 After the Meiji restoration, it briefly became capital of Kawagoe Prefecture (1871) then Iruma Prefecture (1871–1873), before becoming part of Saitama Prefecture.The modern town of Kawagoe was created within Iruma District, Saitama with the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889.A large part of the town was destroyed in a fire on May 13, 1893 and was rebuilt with many structures using construction techniques of traditional "kura" warehouses.