Ukyō-ku, Kyoto

Ukyō-ku (右京区) is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.

History

The meaning of ukyō (右京) is "on the Emperor's right." When residing in the Kyoto Imperial Palace the emperor would sit facing south,^[1] thus the western direction would be to his right. Similarly, there is a ward to the east called Sakyō-ku (左京区), meaning "the ward on the Emperor's left." In old times, ukyō was referring to the western part of the capital. The area of ancient Ukyō slightly overlaps the area of present Ukyō-ku.

The ward was established in 1931 when nine villages merged to form it.

On April 1, 2005, the ward expanded its territory to the area of former town of Keihoku when the town merged into the city of Kyoto. This increased the ward's territory from 74.27 square kilometres (28.68 sq mi) to 291.95 square kilometres (112.72 sq mi), and made it the largest ward in the city by area.

As of October 1, 2020, the ward has an estimated population of 202,047, with 97,849 households and a density of 692 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,790/sq mi).

Geography

Mountains

• Mount Atago
• Mount Ogura
• Iwatayama

Rivers

• Katsura River
• Tenjin River (Kamiya River)
• Arisugawa
• Yugegawa

Adjacent municipalities

• Kyoto wards of: Kita-ku, Sakyo-ku, Nakagyo-ku, Shimogyo-ku, Nishikyo-ku, and Minami-ku.
• Kameoka, Kyoto
• Nantan, Kyoto

Sights

Ukyo-ku is home to many renowned sites, including:

• Arashiyama, a hill famed for its maple leaves and the Togetsu-kyō, the Bridge to the Moon
• Ninna-ji, a Buddhist temple with a fine pagoda
• Ryōan-ji, the Zen Buddhist temple with the karesansui (dry-landscape, i.e. raked stones) garden
• Tenryū-ji, the head temple of the Tenryū branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism
• Sagano, a neighborhood with Sagano Romantic Train and many temples, including the Nonomiya Shrine as well as Rakushi-sha, the Fallen Persimmon Hut
• Uzumasa, the location of Kōryū-ji, a temple founded before Kyoto became the Imperial capital. The neighborhood is also the home of the Toei Uzumasa Eigamura studios and the center of Japan's television and film industries.

Economy

Rohm, an electronic parts manufacturer,^[2] and Nissin Electric, a global electrical equipment company,^[3] are headquartered in the ward.

Education

Senior high schools

• Kyoto Prefectural Sagano High School
• Kyoto Gaidai Nishi High School
• Kitasaga Senior High School (ja:京都府立北嵯峨高等学校)
• Kitakuwada High School (ja:京都府立北桑田高等学校)
• Hanazono Senior High School (花園高等学校)
• Kyoto Gakuen High School (ja:京都学園高等学校)
• Kyoto Koka Senior High School (京都光華高等学校)

Universities

• Kyoto University of Foreign Studies
• Kyoto University of Advanced Science - Kyoto Uzumasa Campus
• Kyoto Koka Women's University
• Kyoto Saga University of Arts

Middle schools

There are 12 middle schools, of which nine are public and three are private.

Elementary schools

There are 21 elementary schools, of which 20 are public and one is private.

Others

• North Korean school: Kyoto Korean No. 2 Elementary School (京都朝鮮第二初級学校).^[4]

Sights of Ukyo-ku

• Sights of Ukyō-ku
• 
  The karesansui garden at Ryoan-ji is one of Kyoto's most famous sights.
• 
  Ninna-ji Temple
• 
  Tenryū-ji Temple
• 
  Rou Gate in Kōryū-ji Temple, and Randen Street-car
• 
  Hozu River and Gorge
• 
  Kiyotaki river in Takao area

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ukyō-ku, Kyoto.