Town names in Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City (京都市中京区の町名)
This section on "Town names in Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City" lists official town names in Nakagyo Ward and summarizes the period and process of their establishment.
Summary of Nakagyo Ward
It is located in the center of urban area of Kyoto. Sakyo Ward and Higashiyama Ward are located in the east, Ukyo Ward, Shimogyo Ward, and Kamigyo Ward are located in the west, south, and north respectively, and a very small part of Kita Ward (Kyoto City) is in the northwest. It covers an area of 7.38 square kilometers. Its population is estimated to be about 103,600 as of March 2009. Nakagyo Ward is a newly established ward by combining parts of Kamigyo Ward and Shimogyo Ward respectively in 1929.
The Kamo-gawa River runs in the east of Nakagyo Ward and serves as a boundary between Higashiyama Ward. Nijo-jo Castle covers large area of the land in the northern part of the center of Nakagyo Ward. The busiest area is around Shijo Kawaramachi in the southeast of Nakagyo Ward, and there are Pontocho-dori Street which has traces of the Hanamachi (geisha districts) and Nishiki market in the neighborhood which is a shopping arcade. Kyoto City Hall is located in Nakagyo Ward.
Indication of residential address by the use of street names
Indication of residential address in Japan is usually expressed not by the street names which the building faces, but are expressed by the name of the town or aza (an administrative designation of small sections into which some of the rural districts of Japan are divided) where the building is located; however, indication of residential address with 'street names' is used exceptionally for the urban area of Kyoto. According to this method, the street name which a house or a building directly faces is being mentioned first, and then a name of an intersecting street in the nearest area is added, followed by the expressions such as 'Agaru' (to the north of), 'Sagaru' (to the south of), 'Higashiiru' (to the east of) and 'Nishiiru' (to the west of).
A-dori Street, B-nishiiru:
The building faces A-dori Street (a street going east and west) and is located in the spot which is in the west from the intersection with B-dori Street (a street going north and south).
C-dori Street, D-agaru:
The building faces C-dori Street (a street going north and south) and is located in the spot which is in the north from the intersection with D-dori Street (a street going east and west).
Some addresses are indicated only by the street names as shown above, while others are followed by town names after the indication such as 'A-dori Street, B-nishiiru.'
For example, the location of Kyoto City Hall is Kami-Honnojimae-cho, Nakagyo Ward, but it is indicated as '488 Kami-Honnojimae-cho, Teramachi-dori Miike-agaru, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City.'
Number of towns, etc.
The town names of Kyoto City are categorized into those using their former village names or former Oaza (large section of village) such as 'Ohara Raikoin-cho' (in this case, 'Ohara' is the former name) and those using an independent name of a town such as 'Kameya-cho' and 'Kikuya-cho.'
In Nakagyo Ward, town names in most of the eastern half of Nakagyo Ward are independent town names, while those in the western part of Nakagyo Ward are prefixed by the place names from before the municipal merger such as 'Jurakumawari,' 'Nishinokyo' and 'Mibu.'
According to the second volume of "Kadokawa Nihon Chimei Daijiten No. 26 Kyoto-Fu" (Kadokawa dictionary of place-names of Japan, No. 26 Kyoto Prefecture), there were officially 498 declared towns as of 1980. The number of towns remains unchanged as of 2009.
Indication of residential address based on 'Act on Indication of Residential Address' is not implemented in Kyoto City, and the official town names within the city are based on 'Municipal Ordinance of Jurisdiction Districts of Kyoto City' (Act No. 7 of Kyoto Municipal Ordinance, April 1, 1949).
The town names in Nakagyo Ward listed in 'Municipal Ordinance of Jurisdiction Districts' basically match those in "Kadokawa Nihon Chimei Daijiten," although differing in detail. (See 'Remarks.')
History
In the early modern Kyoto, the area north of Nijo-dori Street was referred to as Kamigyo, and the area south of Nijo-dori Street was referred to as Shimogyo; and chogumi (town society) called 'Twelve town societies of Kamigyo' and 'Kinri Rokucho town society' were formed in Kamigyo, and 'Eight town societies of Shimogyo' were formed in Shimogyo. Chogumi was an union of neighboring towns and a self-governing organization, and although its origin is unclear, its existence can be confirmed already in the Muromachi period.
With the establishment of Kyoto Prefecture in 1868, the chogumi of Kamigyo and Shimogyo were organized into Kamigyo bangumi (town unit) Nos. 1-45 and Shimogyo bangumi Nos.1-41, but a year later in 1869, they were reorganized into Kamigyo bangumi Nos. 1-33 and Shimogyo bangumi Nos. 1-32 by the chogumi reorganization. In 1872, 'bangumi' was changed to 'ward,' resulting in Kamigyo ward Nos. 1-33 and Shimogyo ward Nos. 1-32. While there were no changes in terms of dividing Kamigyo and Shimogyo into 33 and 32, respectively, the former Shimogyo bangumi No. 24 was divided into Shimogyo wards No. 7 and No. 15, and the former bangumi No. 22 and 32 were combined to form Shimogyo ward No. 16. When Kamigyo Ward and Shimogyo Ward were established inside Kyoto Prefecture in 1879, 'ward' was renamed to 'kumi' with the numbers unchanged, resulting in Kamigyo kumi Nos. 1-33 and Shimogyo kumi Nos. 1-32. With the enforcement of Municipal Government Act of Kyoto City in 1889, Kamigyo Ward and Shimogyo Ward became the wards of Kyoto City. Unlike the early-modern times in Kyoto, instead of Nijo-dori Street, Sanjo-dori Street became the border between Kamigyo Ward and Shimogyo Ward. During this period, in 1888, Kamigyo kumi No. 34 and Shimogyo kumi No. 33 were established in the former village area of Otagi County that had been incorporated into Kamigyo Ward and Shimogyo Ward in the same year.
In 1892, 'kumi' was reorganized into 'school district.'
The former Kamigyo kumi Nos. 1 to 33 and Shimogyo kumi Nos. 1 to 32 were organized into Kamigyo school districts Nos. 1 to 28 and Shimogyo school districts No. 1 to 32 respectively. Of these, Kamigyo school districts Nos. 18 to 26 and Shimogyo school districts Nos. 1 to 6 are equivalent to the eastern half of the present-day Nakagyo Ward.
Nakagyo Ward was newly created by combining a part of Kamigyo Ward and Shimogyo Ward in 1929.
In the same year, the names of elementary schools were added to the names of the school districts to be referred to as 'Umeya school district' and 'Chikkan school district.'
With the proclamation of Kokumin gakko rei (Act of elementary schools) in 1941, school district system was abolished.
Therefore, these school districts are not official administrative district today, but they are still used as aliases of areas in the form of 'former school districts.'
Meanwhile, due to the integration and abolition of schools, there is no consistency between the old school districts and the present-day attendance units.
The table below is the summary of the changes described above.
The changes of former school districts in Nakagyo Ward
The town names in the eastern half of Nakagyo Ward have succeeded most of the borders and names of the towns since the early-modern times. However, there are some towns that were established by merger of several towns in the early Meiji period and given a new name, or towns that were newly established in areas that didn't have traditional town names such as precincts of shrines. The town 'Nijojo-machi' which makes the premise of Nijo-jo Castle as its boundary was established in 1939, but other individual town names were established in the early Meiji Period at the latest.
Independent town names
For the town names listed in order of fifty Japanese syllables, refer to the external link with the postal code list.
Jurakumawari area
The western part of Nakagyo Ward was Sujaku village, Kadono County prior to the enforcement of Municipal Government Act in 1889. Sujaku village was split and integrated into the then Kamigyo Ward and Shimogyo Ward in 1918. There had been three Oaza (large section of village) in the village; Jurakumawari, Nishinokyo, and Mibu, but they were organized into a total of 74 towns.
Towns whose names are prefixed by 'Jurakumawari' are located in the former Jurakumawari, Sujaku village, which was integrated into Kamigyo Ward in 1918 to be organized into five towns. With the establishment of Nakagyo Ward in 1929, Jurakumawari became a town name in the Nakagyo Ward.
Nishinokyo area
Towns whose names are prefixed by 'Nishinokyo' are located in the former Nishinokyo, Sujaku village, which was integrated into Kamigyo Ward in 1918 to be organized to 52 towns. With the establishment of Nakagyo Ward in 1929, Nishinokyo became the town name of Nakagyo Ward. Later on, it became 62 towns after going through the changes shown below.
In 1950, Nishi Shikagaki-cho, Kamihira-cho, Kita En-machi and Nishi En-machi, and Minami Oigomon-cho were established.
Minami Ryo-machi, Minami En-machi, Nakamikado Higashi-machi, Nakamikado Nishi-machi, Minami Kamiai-cho, Kita Tsuboi-cho, Minami Tsuboi-cho, Higashi Nakaai-cho, and Nishi Nakaai-cho were established in 1967. Nakamikado-machi, Tsuboi-cho, and Nakaai-cho were abolished.
Udakoji-cho was abolished in 1970.
Mibu area
Of the towns whose names are prefixed by 'Mibu,' most of them are located in the former Mibu, Suzaku village while a part of them in Sai, Sai village, Kadono County, and both were integrated into Shimogyo Ward in 1918 to be reorganized into 22 towns. With the establishment of Nakagyo Ward in 1929, Mibu became a town name in Nakagyo Ward. Of the 22 towns which were mentioned above, the five towns of Otake-cho, Fuchida-cho, Doinouchi-cho, Hinoki-cho and Higashi Takada-cho were a part of Sai, Sai village, and the name 'Sai' was prefixed in the beginning, but since 1931, 'Mibu' has been prefixed. Later on, 30 towns were formed after going through the changes shown below. Further, the remains of Sai village were integrated into Ukyo Ward in 1931.
Sennen-cho, Higashi Doinouchi-cho, Nishi Doinouchi-cho, Higashi Hinoki-cho, and Nishi Hinoki-cho were established in 1939.
Kami Otake-cho, Higashi Otake-cho, Nishi Otake-cho, and Higashi Fuchida-cho were established in 1954.
Otake-cho was abolished in 1967.
Same town names in the ward
In Nakagyo Ward, there are 32 pairs of same town names that indicates different locations as follows. For example, while there is a town named 'Shimomaruya-cho' in 'Kawaramachi-dori Oike-sagaru' near Kyoto City Hall and Honno-ji Temple, another exists in 'Ogawa-dori Ebisugawa-agaru' which is few hundred meters to the northwest from there. These are not the so-called detached towns, but are individual towns that have different origins. These two 'Shimomaruya-cho' have different postal codes (the same is true for other towns that have the same name).
Towns in Nakagyo Ward that have more than one town with the same name
Aburaya-cho, Ishibashi-cho, Ishiya-cho, Umenoki-cho, Umeya-cho (three locations), Oi-cho, Kagiya-cho, Kajiya-cho (three locations), Kameya-cho (five locations), Kikuya-cho (three locations), Sasaya-cho, Sanmonji-cho, Shioya-cho, Shimizu-cho, Shimomaruya-cho, Daikoku-cho (three locations), Daimonji-cho (four locations), Takamiya-cho, Tachibana-cho, Tawaraya-cho (three locations), Tsukinuke-cho, Tsuchiya-cho, Tsuboya-cho (three locations), Nakano-cho (four locations), Bishamon-cho, Funaya-cho, Masuya-cho (four locations), Matsumoto-cho, Maruya-cho (three locations), Mukadeya-cho, Yaoya-cho, Wakuya-cho (There are two locations each for towns without notations.)
Others
Kameya-cho:
There are five locations that have identical town names in Nakagyo Ward
Kuwabara-cho, Ishiya-cho (Fuyu school district):
Large part of the towns have become the premise of Kyoto Gyoen National Garden, and at present, only a small part of land along the Marutamachi-dori Street remains
Kawara-cho, Kawarano-cho:
Both towns are in the Hatsune school district.
Remarks
Nishinokyo Hiogi-cho:
This town name is regarded as an administrative district of the present according to "Kadokawa Nihon Chimei Daijiten," but it is not included in 'Municipal Ordinance of Jurisdiction Districts of Kyoto City' (Act No.7 of Kyoto Municipal Ordinance, April 1, 1949) which enumerates official town names that belong to the each ward in Kyoto City. However, in an announcement that determined the election district based on Public Offices Election Act (Announcement No. 5 by the Nakagyo Ward Electoral Management Committee, November 2, 1967), 'Nishinokyo Hiogi-cho' was shown as one of the town names that belong to the 19th election district. Areas of Nishinokyo Hiogi-cho is part of a factory site.
Higashi Daimonji-cho and Nishi Daimonji-cho (Seisho school district):
Both towns are written as 'Daimonji-cho' in the above-mentioned 'Municipal Ordinance of Jurisdiction Districts'.