Kanra District was the name of one of the ancient districts of Kōzuke Province, mentioned in the Shoku Nihongi of 711 AD. Modern Minamikanra District was created on December 7, 1878, with the reorganization of Gunma Prefecture into districts. It included 25 villages, which were formerly part of the tenryō holdings in Kōzuke Province administered directly by the Tokugawa shogunate. With the establishment of the municipalities system on April 1, 1889, the area was organized as four villages: Mihara, Nakasato, Kamikawa, and Ueno.
