How are addresses determined in Japan? What's the difference between land lot numbers and street addresses? What are block systems and road systems? We'll answer all your address questions! (Address Data - Street Numbers/Numbers)

The basics of Japanese addresses are

Japanese addresses are expressed as place name + house number/number.
The place name is the written part, and the street number/house number is the numerical part; each has its own type.

Last time, we introduced "place names" (the parts highlighted in blue).
This time, we will explain in detail the "address and house number" (the part in red).

We use our addresses casually every day. They're necessary for everything from deliveries and mail to visits, as well as for hospitals, financial institutions, and membership services. Despite their indispensable role in our lives, the system behind addresses isn't widely understood.

For example, did you know that there are two different ways of writing addresses for things like resident registration?

There are two types: one based on land parcel numbers designated by the Legal Affairs Bureau, and another based on the residential address system, which consists of house numbers and block codes assigned to buildings.

Land number... A number assigned to a plot of land.
House number... A number assigned to a building.

(Above) An illustrative diagram of land parcel numbers and addresses.

First, let's talk about the land parcel number. A land parcel number is a number assigned to a piece of land. It's used for real estate registration and tax collection, and is managed by the Legal Affairs Bureau.

Across Japan, there is no land without a land number assigned to it, except for government-owned land such as roads, rivers/waterways, riverbeds, and railway lines. All land owned by someone has some kind of land number assigned to it. In the case of state-owned land, vast plots of land may be managed under a single land number.

The current land numbering system is based on surveys conducted during the Meiji period. Tax collection, which had been managed by each feudal domain during the Edo period, was centralized by the Meiji-era land tax reform. This led to nationwide surveys and the creation of maps. These maps, created during the land tax reform, are what are known as "official maps" (maps similar to official maps). It was necessary to understand the land and its owners throughout the country in order to implement centralized tax collection.

During the Meiji era, when land parcels were surveyed, they were assigned sequential numbers, making them easy to understand. However, as land ownership changed over generations, land parcels were repeatedly merged and divided. This resulted in a complex and illogical system of parcel numbers. Furthermore, roads and other infrastructure have changed since then, and town boundaries no longer coincide. In particular, in urban areas, using parcel numbers has become inconvenient for mail delivery and visits.

*Consolidation of land parcels: The process of combining multiple land parcels into one, often due to inheritance or other reasons.
*Subdivision... The process of dividing one land parcel into multiple parcels due to inheritance or other reasons.

The address numbering system was introduced in 1962 (Showa 37) to resolve the complexities of land parcel numbering.

In addition to the complex land parcel numbering system resulting from repeated consolidation and subdivision, municipalities assign numbers to buildings. This is called "assignment of residential numbers." While land parcel numbers are assigned to the land itself, the residential numbering system assigns residential numbers to each building.

In particular, in densely populated urban areas, the residential address system was actively introduced, and residential addresses came to be used as addresses instead of land lot numbers.

The implementation of a street address system has streamlined the complexities of addresses based on land lot numbers, making it easier to identify a specific location (building). As a result, deliveries, mailings, and emergency vehicle guidance have become smoother.

However, changing the addresses of all residents in an area where a new address system is being implemented would be quite difficult, costly, and time-consuming.

Therefore, in areas where a residential address system has not been implemented, the land number is used as the address, while in areas where a residential address system has been implemented, the residential address number is used as the address. As a result, throughout Japan, addresses based on land numbers and addresses based on residential addresses coexist depending on the region.

Comparing street addresses and land parcel numbers, land parcel numbers are more common in terms of area, but from the perspective of buildings where people live, street addresses are more widely used in urban areas, resulting in a roughly 50/50 split in terms of population.

As you can see, land parcel numbers and residential addresses are used as part of an address. In fact, there is a way to determine whether an address is a land parcel number or a residential address number. You can tell by whether the address is followed by "○-banchi" or "○-ban," and whether or not it is followed by "go."​

For addresses using land lot numbers:
"1-chome 2-banchi 3" (Previously written as "1-chome 2-banchi 3")

For addresses using the street address system:
"1-2-3"

Did you understand?
Use "banchi" (番地) for addresses using land lot numbers, and "ban" (番) for addresses using residential address systems. You can use this method to determine whether your home address is a land lot number-based or residential address-based address.

However, addresses are often written in an abbreviated form using a hyphen, such as "1-2-3, XX City, XX Town." This hyphen actually has different meanings depending on whether the address is based on a street address or a land lot number.

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House numbers in residential addresses are assigned according to established rules. In Japan, the most common method is the block system. A block is, in principle, a certain area surrounded by roads, rivers, railways, etc. A block number is assigned to each block, such as "Block No. ○". Within that block, each building is then assigned a house number, such as "No. ○".

Block numbers are generally assigned in a staggered pattern, starting from the first block (block 1) and continuing sequentially to adjacent blocks.

(Above diagram) An example of numbering in a staggered, meandering pattern.

There are various ways to determine the starting point of a city block (Block 1). For example, in Tokyo's 23 wards, the direction of the Imperial Palace is designated as the starting point of the city block (Block 1).

(Above diagram) Example of how block numbers are assigned

Furthermore, within each city block, each building is assigned a number, such as "Building No. ○". The way these numbers are assigned is also unique.

First, the roads surrounding the city block are divided into 5-10 meter intervals (frontages), and basic numbers are assigned clockwise. The number of the frontage that the building's entrance faces becomes the building's address. The starting direction for the house number is also determined by each city, town, or village.

(Above diagram) Rules for assigning addresses to buildings

In other words, a building with the address "1-2-3, XX Town" would be "the building in the 2nd block of 1-chome, XX Town, with its entrance facing the third frontage." Since the building's entrance is known, mail delivery can be done efficiently by following the order of the house numbers.

While addresses are determined by this block-based system, in some locations, multiple buildings may share the same address.
In such cases, we either identify the property by its nameplate or assign a more detailed number (sub-number) to each property.

(Above diagram) Multiple buildings may share the same address.

The block number corresponds to the "○" in "○-chome ○-ban ○-go". Block numbers (names) representing blocks are not limited to just numbers.

・1-Miyamoto-cho, Honcho, Konosu City, Saitama Prefecture

・4-Watanabe, Kyutaro-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture

・ 3-2 Naka, Chiyozaki, Nishi-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture

(Above image) Address search results on MapFan (Left: Miyamoto-cho, Right: Naka 2)

The above-mentioned "Miyamotocho," "Watanabe," and "Naka 2" are also examples of block designations.

For example, in Miyamoto-cho (Honcho, Konosu City, Saitama Prefecture), the name of a former town has been preserved as the name of the block number at the request of the residents. In an area where numbers are assigned mechanically, these block numbers have a certain charm.

Addresses in the United States and other countries are written differently from Japanese addresses. Overseas addresses seem to be based on the street (street, avenue, etc.), such as "XX Street, No. XX".
This method of assigning numbers based on roads is called the road system for addressing addresses.

In fact, in Japan, there are some areas, such as Higashine City in Yamagata Prefecture, that use a road-based numbering system for addressing houses. However, in most areas, the block-based system is used.

There are several reasons why the block system is preferred over the road system in Japan, but one major reason is that not all streets in Japan have names (or names are not widely known).

As you can see, adopting the road system described above requires first naming the streets. In Japan, with a few exceptions, there was no custom of naming streets.
While there are major streets like Meiji-dori and Takeshita-dori, smaller streets (narrow alleys) don't have names. Therefore, it was probably difficult to assign addresses using the road-based system of "○○ Street, No. ○".

So, this time we introduced land parcel numbers and street addresses. It was a bit technical and difficult, but I hope you got a sense of the fascinating and intricate world of addresses.
Even addresses, which we usually don't pay much attention to, might actually hold interesting historical significance or have some unusual features.

Next time, we'll have the final installment of our address series. An employee who works on compiling address data for digital maps will explain some of Japan's unique place names.

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Related articles:
Check it out on MapFan! Unraveling the mysteries of addresses from place names in address data (Address data and place names edition)
How to organize address data and what are its uses? (Address Data Organization/Utilization)