Town Names in Kita Ward, Kyoto City (京都市北区の町名)

This section on "Town names in Kita Ward, Kyoto City" lists official town names in Kita Ward and summarizes the period and process of their establishment.

Summary of Kita Ward

It is located in the north of Kyoto urban district. Its southern part is an urban area along the northern edge of the Kyoto basin, whereas the northern part is a mountainous region with low population density.

The ward borders Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City in the east, Ukyo Ward from the north to the west, and Kamigyo Ward in the south. A tiny part of its southern edge borders Nakagyo Ward. It covers an area of 94.92 square kilometers. Its population is estimated to be about 122,000 as of March 2009.

It is mostly a rural area in the mountains with few sightseeing spots. In the southern part, however, there are famous shrines and temples such as Rokuon-ji Temple (Kinkaku-ji Temple), Daitoku-ji Temple, Kamigamo-jinja Shrine (Kamo-Wake-Ikazuchi-jinja Shrine), Shoden-ji Temple, and Koetsu-ji Temple.

Separated from Kamigyo Ward, the ward was established in 1955. The southern half of the ward roughly consists of towns transferred from the Counties of Otagi and Kadono to the then Kamigyo Ward in 1918 and 1931. The northern half largely comprises the towns transferred from the above-mentioned counties to the then Kamigyo Ward in 1948 and 1949.

Summary of town names

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.'
With the exception of Kinkakuji-cho and nine towns along the southern edge which have all independent town names, the other towns in Kita Ward have compound town names which are prefixed by the district names such as former Oaza (large section of village).

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 435 declared towns as of 1980. These towns still remained in 2009.

There are some towns which have no letter of '町' (read as 'cho,' meaning town) as a suffix, such as 'Omiya Akibasan' and 'Nishigamo Funayama.'
The reason is that when these towns were named in 1931, there were no houses since they were located in the mountainous regions.

Independent town names

These are all historical town names that have continued since pre-modern times. They are the towns which had been organized into Chogumi (town societies) in Kamigyo and which formed a part of the former Kamigyo school district No. 2. They were incorporated into Kita Ward which was separated from Kamigyo Ward in 1955. Shingoryoguchi-cho was mostly incorporated into the ward although some areas in the town still remain in Kamigyo Ward.
For the history of Chogumi in Kamigyo, see the section on '{Town names in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City}.'

Former Kinugasa village

The former Kinugasa village, Kadono County became a part of the then Kamigyo Ward when it was incorporated into Kyoto City in 1918. It had the following six Oaza: Taishogun, Kitano, Matsubara, Tojiin, Ogitayama, Okitayama. Oaza Taishogun was reorganized into five towns prefixed by 'Taishogun' in 1918.
The following changes were subsequently made to the town names and boundaries, resulting in a total of seven towns prefixed by 'Taishogun.'

(Established in 1960) Minami Ichijo-cho, Higashi Takatsukasa-cho, Nishi Takatsukasa-cho
(Abolished in 1960) Takatsukasa-cho

Oaza Kitano was reorganized into two towns, i.e., Kitano Kobai-cho and Kitano Hakubai-cho in 1918.
The following changes were subsequently made to the town names and boundaries, resulting in a total of five towns prefixed by 'Kitano.'

(Towns established in 1960) Kami Hakubai-cho, Shimo Hakubai-cho, Nishi Hakubai-cho, Higashi Kobai-cho
(Abolished in 1960) Hakubai-cho

Oaza Matsubara was reorganized into two towns prefixed by 'Komatsubara' in 1918.

Oaza Tojiin was reorganized into five towns prefixed by 'Tojiin' in 1918.

Oaza Ogitayama was reorganized into six towns prefixed by 'Hirano' in 1918.
The following changes were subsequently made to the town names and boundaries, resulting in a total of 10 towns prefixed by 'Hirano.'

(Established in 1941) Miyajiki-cho
(Established in 1960) Higashi Yanagi-cho, Kami Hacchoyanagi-cho, Miyanishi-cho

Oaza Okitayama was partly reorganized into nine towns prefixed by 'Kinugasa' as well as Kinkakuji-cho in 1918. The rest remained as Oaza Okitayama.
In 1965, in Kyoto City, all the districts whose names included the terms 'Oaza' and 'Aza' ('Aza' means a small section of a village) were renamed with the suffix 'cho,' so a place called 'Oaza XX Aza YY' would have been renamed 'XXYY-cho.'
Simultaneously, the area which had remained as 'Oaza Okitayama' was reorganized into eight towns prefixed by 'Okitayama' as well as Kinugasa Kinugasayama-cho and Kinugasa Akasaka-cho. In addition, the following changes were made to the town names, resulting in 23 towns prefixed by 'Kinugasa,' which also include Kinugasa Kinugasayama-cho and Kinugasa Akasaka-cho.

(Established in 1941) Higashi Hiraki-cho, Nishi Hiraki-cho, Higashi Sonjoin-cho, Nishi Sonjoin-cho, Goshonouchi-cho, Higashi Goshonouchi-cho, Nishi Goshonouchi-cho, Arami-cho, Kita Arami-cho, Kaido-cho, Takahashi-cho, Kita Takahashi-cho, Kita Tenjinmori-cho, Somon-cho, Baba-cho, Nishi Baba-cho
(Abolished in 1941) Kitado-cho (北道町), Minamido-cho (南道町), Kamiya-cho, Tono-machi (殿町)

Former Omiya village (Murasakino, Shichiku, Omiya)

Towns prefixed by 'Murasakino,' 'Shichiku,' and 'Omiya' formed a larger part of Omiya village, Otagi County, except a few areas which belonged to Noguchi village, Otagi County. A part of Omiya village, Otagi County was incorporated into the then Kamigyo Ward in 1918 and the rest in 1931.
Omiya village had two Oaza called Higashi Shichiku-daimon and Nishigamo, which were changed into towns prefixed by 'Murasakino,' 'Shichiku,' 'Omiya,' or 'Nishigamo.'

A part of Oaza Higashi Shichiku-daimon in Omiya village was reorganized into 20 towns prefixed by 'Murasakino,' 7 towns prefixed by 'Shichiku,' and 6 towns prefixed by 'Omiya' in 1918. The towns under consideration are shown below.

(Murasakino) Miya-higashi-cho, Miya-nishi-cho, Monzen-cho, Unrinin-cho, Imamiya-cho, Daitokuji-cho, Nishino-cho, Higashi Fujinomori-cho, Nishi Fujinomori-cho, Kita Funaoka-cho, Minami Funaoka-cho, Gonoue-cho, Kami Kashiwano-cho, Naka Kashiwano-cho, Shimo Kashiwano-cho, Nishidoi-cho, Yanagi-cho, Goshoden-cho, Rendaino-cho, Tsukiyama-cho
(Shichiku) Momonomoto-cho, Seihoku-cho, Seinan-cho, Tonan-cho, Tohoku-cho, Hatsune-cho, Shibamoto-cho
(Omiya) Doi-cho, Nishinoyama-cho, Daimon-cho, Sendo-cho, Kurisu-cho, Ueno-cho

The rest of Oaza Higashi Shichiku-daimon was reorganized into 15 towns prefixed by 'Omiya' in 1931. The towns in question include the following.

(Omiya) Hiraki-cho, Ichinoi-cho, Yakushiyama-higashi-cho, Yakushiyama-nishi-cho, Gentaku-kita-machi, Gentaku-minami-cho, Gentaku-kitahigashi-cho, Shakadani, Kusayama, Akibasan, Hagiwara, Ninosaka, Onobori-cho, Wakidai-cho, Hakonoi-cho

A part of Oaza Nishigamo, Omiya village was reorganized into three towns prefixed by 'Omiya' in 1918. The towns in question are shown below.

(Omiya) Kaminokishi-cho, Shimonokishi-cho, Takedono-cho

The rest of Oaza Nishigamo was reorganized into 8 towns prefixed by 'Omiya' and 55 towns prefixed by 'Nishigamo' in 1931. Of the towns above, those prefixed by 'Omiya' are listed as follows.

(Omiya) Harinoki-cho, Nakanoyashiro-cho, Tajiri-cho, Uenokishi-cho, Hayashi-cho, Hayashiura-cho, Tsubakihara-cho, Okuri-cho

The number of towns prefixed by 'Murasakino' which have undergone the following changes is now 47.

(Established in 1935) Kami Torida-cho, Shimo Torida-cho, Sekiryu-cho, Kami Sekiryu-cho, Shimo Sekiryu-cho, Kami Monzen-cho, Shimo Monzen-cho
(Established in 1936) Kami Yanagi-cho, Shimo Yanagi-cho, Kami Goshoden-cho, Higashi Goshoden-cho, Nishi Goshoden-cho, Kami Tsukiyama-cho, Shimo Tsukiyama-cho, Higashi Funaoka-cho, Nishi Funaoka-cho, Kami Wakakusa-cho, Shimo Wakakusa-cho, Kami Mikoshi-cho, Shimo Mikoshi-cho, Higashino-cho
(Abolished in 1936) Goshoden-cho, Tsukiyama-cho
(Abolished in 1937) Yanagi-cho
(Established in 1941) Kita Hananobo-cho, Minami Hananobo-cho
(Towns whose prefix changed from 'Takano' to 'Murasakino' in 1941) Hananobo-cho, Junibo-cho
(Established in 1960) Higashi Sendo-cho, Nishi Sendo-cho, Higashi Rendaino-cho, Nishi Rendaino-cho
(Towns whose prefix changed from 'Omiya' to 'Murasakino' in 1960) Sendo-cho, Ueno-cho (in part)
(Abolished in 1979) Rendaino-cho

The number of towns prefixed by 'Shichiku' which have undergone the following changes is now 39.

(Established in 1926) Ushiwaka-cho
(Established in 1935) Shimo Midori-cho, Shimo Hon-machi, Shimo Shibamoto-cho, Higashi Momonomoto-cho, Nishi Momonomoto-cho, Takanawa-cho, Higashi Takanawa-cho, Nishi Takanawa-cho
(Abolished in 1935) Tonan-cho
(Established in 1936) Kami Kosai-cho, Shimo Kosai-cho, Kami Umenoki-cho, Shimo Umenoki-cho, Kami Sono-cho, Shimo Sono-cho, Kami Takedono-cho, Shimo Takedono-cho, Kami Midori-cho, Kami Hon-machi, Kami Shibamoto-cho, Kaminokishi-cho, Shimonokishi-cho
(Abolished in 1936) Tohoku-cho
(Established in 1937) Kami Nagame-cho, Shimo Nagame-cho, Kami Horikawa-cho
(Abolished in 1937) Hatsune-cho, Shibamoto-cho
(Established in 1960) Higashi Daimon-cho, Nishi Daimon-cho, Kita Daimon-cho, Higashi Kurisu-cho, Nishi Kurisu-cho, Kita Kurisu-cho, Nishinoyama Higashi-machi
(Towns whose prefix changed from 'Omiya' to 'Shichiku' in 1960) Kurisu-cho (in part), Takedono-cho, Daimon-cho, Nishinoyama-cho (in part)

The number of towns prefixed by 'Omiya' which have undergone the following changes is now 37.

(Abolished in 1931) Uenokishi-cho (incorporated into Kaminokishi-cho)
(Abolished in 1937) Shimonokishi-cho
(Town whose prefix changed from 'Omiya' to 'Shichiku' in 1960) Sendo-cho
(Towns whose prefix changed from 'Omiya' to 'Shichiku' in 1960) Takedono-cho, Daimon-cho
(Established in 1968) Minami Tajiri-cho, Kita Tsubakihara-cho, Minami Tsubakihara-cho, Higashi Somonguchi-cho, Nishi Somonguchi-cho, Naka Somonguchi-cho, Kitabayashi-cho, Minamibayashi-cho, Nakabayashi-cho, Higashi Onobori-cho, Nishi Onobori-cho, Higashi Wakidai-cho, Nishi Wakidai-cho, Kita Yamanoue-cho, Minami Yamanoue-cho, Nishi Yamanoue-cho, Kita Hakonoi-cho, Minami Hakonoi-cho
(Abolished in 1968) Onobori-cho, Wakidai-cho, Hakonoi-cho, Hayashi-cho, Hayashiura-cho, Tsubakihara-cho
(Town whose prefix changed from 'Omiya' to 'Nishigamo' in 1968) Okuri-cho
(Established in 1978) Kitanokishi-cho
(Abolished in 1979) Kurisu-cho, Ueno-cho

Separated from Takagamine village, Otagi County, Noguchi village in the same county became an independent village in 1892. It had no Oaza.
It was incorporated into the then Kamigyo Ward in 1918 to be reorganized into four towns prefixed by 'Takano.'
Currently, there is no town prefixed by 'Takano' owing to the following changes.

(Abolished in 1936) Higashi-machi
(Abolished in 1941) Kita-machi
(Towns whose prefix changed from 'Takano' to 'Murasakino' in 1941) Hananobo-cho, Junibo-cho

Former Omiya village (Nishigamo)

As has been mentioned above, part of Oaza Nishigamo, Omiya village was reorganized into eight towns that were prefixed by 'Omiya' in 1918 and 1931. The rest of the area was reorganized into 55 towns that were prefixed by 'Nishigamo' in 1931.
The following changes have resulted in the current 63 towns with the prefix of 'Nishigamo.'

(Abolished in 1968) Somonguchi-cho, Yamanomae-cho
(Established in 1978) Kita Yamanomori-cho, Kita Kawakami-cho, Naka Kawakami-cho, Minami Kawakami-cho, Kita Imahara-cho, Minami Imahara-cho, Kita Chinjuan-cho, Minami Okuri-cho
(Towns whose prefix changed from 'Omiya' to 'Nishigamo' in 1978) Harinoki-cho (in part) and Okuri-cho

Former Kuramaguchi village and Kamigamo village

The area in which town names are prefixed by 'Izumoji' originally belonged to Kuramaguchi village, Otagi County (that had no Oaza).
Incorporated into the then Kamigyo Ward in 1918, the area in the village was reorganized into five towns that were prefixed by 'Izumoji.'
Of those towns, Izumoji Uchikawara-cho was abolished in 1943 (and Uchikawara now belongs to Koyama, Kita Ward).
There are now four towns prefixed by 'Izumoji.'

A part of the former Kamigamo village, Otagi County was incorporated into the then Kamigyo Ward in 1918 and the rest in 1931. Kamigamo Village had two Oaza, Koyama and Kamigamo.
Becoming a part of Kamigyo Ward in 1918, Oaza Koyama was reorganized into six towns prefixed by 'Koyama.'
The following changes have resulted in the current total of 30 towns with the prefix of 'Koyama.'

(Established in 1935) Kita Geni-cho, Higashi Geni-cho, Moto-machi, Higashi Moto-machi, Kami Hananoki-cho, Kami Itakura-cho, Itakura-cho, Kami Hatsune-cho, Hatsune-cho, Kami Uchigawara-cho, Shimo Uchigawara-cho, Kita Kamifusa-cho, Higashi Hanaike-cho, Nishi Hanaike-cho
(Established in 1936) Nishi Geni-cho, Nishi Moto-machi, Shimo Hananoki-cho, Shimo Itakura-cho, Shimo Hatsune-cho, Nishi Kamifusa-cho, Minami Kamifusa-cho, Higashi Ono-cho, Nishi Ono-cho, Minami Ono-cho, Kita Ono-cho
(Abolished in 1936) Ono-cho

A part of Oaza Kamigamo, Kamigamo village was incorporated into the then Kamigyo Ward in 1918 and was reorganized into four towns that were prefixed by 'Kamo.' (The area in question now belongs to Koyama, Kita Ward as well as Sakyo Ward). The rest of the area was incorporated into the then Kamigyo Ward in 1931 and was for a most part reorganized into 93 towns prefixed by 'Kamigamo' while some areas remained as Oaza Kamigamo.

In 1965, in Kyoto City, all the districts whose names included the terms 'Oaza' and 'Aza' ('Aza' means a small section of a village) were renamed with the suffix 'cho,' so a place called 'Oaza XX Aza YY' would have been renamed 'XXYY-cho.'
At the same time the area that had remained as 'Oaza Kamigamo' was reorganized into Kamigamo Midoro-goyodani-cho, Kamigamo Midoro-shirakiyama-cho, Kamigamo Midoro-nishiyama-cho and Kamigamo Midoro-yamagami-cho. The following changes were also made to town names. A total of 70 towns is now prefixed by 'Kamigamo,' including the aforementioned Kamigamo Midoro-goyodani-cho, Kamigamo Midoro-shirakiyama-cho, Kamigamo Midoro-nishiyama-cho and Kamigamo Midoro-yamagami-cho.

(Established in 1940) Ikebata-cho, Nakayama-cho, Kita Chanoki-cho, Minami Chanoki-cho, Minakuchi-cho, Kita Shiba-cho, Minami Shiba-cho
(Abolished in 1940) Mikuzu-cho, Furonoki-cho, Nagabuke-cho (where 'buke' is spelt as the water radical plus '射'), Ikejiri-cho, Ominakuchi-cho, Kuroda-cho, Chanokihara-cho, Tenjogashiba-cho
(Transferred to Shimogamo, Sakyo Ward in 1949) Kita Chanoki-cho*, Minami Chanoki-cho*, Minakuchi-cho*, Kita Shiba-cho*, Minami Shiba-cho*, Kita Nonogami-cho, Minami Nonogami-cho, Yanada-cho, Yako-cho, Kodono-cho, Inokoda-cho, Maehagi-cho, Hagigakakiuchi-cho (of which those marked with * were established in 1940 and the others were created in 1931.)
(Established in 1971) Arakusa-cho, Matsumoto-cho
(Abolished in 1971) Futamata-cho, Ichinotsubo-cho, Higashi Arakusa-cho, Nishi Arakusa-cho, Nukata-cho, Honezuka-cho, Matsuda-cho, Mikotoji-cho, Sakura-cho, Shimo Sakura-cho, Nakasazare-cho, Higashi Matsumoto-cho, Nishi Matsumoto-cho, Igoden-cho, Ishitsubo-cho

The Kamigamo Jusangokuyama area originally belonged to the then Aza Kumogahata village, which was incorporated into Kamigamo village in 1898.

Former Takagamine village and Kumogahata village

The former Takagamine village, Otagi County was incorporated into Kyoto City and became a part of the then Kamigyo Ward in 1931. It had only one Oaza, Oaza Takagamine.
In 1931 the Oaza was included into Kamigyo Ward, most of which was then reorganized into 39 towns prefixed by 'Takagamine.'
The rest remained as Oaza Takagamine.

The former Kumogahata village, Otagi County became a part of the then Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City in 1949. It had no Oaza and was reorganized into three towns that were prefixed by 'Kumogahata' in 1949.

The former Nakagawa village and Onogo village

The former Nakagawa village, Kadono County was incorporated into Kyoto City in 1948 and became a part of the then Kamigyo Ward. It had no Oaza and was reorganized into eight towns that were prefixed by 'Nakagawa' in 1948.

The former Onogo village, Kadono County was incorporated into Kyoto City in 1948 and became a part of the then Kamigyo Ward. It had four Oaza, i.e., Sugisaka, Mayumi, Ono and Omori.
In 1948 Oaza Sugisaka was reorganized into five towns prefixed by 'Sugisaka,' Oaza Mayumi into two towns prefixed by 'Mayumi,' Oaza Ono into seven towns prefixed by 'Ono,' and Oaza Omori into nine towns prefixed by 'Omori.'

Remarks

Kamigamo Midoro-yamagami-cho, Kamigamo Midoro-shirakiyama-cho, Kamigamo Midoro-nishiyama-cho and Kamigamo Midoro-goyodani-cho are not shown on maps. According to "Kadokawa Nihon Chimei Daijiten No. 26 Kyoto-Fu," they are uninhabited towns located near Kamigamo Keshiyama.

[Original Japanese]