Town names in Minami Ward, Kyoto City (京都市南区の町名)
This section on "Town names in Minami Ward, Kyoto City" lists official town names in Minami Ward and summarizes the period and process of their establishment.
Summary of Minami Ward
It is located south of Kyoto urban district. It borders the Ukyo Ward and Shimogyo Ward in the north, Higashiyama Ward and Fushimi Ward from the east to the south, and Nishikyo Ward and Muko City in the west. It covers the area of 15.78 square kilometers. Its population is estimated to be about 99,000 as of March 2009.
JR Tokaido Line, Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen and Hachijo-dori Street run from east to west across the ward near the northern edge. While JR Kyoto Station is located in Shimogyo Ward, the area around its Hachijo Exit belongs to Minami Ward. Keihan-Kokudo (National Route 1) runs from south to north through the center of the ward. The Kamo-gawa River running in the east and the Katsura-gawa River in the west both run to the south. They converge in the south, Shimotoba, Fushimi Ward. The ward mainly covers the area between the two rivers as well as the Kuze area along the western bank of the Katsura-gawa River. It is entirely a flatland. It was for the most part a rural area when it was established. It is now a mixed area of residence, commerce and industry.
It was within the current Minami Ward that there existed the Rajo-mon Gate which was the southern main gate to Heian-kyo (ancient capital of Japan), as well as the Temples of To-ji and Sai-ji which were built in the east and the west, respectively, of the gate. With the exception of the To-ji (Kyoogokoku-ji) Temple, the ward has few sightseeing spots.
It used to be a part of Shimogyo Ward, from which it was separated to become an independent ward in 1955. Most of its areas were villages in the former Counties of Kadono and Kii, which were then transferred to the former Shimogyo Ward in 1902, 1918 and 1931. The Kuze area along the western bank of the Katsura-gawa River belonged to Kuze village, Otokuni County and was incorporated into the ward in 1959.
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 few isolated cases along JR Tokaido Line in the north, the towns in Minami 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 269 declared towns as of 1980. In certain parts of the ward, town names and boundaries were subsequently altered due to land readjustment projects. A town was newly established and two were abolished. The ward had 268 towns in 2009.
(1-chome to 5-chome, Kuze Nakakuze-cho was counted as one town.)
There are some towns which have no letter of '町' (read as 'cho,' meaning town) as a suffix, such as 'Kamitoba Choda.'
They were farmlands without houses when they were established in 1931.
Independent town names
Among the independent town names in the ward, only Kaikoji-cho, Furuotabi-cho, Shioya-cho and Daikoku-cho have continued since the Edo period. They belonged to Shimogyo kumi (unit) No. 32 when Shimogyo Ward was established in 1879. In 1892, it was included in Shimogyo school district No. 32. (For more information, see the section on '{Town names in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City}'). In 1955 Furuotabi-cho was divided by the railway tracks into north and south, of which the latter joined Minami Ward and the former belonged to Shimogyo Ward. Keidai-cho and Kujo-cho were newly set up within the precincts of temples and shrines at the beginning of the Meiji period. Hachijo-cho and Toji-cho were established in 1879 when a part of Hachijo village, Kadono County was incorporated into the then Shimogyo Ward. Toji Higashi Monzen-cho was established in 1956.
Yotsuzuka-cho, which is also an independent town name in the ward, will be referred to in the section on the former Ouchi village.
Former Higashikujo village
The Higashikujo area belonged to the former Higashikujo village, Kadono County. It was incorporated into the then Shimogyo Ward in 1918.
Higashikujo village had no Oaza and was reorganized into 17 towns prefixed by 'Higashikujo.'
Subsequently the number of towns prefixed by 'Higashikujo' have increased to 38 as the following changes have been made to their names and borders.
(Established in 1943) Nishi Sanno-cho, Muro-machi, Kita Karasuma-cho, Minami Karasuma-cho, Nishi Goryo-cho, Nishi Fudanotsuji-cho, Nishi Aketa-cho, Nishi Kawabe-cho, Minami Kawabe-cho, and Minami Ishida-cho
(Established in 1951) Minami Kawara-machi, Higashi Iwamoto-cho, Nishi Iwamoto-cho, Minami Iwamoto-cho, Kawanishi-cho, Kita Matsunoki-cho, Minami Matsunoki-cho, Higashi Sanno-cho, Nishi Sanno-cho, Kami Goryo-cho, Higashi Goryo-cho, Naka Goryo-cho, Higashi Fudanotsuji-cho, and Naka Fudanotsuji-cho
(Abolished in 1951) Iwamoto-cho, Matsunoki-cho, Sanno-cho, Goryo-cho, and Fudanotsuji-cho
(Established in 1956) Minami Matsuda-cho
(Established in 1996) Higashi Matsunoki-cho
Former Ouchi village
The towns prefixed by 'Hachijo' or 'Nishikujo' belonged to the former Ouchi village, Kadono County. A part of this village was incorporated into the then Shimogyo Ward in 1902 and the rest in 1918. The village had the following five Oaza: Chudoji, Suzaku, Higashi Shiokoji, Hachijo and Nishikujo. Among these Oaza, Chudoji, Suzaku and Higashi Shiokoji belong to the current Shimogyo Ward. A part of Oaza Hachijo and most of Oaza Nishikujo belonged to Minami Ward which was established in 1955.
Oaza Hachijo, Ouchi village was reorganized into 12 towns prefixed by 'Hachijo' when it was incorporated into the then Shimogyo Ward in 1918. Minami Ward includes the following four towns: Hachijo Teranouchi-cho, Hachijo Minamoto-cho, Hachijo Yotsuzuka-cho and Hachijo Uchida-cho, along with a part of Hachijo Bomon-cho (south of JR Tokaido line). The rest belongs to Shimogyo Ward. Hachijo Yotsuzuka-cho which is located along Kujo-dori Street abolished the prefix of 'Hachijo' in 1940.
Oaza Nishikujo, Ouchi village was incorporated into the then Shimogyo Ward in 1902 and became Oaza Nishikujo, Shimogyo Ward.
In 1918 it was reorganized into 23 towns broadly prefixed by 'Nishikujo.'
In the same year, a part of Oaza Kamitoba, Kamitoba village, Kii County, which was adjacent to Ouchi village, joined the then Shimogyo Ward and was reorganized into six towns prefixed by 'Nishikujo' (Nishikujo Nanden-cho, Nishikujo Sugata-cho, Nishikujo Okuni-cho, Nishikujo Toyoda-cho, Nishikujo Takahata-cho and Nishikujo Karato-cho). Later in 1956 town names and borders were changed so that the following towns were established: Nishikujo Nishi Zao-cho, Nishikujo Higashi Shima-machi, Nishikujo Higashi Heijo-cho, Nishikujo Higashi Yanaginouchi-cho, Nishikujo Nishi Yanaginouchi-cho, Nishikujo Higashi Gokoden-cho.
There is a total of 35 towns that are prefixed by 'Nishikujo.'
Most of this area belonged to Minami Ward in 1955 while a part of Nishikujo Kitanouchi-cho (the railway tracks of JR Tokaido Line) still belongs to Shimogyo Ward.
Former Shichijo village
The Karahashi area originally belonged to Shichijo village, Kadono County and was incorporated into the then Shimogyo Ward in 1918. The village had five Oaza: Nishi Shichijo, Nishi Shiokoji, Goshonouchi, Umekoji and Karahashi. The first four Oaza belong to the current Shimogyo Ward and Karahashi has been a part of Minami Ward since its establishment in 1955.
Oaza Karahashi, Shichijo village was reorganized into 10 towns prefixed by 'Karahashi' when it was incorporated into the then Shimogyo Ward in 1918. Subsequently, town names and borders were changed in 1944, resulting in the establishment of the following towns: Karahashi Akakane-cho, Karahashi Takada-cho, Karahashi Saiji-cho, Karahashi Nishi Hiragaki-cho, Karahashi Donomae-cho, Karahashi Ashibe-cho, Karahashi Minami Biwa-cho. A greater part of the Karahashi area was incorporated into Minami Ward in 1955 with the exception of Karahashi Takahata-cho, which remained in Shimogyo Ward and was renamed Umekoji Takahata-cho.
Consequently, there is a total of 16 towns that are prefixed by 'Karahashi.'
Former Kamitoba village
Kamitoba village, Kii County was partly consolidated with the then Shimogyo Ward in 1918, and the rest of the village joined it in 1931. The village had two Oaza, Kamitoba and Tonomori.
(As has been mentioned above) a part of Oaza Kamitoba was included in Shimogyo Ward in 1918 and was reorganized into six towns prefixed by 'Nishikujo.'
The rest of Oaza Kamitoba and Oaza Tonomori became a part of Shimogyo Ward in 1931. While the former was reorganized into 43 towns prefixed by 'Kamitoba,' the latter into 12 towns that had 'Kamitoba Tonomori' as the prefix.
As shown below, some changes were subsequently made to town names and boundaries, resulting in 51 towns prefixed by 'Kamitoba.'
The number of the towns broadly designated 'Kamitoba Tonomori' has remained unchanged from 12.
(Established in 1956) Minami Nawashiro-cho and Minami Hakodate-cho.
(Established in 1969) Daimotsu-cho, Kamichoshi-cho, Minami Karato-cho, Kita Nakanotsubo-cho, Minami Nakanotsubo-cho, Kita Tonomoto-cho, Minami Tonomoto-cho, Kita Hanana-cho, Minami Hanana-cho, Kita Shimada-cho, Minami Shimada-cho, Kita Murayama-cho, Minami Murayama-cho, Kaiko-cho, Kita Kaiko-cho
(Abolished in 1969) Daimotsu, Kamichoshi, Shimochoshi-cho, Nakanotsubo-cho, Shimada-cho, Murayama-cho, Kutsugata-cho, Kamino-cho and Hiraguro-cho
Both Kamitoba Kaiko-cho (established in 1969) and Kamitoba Kaiko (established in 1931) exist.
Former Kisshoin village (Part 1)
The Kisshoin area belonged to the former Kisshoin village, Kii County, and was incorporated into the then Shimogyo Ward in 1931. Kisshoin village had three Oaza, Kisshoin, Nishinaka and Ishijima, which were all reorganized into a total of 74 towns.
The towns that used to belong to Oaza Nishinaka have place names prefixed by 'Nishinosho' or 'Nakagawara,' while those which used to belong to Oaza Ishijima have place names prefixed by 'Ishihara' or 'Shima.'
In 1931 Oaza Kisshoin was reorganized into 32 towns prefixed by 'Kisshoin' along with Kisshoin Shimanomazume-cho, making a total of 33 towns. In the same year Oaza Nishinaka was reorganized into 7 towns prefixed by 'Kisshoin Nishinosho' and 9 towns prefixed by 'Kisshoin Nakagawara,' resulting in a total of 49 towns. This applies to the following town names.
(Prefixed by 'Kisshoin') Sannomiya-cho, Nakajima, Shimizu, Sadanari-cho, Funato-cho, Inokuchi, Kurumamichi-cho, Ikenouchi-cho, Nishiura-cho, Satonouchi-cho, Ochiai-cho, Mandokoro-cho, Nishinouchi-cho, Takahata-cho, Hattanda-cho, Hainobori-machi, Nikinomori-cho, Sugawara-machi, Higashiura, Inaba, Maeda, Ikeda, Nagata-cho, Sunano-cho, Kannondo-cho, Makie, Kuchigawara, Takegajiri, Shinden-ichinodan-cho, Shinden-ninodan-cho, Shinden-shimonomukai, Tsutsumisoto
(Prefixed by 'Kisshoin Shima') Nomazume-cho
(Prefixed by 'Kisshoin Nishinosho') Higashi Yashiki-cho, Monguchi-cho, Nishiura-cho, Fuchinonishi-cho, Inobaba-cho, Mukaida-cho, Kuronouchi
(Prefixed by 'Kisshoin Nakagawara') Nishi Yashiki-cho, Satominami-cho, Higashigawara-cho, Maegawara-cho, Miyanohigashi-cho, Miyanonishi-cho, Ogawara, Uchigawara, Ryusaku
Town names and borders in the area were almost entirely changed as land readjustment projects were implemented. Traditional town names remained more or less unchanged even after the land readjustments although town borders were largely modified. As is shown below, some town names in the area were newly created while others were abolished.
Consequently, the number of towns in the area amounts to 65, of which 54 is prefixed by 'Kisshoin,' 7 'Kisshoin Nishinosho' and 4 'Kisshoin Nakagawara.'
In certain towns their prefix changed from 'Kisshoin Nakagawara' to 'Kisshoin.'
Towns prefixed by 'Kisshoin Shima' are mentioned later.
(Prefixed by 'Kisshoin')
(Established in 1944) Shimizu-cho, Kujo-cho, Nakajima-cho, Inokuchi-cho, Kasuga-cho, Nishi Sadanari-cho and Oike-cho
(Abolished in 1944) Shimizu, Nakajima, and Inokuchi
(Established in 1960) Sannomiya Nishi-machi, Hainobori Naka-machi, Hainobori Nishi-machi, Nishinochaya-machi
(Established in 1965) Maeda-cho, Higashi Maeda-cho, Makie-cho, Makie Minami-cho, Ikeda-cho, Ikeda-minami-cho, Higashi Sunano-cho, Hainobori-higashi-machi, Kannondo-minami-cho
(Abolished in 1965) Maeda, Makie, Ikeda, Hainobori-cho, Takegajiri
(Established in 1966) Tsutsumisoto-cho, Shinden-shimonomukai-cho, Shinden-sannodan-cho, Mukaida-higashi-cho, Mukaida-nishi-cho
(Abolished in 1966) Shinden-shimonomukai
(Established in 1969) Minami Ochiai-cho, Higashiura-cho, Inaba-cho
(Abolished in 1969) Higashiura and Inaba
(Abolished between 1965 and 1974) Kuchigawara
(Prefixed by 'Kisshoin Nishinosho)
(Established in 1966) Nishinaka-cho
(Abolished after 1966) Kuronouchi
(Prefixed by 'Kisshoin Nakagawara')
(Established in 1966) Sato-kita-cho, Sato-nishi-cho
(Abolished in 1966) Higashigawara-cho
(Prefix changed from 'Kisshoin Nakagawara' to 'Kisshoin')
(Abolished/established in 1966) from Kisshoin Nakagawara Maegawara to Kisshoin Maegawara-cho, from Kisshoin Nakagawara Miyanohigashi-cho to Kisshoin Miyanohigashi-cho, from Kisshoin Nakagawara Miyanonishi-cho to Kisshoin Miyanonishi-cho, from Kisshoin Nakagawara Ogawara to Kisshoin Ogawara-cho, from Kisshoin Nakagawara Uchigawara to Kisshoin Uchigawara-cho, from Kisshoin Nakagawara Ryusaku to Kisshoin Ryusaku-cho
Former Kisshoin village (Part 2)
Oaza Ishijima, Kisshoin village was reorganized into a total of 26 towns that consist of Kisshoin Ishihara-cho, 16 towns prefixed by 'Kisshoin Ishihara' and 9 towns prefixed by 'Kisshoin Shima' in 1931.
The towns prefixed by 'Kisshoin Ishihara' have undergone the following changes to the town names and boundaries. The total number of the towns is still 16 or 17 if we include Kisshoin Ishihara-cho.
(Kisshoin Ishihara)
(Established in 1960) Donoushiro-nishi-machi
(Abolished/established in 1960) from Donoushiro to Donoushiro-cho; from Kyomichi to Kyomichi-cho; from Nogami to Nogami-cho
(Abolished in 1965) Zaige-cho
(Established in 1969) Nishi-machi, Minami-cho, Hiraki-machi
(Abolished in 1969) Kitanoura, Minaminokuchi
(Abolished in 1982) Yanagimoto
Initially 10 towns were prefixed by 'Kisshoin Shima,' including Nomazume-cho (the former Oaza Kisshoin). The following denominational and demarcational changes have since taken place, resulting in the unchanged total of 10.
(Kisshoin Shima)
(Established in 1977) Katagiyama-cho
(Abolished in 1982) Katagiyama (From 1977 to 1982 both Shima Katagiyama-cho and Shima Katagiyama existed.)
Incidentally, 'Kisshoin Shima Donoura' has become so tiny an area that it is not shown on general maps since land readjustments were carried out therein.
Former Kuze village
The Kuze area belonged to the former Kuze village, Otokuni County, and was incorporated into Minami Ward in 1959. Kuze village had five Oaza, i.e., Kamikuze, Kuze, Oyabu, Tsukiyama and Higashi Tsuchikawa.
These were reorganized into the following nine towns prefixed by 'Kuze.'
Oaza Kamikuze was divided into Kuze Kamikuze-cho, Kuze Takada-cho, and Kuze Nakahisa-cho. Oaza Kuze changed into Kuze Kawara-cho and Kuze Tonoshiro-cho. Oaza Oyabu and Oaza Tsukiyama changed to Kuze Oyabu-cho, Kuze Tsukiyama-cho and Kuze Otsuki-cho. Oaza Higashi Tsuchikawa became Kuze Higashi Tsuchikawa-cho.
Later in 1967, 1-chome to 5-chome, Kuze Nakakuze-cho was established, resulting in 10 towns prefixed by 'Kuze.'
Remarks
Official town names in Minami Ward differ according to reference materials one consults. Differences in the official town names among the reference materials are listed below.
(Different town names)
Kisshoin Tsutsumisoto-cho and Kisshoin Tsutsumisoto:
Of the two towns, 'Tsutsumisoto-cho' was established in 1966 and 'Tsutsumisoto' was formed in 1931.
While 'Jurisdiction District Ordinance' (Municipal Ordinance of Jurisdiction Districts in Kyoto City) lists both 'Tsutsumisoto-cho' and 'Tsutsumisoto,' 'Announcement of the Election Committee' (Announcement of the Election Committee of Minami Ward) registers only 'Tsutsumisoto-cho.'
In 'Kadokawa' (Kadokawa Nihon Chimei Daijiten No. 26 Kyoto-Fu), both 'Tsutsumisoto-cho' and 'Tsutsumisoto' are listed as the information as of 1980.
Kisshoin Ishihara Minami-cho and Kisshoin Ishihara Minami:
Of the two towns, 'Minami-cho' was established in 1969 and 'Minami' in 1931.
While 'Jurisdiction District Ordinance' lists both 'Minami-cho' and 'Minami' although 'Announcement of the Election Committee' records only 'Minami-cho.'
In 'Kadokawa,' both 'Minami-cho' and 'Minami' are registered as the information as of 1980. While 'Minami-cho' is shown on maps, 'Minami' is not indicated on the maps created after land readjustment projects were implemented in the area.
Kisshoin Nishinosho Kuronouchi:
This town name is listed in 'Jurisdiction District Ordinance' but is not in 'Announcement of the Election Committee.'
It is listed in 'Kadokawa' as a former town name which has been abolished. According to 'Kadokawa,' a part of the town was incorporated into the adjacent town district in 1966 although it remains silent as to when the rest of the town was abolished and where it was incorporated.
Kisshoin Kuchigawara:
This town name is registered in 'Jurisdiction District Ordinance' although it is absent in 'Announcement of the Election Committee.'
In 'Kadokawa,' it is listed as a former town name which has been abolished. According to 'Kadokawa,' the town existed until around 1974 although it is unknown when it was abolished and where it was incorporated.