Town names in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City (京都市下京区の町名)
This section on "Town names in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City" lists official town names in Shimogyo Ward and summarizes the period and process of their establishment.
Summary of Shimogyo Ward
It is located on the southern part of Kyoto urban district. Higashiyama Ward, Ukyo Ward, Minami Ward (Kyoto City), and Nakagyo Ward are located in the east, west, south, and north respectively. It covers an area of 6.82 square kilometers. Its population is estimated to be about 76,000 as of March 2009.
In 1879, 'Kamigyo Ward' and 'Shimogyo Ward' were created in Kyoto Prefecture, which was before the Municipal Government Act of Kyoto City came into effect. By 1888, villages which had been a part of Otagi County were integrated into Kamigyo Ward. When the Municipal Government Act of Kyoto City came into effect in 1889, Kamigyo Ward became Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City. In 1902, 1918, and 1931, some villages in Kadono County and Kii County were integrated into the Ward. During this period, in 1929, some parts in the north and east were separated and incorporated into newly established Nakagyo Ward and Higashiyama Ward. The present boundary of the ward was formed in 1955 when the Minami Ward was separated. Large part of the former villages of Otagi County, Kadono County, and Kii County currently belong to Nakagyo Ward, Higashiyama Ward, or Minami Ward.
On the east of the ward flows Kamo-gawa River to set the ward's border, and on the southern end run JR Tokaido Main Line and Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, whose tracks are virtually on the ward's border. Kyoto Station is located in this ward. Besides that, there are Kyoto Tower, Higashi Hongan-ji Temple, Nishi Hongan-ji Temple, Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum, and the Shimabara district, etc.
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 Shimogyo Ward Office is located in Higashi Shiokoji-cho, Shimogyo Ward, and its address is indicated as 'Nishinotoin-dori Shiokoji-agaru Higashi Shiokoji-cho, Shimogyo Ward'.
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.'
All town names in the east part of the Shimogyo Ward are independent names, and in the west part, town names are prefixed by former village names such as 'Chudoji' or 'Nish Shichijo.'
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 511 declared towns as of 1980. The number of towns remains unchanged as of 2009. If you count '1, 2, and 3-chome Omiya', '1, 2, 3, and 4-chome Tenshitsukinuke', and '1 and 2-chome Tsukinuke' independently, the number is 517, increased by 6.
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 Shimogyo 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 Shimogyo was organized into bangumi (town unit) Nos. 1 to 41, but in the following year in 1869, they were reorganized into Shimogyo bangumi Nos. 1 to 32. In 1872, Shimogyo bangumi Nos. 1 to 32 were reorganized into to Shimogyo ward Nos. 1 to 32. While there was no change in terms of dividing Shimogyo into 32, former Shimogyo bangumi No. 24 was divided into Shimogyo wards No. 7 and No. 15, and former Shimogyo bangumi Nos. 22 and 32 were incorporated into Shimogyo ward No. 16. When Kamigyo Ward and Shimogyo Ward were created inside Kyoto Prefecture in 1879, the above-mentioned 'wards' were renamed as 'kumi' without making changes to their numbers, and became Shimogyo kumi Nos. 1 to 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, Shimogyo kumi No. 33 was established in the village area of former Otagi County that was incorporated into Shimogyo Ward in the same year.
In 1892, 'kumi' was reorganized into 'school district.'
Former Shimogyo kumi Nos. 1 to 32 were reorganized into Shimogyo school districts Nos. 1 to 32. All areas of school districts Nos. 9-14, 16-19, 23-26, 29 and 30 and part of No. 32 belong to the present Shimogyo Ward, and the southern part of district No. 32 belongs to Minami Ward and the rest belongs to Nakagyo and Higashiyama Wards.
In 1929, a part of Shimogyo Ward was incorporated into newly established Nakagyo and Higashiyama Wards. In the same year, the names of elementary schools were added to the names of the school districts to be referred to as 'Ikubun school district,' 'Kakuchi school district,' and so on. 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 Kamigyo Ward
Independent town names in the east part of the 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.
In 1879, when Shimogyo Ward was established, parts of Hachijo village, Nishikujo village, and Higashi Shiokoji village in Kadono County were incorporated into Shimogyo Ward.
Towns that were newly established at this time are as follows:
Incorporated from Hachijo village:
Yakuen-cho, Hachijo-cho (present Minami Ward), Toji-cho (present Minami Ward)
Incorporated from Nishikujo village:
Taimatsu-cho, Minami Aburanokoji-cho (present Higashi Aburanokoji-cho and Nishi Aburanokoji-cho)
Incorporated from Higashi Shiokoji village:
Higashi Shiokoji-cho
There are four towns that were newly established during change of town names in 1966 in the area west of Kyoto Station (Kita Fudodo-cho, Minami Fudodo-cho, Higashi Aburanokoji-cho, and Nishi Aburanokoji-cho).
As described above, neighboring villages were incorporated into the ward in 1902, 1918, and 1931, among which large part of Ouchi village and Shichijo village in Kadono County belong to current Shimogyo Ward.
Independent town names
Current town names of areas that belonged to Shimogyo Ward when it was established in 1879 are listed below.
For the town names listed in the order of fifty Japanese syllables, refer to the external link with the postal code list.
Former Shichijo village
The western part of Shimogyo Ward was Ouchi village and Shichijo village in Kadono County when the Municipal Government Act was enforced in 1889. Shichijo village was incorporated into then Shimogyo Ward in 1918. There were five Oaza in the village (Nishi Shichijo, Nishi Shiokoji, Goshonouchi, Umekoji, and Karahashi), which was organized into 31 towns. Karahashi district belongs to Minami Ward since 1955 when the ward was established.
The original Nishi Shichijo in Shichijo village was incorporated into Shimogyo Ward in 1918 and organized into 12 towns with the prefix 'Nishi Shichijo.'
After that, there are 26 towns through a transition as follows.
In 1939, Akayashiro-cho and Higashi Onmaeda-cho were established.
In 1960, Higashi Hattanda-cho, Nishi Hattanda-cho, Higashi Ishigatsubo-cho, Nishi Ishigatsubo-cho, Kita Higashino-cho, Minami Higashino-cho, Minami Nakano-cho, Kita Nishino-cho, Minami Nishino-cho, Kakegoshi-cho, Yawata-cho, Kita Kinuta-cho, Minami Kinuta-cho, Kita Tsukiyomi-cho, Minami Tsukiyomi-cho, Higashikubo-cho, and Nishikubo-cho were established. Hattanda-cho, Ishigatsubo-cho, Higashino-cho, Nishino-cho, Kinuta-cho, and Tsukiyomi-cho were abolished.
In the same year, Nishi Shiokoji Ishii-cho was changed to Nishi Shichijo Ishii-cho.
The original Goshonouchi in Shichijo village was incorporated into Shimogyo Ward in 1918 and organized into three towns with prefix 'Shichijo Goshonouchi.'
After that, Kita-machi, Naka-machi, and Minami-machi were established and Higashi-machi was abolished in 1960, resulting in the total of five towns.
The original Umekoji in Shichijo village was incorporated into Shimogyo Ward in 1918 and organized into four towns with prefix 'Umekoji.'
After that, following changes were made in 1960 and the area was organized into seven towns.
Established in 1960:
Hon-machi, Higashi-machi, Higashinaka-machi, and Nishinaka-machi
Abolished in the same year:
Naka-machi and Hikage-machi
Changed name in the same year:
Karahashi Takahata-cho -> Umekoji Takahata-cho
Nishi Shiokoji in Shichijo village was incorporated into Shimogyo Ward in 1918 and became Nishi Shiokoji Ishii-cho and Nishi Shiokoji Kubo-cho; in 1960, however, Nishi Shiokoji Ishii-cho was changed to Nishi Shichijo Ishii-cho (described above) and Nishi Shiokoji Kubo-cho was abolished in the same year (the name 'Kubo' was succeeded by Nishi Shichijo Higashikubo-cho and Nishi Shichijo Nishikubo-cho).
Former Ouchi village
There were five Oaza in the Ouchi village, Kadono County (Chudoji, Suzaku, Hachijo, Higashi Shiokoji, and Nishikujo), among which Higashi Shiokoji was integrated into Shimogyo Ward in 1902 and the rest was incorporated in 1918 to be organized into 57 towns. Most of Nishikujo district has belonged to Minami Ward since 1955 when the ward was established.
The original Chudoji in Ouchi village was incorporated into Shimogyo Ward in 1918 and organized into 12 towns with the prefix 'Chudoji.'
The original Suzaku in Ouchi village was incorporated into Shimogyo Ward in 1918 and organized into seven towns with the prefix 'Suzaku.'
The original Hachijo in Ouchi village was incorporated into Shimogyo Ward in 1918 and organized into 12 towns with the prefix 'Hachijo.'
Minamoto-cho, Teranouchi-cho, Uchida-cho, and Yotsuzuka-cho have belonged to Minami Ward since 1955 when the ward was established. Ninintsukasa-cho, Nishisuya-cho, Suwabiraki-cho, Ebisunobanba-cho, Waki-cho, Kankiji-cho, and Kozaka-cho have abolished the prefix 'Hachijo' since 1961, and there is only one town, Hachijo Bomon-cho, that has the prefix 'Hachijo' in Shimogyo Ward.
The original Higashi Shiokoji in Ouchi village was incorporated into Shimogyo Ward in 1902 and became Oaza Higashi Shiokoji. After that, it was reorganized into three towns that has the prefix 'Higashi Shiokoji' in 1918. Higashi Shiokoji-cho, in which Kyoto Tower is located, was established before the Municipal Government Act was enforced, in 1879 when a part of Shiokoji village at that time was incorporated into Shimogyo Ward. Currently, the address of JR Kyoto Station is Higashi Shiokoji Takakura-cho and the address of Kintetsu Kyoto Station is Higashi Shiokoji Kamadono-cho.
Other town names
The eight towns from Gono-cho to Yakata-cho used to belong to Yanagihara-cho, Kii County (without Oaza), and were incorporated into Shimogyo Ward in 1918. When Yanagihara-cho was incorporated into Shimogyo Ward, total 10 towns; eight towns with prefix 'Higashi Shichijo' and two towns with prefix 'Yanagihara,' were established, but the latter currently belong to Higashiyama Ward. Eight towns with prefix 'Higashi Shichijo' abolished the prefix in 1965 and have used independent town names since then.
Nishikujo Kitanouchi-cho was originally a part of Nishikujo in Ouchi village. The Nishikujo district was incorporated into Shimogyo Ward in 1918, and since Minami Ward was established in 1955, large part of it has belonged to Minami Ward while a part of Nishikujo Kitanouchi-cho has remained in Shimogyo Ward. However, all area of Nishikujo Kitanouchi-cho, Shimogyo Ward is in the railroad premises.
Same town names in the ward
In Shimogyo Ward, there are 37 pairs of same town names that indicates different locations as follows.
For example, while there is a town named 'Inari-cho' near the Shijo-Kawaramachi crossing (Kawaramachi-dori, Shijo-sagaru), another 'Inari-cho' exists several hundred meters south, near Shichijo-ohashi Bridge, at 'Shichijo-dori, Kiyamachi-higashi-iru.'
These are not so-called detached land, but separate towns with different origin. Separate postal codes are assigned to these two 'Inari-cho' (as for other towns of same names).
Towns in Shimogyo Ward that have more than one town with the same name
Inari-cho (three locations), Uematsu-cho, Ebisuno-cho, Kagiya-cho (four locations), Kajiya-cho, Kashiwaya-cho, Kamino-cho (three locations), Kamiyanagi-cho (three locations), Kameya-cho, Karigane-cho, Kawabata-cho, Kikuya-cho, Kichimonji-cho, Zaimoku-cho (three locations), Sakai-machi (three locations), Sanno-cho, Shioya-cho (three locations), Shimizu-cho, Shimono-cho, Sumiyoshi-cho (three locations), Daiku-cho, Daikoku-cho (three locations), Takeya-machi, Tachibana-cho (three locations), Tawaraya-cho, Tominaga-cho (three locations), Nakano-cho, Nushiya-cho, Hachijo Bomon-cho, Hanaya-cho, Butsuguya-cho, Honeya-cho, Matsumoto-cho, Maruya-cho (three locations), Yaoya-cho (three locations), Yoshimizu-cho, and Wakamiya-cho (three locations) (There are two locations each for towns without notations.)
Meanwhile, 'Kamino-cho,' 'Nakano-cho' and 'Shimono-cho' in the Shimabara district are often called 'Nishi Shinyashiki Kamino-cho,' 'Nishi Shinyashiki Nakano-cho' and 'Nishi Shinyashiki Shimono-cho,' and in the postal code list, town names with the prefix 'Nishi Shinyashiki' are listed.
Old town names abolished after the Meiji period
(This section is not written yet)
Remarks
Umekoji Naka-machi:
This town name is in 'Municipal Ordinance of Jurisdiction Districts in Kyoto City' (Act No. 7 of Kyoto Municipal Ordinance, April 1, 1949) that lists official town names that belong to Wards in Kyoto City, but according to "Kadokawa Nihon Chimei Daijiten No. 26 Kyoto-Fu," it is an old name of a town that was abolished in 1960. The town name 'Umekoji Naka-machi' is not listed in the announcement that defines election districts of various elections in Shimogyo Ward (Announcement No. 7 by the Shimogyo Ward Electoral Management Committee, August 30, 1979), either.