260px, Kiyamachi Street and Takase River is a historical street in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, running north–south. It runs between Kiyamachi Nijō and Kiyamachi Shichijō on the eastern side of the

Takase River The is a canal in Kyoto, Japan. It rises from Nijō-Kiyamachi, going along Kiyamachi Street, and meets the Uji River at Fushimi port. The canal crosses with the Kamo River on the way. Today the south half is not connected with Kamo River. Hist ...

near the

Kamo River The is located in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The riverbanks are popular walking spots for residents and tourists. In summer, restaurants open balconies looking out to the river. There are walkways running alongside the river, and some stepping ...

. There also runs Nishi-Kiyamachi Street on the western side of Takase River between Sanjō and Shichijō. It was constructed with the excavation of Takase River in the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

. Kiya is an old Japanese word which means woods stores. In 1895 a tram started to run between Kiyamachi Nijō and Kiyamachi Gojō. The tram line was moved to

Kawaramachi Street runs parallel to the west bank of the Kamo River on the eastern side of Kyoto, Japan. Its intersection with Shijō Street is called Shijō Kawaramachi and is a leading shopping district of the city. Both Shijō and Kawaramachi Street are pro ...

in 1920s.

History

Ryoui Suminokura began his excavation of

at Nijoukirimachi (present day Kamikorikichou) in 1611 during the Keichou Era (1596 - 1615). At the time, the road was called Korikichou Street. At the beginning of the

, charcoal and lumber from

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

and

were loaded on boats and brought to the area to be put in storehouses, which lined the river. Thus the area was called

Kiyamachi 260px, Kiyamachi Street and Takase River is a historical street in Kyoto, Japan, running north–south. It runs between Kiyamachi Nijō and Kiyamachi Shichijō on the eastern side of the Takase River near the Kamo River. There also runs N ...

. Zaimokumachi, Kamiyamachi, Nabeyamachi, Komeyamachi, and other towns still remain in the area around Kiyamachi, each of which was named for the products they dealt in. According to topographical records in 1762 of the Houreki era, the area from Kitanijou Street to Minamigojou was defined as Kiyamachi. In the middle of the Edo era in the 18th century, because of an influx of travellers and merchants in the area, the appearance of the street changed and restaurants, inns, and bars were established. At the end of the Edo era, the town served as a secret meeting place for loyalists of the emperor such as Ryouma Sakamoto, Takayoshi Kido, Masujirou Oomura, Seiishiro Honma, and Shouzan Sakuma. Monuments were placed in the downtown area to commemorate these loyalists. In 1895 of the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, a street car line was built which ran from Nijou to Gojou. In the 1920s, due to the expansion of Kawaramachi Street, it became known as the Kawaramachi Line.

Current State

Cherry blossom trees have been planted along the river and a sidewalk has been laid along the street. Further improvements are being made to the road. Around Sanjou Street and Shijou Street, there are tea and coffee shops, bars, and restaurants offering not only Japanese food but food from various countries. Because of the increase in entertainment, measures are being taken to maintain public order. As of 2003, the district of Kiyamachi has been designated a beautifully developed community of importance in Kyoto.

External links

* (Kiyamachi Nijō intersection) * (Kiyamachi Shichijō intersection) Streets in Kyoto {{kyoto-geo-stub