Uji City (宇治市)

Located in the south of Kyoto Prefecture, Uji City is known for Uji tea and the Byodo-in Temple, which is registered on the World Heritage list. Land was reclaimed from the Ogura-ike (Ogura Pond) in the west of the city, and this is now used for farming as well as housing.

Geography

Yodo-gawa River

Kasatori-yama (Mt. Kasatori)

Ogura-ike (Ogura pond)

History

646: Doto, a monk at the Gango-ji Temple, built the Uji Bridge.

672: The Omi court ordered a hashimori (bridge guard) for the Uji Bridge to interfere with the transport of food for Prince Oamano.

1052: FUJIWARA no Yorimichi built the Byodo-in Temple in Uji.

1133: The Uji Rikyu Festival was first held.

1180: Mochihito-o along with MINAMOTO no Yorimasa took up arms, fought against the Taira family at the Byodo-in Temple, and died in the battle.

1183: The Battle of Ujigawa occurred. MINAMOTO no Yoshitsune defeated Yoshinaka KISO's army.

1221: The Jokyu no Ran (Jokyu Rebellion) occurred. The Kamakura bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) attacked Fushimi across the Uji River.

1286: Eison conducted a memorial service for the souls of the dead following extensive renovations made to the Uji Bridge with the Retired Emperors Kameyama and Gofukakusa in attendance.

1486: The rebels in the Yamashiro-no-kuni Ikki (Yamashiro Province Riot) gathered at the Uji Byodo-in Temple, and set the Kuniju-no-okite (rules for the province).

1573: Yoshiaki ASHIKAGA attempted to raise an army in Makishima-jo Castle in Uji, but failed; he was expelled by Nobunaga ODA.

In 1951:

March 1: The two towns of Uji-cho in Kuse-gun and Higashi-uji-cho in Uji-gun, together with the three villages of Makishima-mura, Ogura-mura as well as Okubo-mura were combined to form Uji City.

Population

Administration

Mayor: Isamu KUBOTA (third term)

Industries

Tea Industry

Nintendo, famous for cards and video games, possesses all three of its factories in the city.

Kyoto Animation is headquartered in the city.

Textile industry

The Uji factory, the main factory of Nippon Rayon Co., Ltd., was completed in December 1925. The company built the factory there because of the relatively easy procurement of vast commercial land and an abundant water supply from the Uji River. In February, the following year, operation of the factory commenced. The factory has produced chemical fiber such as rayon and nylon ever since. In October 1969, Nippon Rayon Co., Ltd. and its parent company, Nichibo Co., Ltd. were merged to form Unittika, Ltd., paving the way for the diversified chemicals manufacturer. The factory has still played an active role in the core business of Unittika even though it has been slimmed down to focus on the production of polyester films and plastics.

Auto industry

The Kyoto factory of Nissan Shatai Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., used to be located in the city, but the factory was shut down in 1999 due to financial difficulties. AUTO WORKS KYOTO Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Nissan Shatai, and Zero (ゼロ), currently operate in the auto industry of Uji City.

Additionally, there is Nissan Technical School Kyoto in the neighboring town of Kumiyama-cho, with many more facilities related to Nissan in the area.

Friendship city

Nuwaraeliya, Sri Lanka (April 12, 1986)
Xianyang City, Shanxi Province, China (July 24, 1986)
Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada (July 1, 1990)

Health

Average age: 37.90 years old (1995)

Education

Since Uji is a producer of Uji tea, community education programs on tea were provided through public elementary and junior high schools. As part of the programs to provide dietary education, schools have a facility to serve tea from the faucet.

Transportation

Railways

There are four railway lines: the Kintetsu Kyoto Line, the Keihan Uji Line, the Nara Line, and the Tozai Line of the Kyoto City Subway.

The Uji Station (JR West) on the JR Nara Line is located in the center of Uji City and the closest to the city hall, but the Okubo Station (Kyoto Prefecture) on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line, ranking first in the number of passengers, is the de facto central station of the city.

Kintetsu Kyoto Line

Three stations: Ogura Station (Kyoto Prefecture), Iseda Station, and Okubo Station (Kyoto Prefecture)

Keihan Uji Line

Four stations: Kowata Station (Keihan), Obaku Station, Mimurodo Station and Uji Station (Keihan)

* The Keihan Rokujizo Station is located in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City.

JR Nara line

Six stations: Rokujizo Station, Kohata Station (JR West), Obaku Station, Uji Station (JR West), JR Ogura Station, Shinden Station (Kyoto Prefecture)

Tozai line of the Kyoto City Subway

One station: Rokujizo Station

Buses

Buses in the city and between the city and the neighboring areas

Keihan Bus Co., Ltd. (Rokujizo area only), Keihan City Bus Co., Ltd., and Keihan Uji Bus Co., Ltd.

Buses (night bus) between the city and Tokyo (Shinjuku or Shibuya)

Keihan Bus Co., Ltd.

Roads

The National Highway 24 runs north-south in the west of the city, while the Keiji Bypass runs east-west. There are three interchanges in the city: the Uji-higashi Interchange, the Uji-nishi Interchange, and the Ogura Interchange (listed from the eastward). The Keiji Bypass is connected to the Meishin Expressway at the Oyamazaki Junction and the Seta Higashi Junction.