows through the center of the city. The land slopes gently from west to east. Surrounding municipalities Tokyo Metropolis Kiyose Higashimurayama Kodaira Nishitokyo Saitama Prefecture Niiza Climate Higashikurume has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Higashikurume is 14.0 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1647 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 25.7 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.3 °C. Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Higashikurume increased rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s due to the establishment of many large scale public housing complexes, but has remained relatively constant for the past 40 years, and is now suffering from rapid aging of the population base. History The area of present-day Higashikurume was part of ancient Musashi Province. In the post-Meiji Restoration cadastral reform of April 1, 1889, Kurume Village were established within Kitatama District of Kanagawa Prefecture. The entire district was transferred to the control of Tokyo Prefecture on April 1, 1893. The area began development after connection to central Tokyo was established by the Musashino Railway from 1915. In 1956, the village of Kurume attained town status. In the 1960s and 1970s, the population rapidly expanded with the construction of large public housing estates. The city was founded on October 1, 1970. Etymology of the city name The origin of the name Kurume is unclear, but there are several theories: as a variante of the ancient "kuruma muchibe", maintenance staff of the emperor's litter a dialect form of the Japanese word for "walnut" a word meaning "small, flat place" The theory that the "Kurome" of the Kuromegawa River：黒目川 flowing through the city turns into the place name of "Kurume". Originally, the Kurome River was also called "Kurume" River, the later people used the kanji notation such as Kurume＝久留米or久留目or来梅・Kurome＝黒目etc. . This was later recognised as the