is one of the eleven wards in the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 c ...

, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Its name means "South Ward." It was established in 1955 when it was separated from Shimogyo-ku. As of April, 2016 the ward has an estimated population of 100,781 people. The Kamo River and the Katsura River flow through the district. It is home to several historical places and temples. Minami-ku is roughly bound on the east by the Kamo River, on the west by the Katsura River (although it extends over the Katsura River in some places), on the north by Hachijō Street and the JR Kyoto line (leading into Kyoto station), and on the south by the

Meishin Expressway The , or Nagoya-Kōbe Expressway is a toll expressway in Japan. It runs from a junction with the Tōmei Expressway in Komaki, Aichi (outside Nagoya) west to Nishinomiya, Hyōgo (between Osaka and Kobe). It is the main road link between Osaka an ...

(although it extends over the expressway in some places). The southern portion of Kyoto city (including Minami-ku) is sometimes referred to as Rakunan. This area is the only side of Kyoto not lined with mountains, a feature that historically made Rakunan important as a gateway into Kyoto. Minami-ku is more working-class than some other Kyoto districts, and includes a large population of Korean nationals known as

Zainichi Koreans comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...

. Instead of restaurants and clubs, portions of the land near the Kamo River are lined with factories and industrial buildings. Residential areas include both standard houses and apartments, and occasional government-subsidized housing projects. The area around Kujo Street from around Toji station to the Kamo River is known as Higashi (east) Kujo. This area is particularly working-class, and home to a relatively large number of Korean nationals and other working class members of Japanese society. As such, it has been called "Kyoto's only international town". Minami-ku has few notable areas of tourist interest compared to other parts of Kyoto. A notable exception is the To-ji Temple. The Minami-ku ward office is located on Route 1, near its intersection with Kujō Street. The Kyoto City Disaster Prevention Center is also in Minami-ku, near the intersection of Route 1 and Jujō Street. To the east of Minami-ku is

Higashiyama-ku is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. History It was created in 1929 when it was split off from Shimogyō-ku. During the years 1931 to 1976 it also covered the area of present-day Yamashina-ku, whi ...

, and to the southeast is Fushimi-ku. Minami-ku anniversary celebration

Demographics

Temples and Landmarks

Tō-ji , also known as is a Shingon Buddhist temple in the Minami-ku ward of Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 796, it was one of the only three Buddhist temples allowed in the city at the time it became the capital of Japan. As such it has a long history, ...

a famous Buddhist temple with strong associations to the Buddhist priest Kūkai *Former site of the Rashomon Gate, the old Southern entrance to the city * Rokusonnō Shrine, one of the Three Genji Shrines

Economy

The following companies have their headquarters in Minami: * the home office of international company

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

is near the aforementioned intersection. * Horiba, a global manufacturer of precision instruments for measurement and analysis * Nidec, a global electric motor and electronic and optical components company *

Wacoal is a manufacturer of women's lingerie and underwear, founded in 1949 in Japan by Koichi Tsukamoto. The company has divisions in North America and Europe, and manufactures the brands Wacoal, b.tempt'd, Elomi, Eveden, Fantasie, Freya, Lively, an ...

, a manufacturer of women's

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fash ...

and

underwear Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

GS Yuasa is a Kyoto-based Japanese company specializing in the development and production of lead acid and lithium-ion batteries, used in automobiles, motorcycles and other areas including aerospace and defense applications. History Yuasa In 1909 ...

, a manufacturer of

batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

Corporate Profile
. GS Yuasa International Ltd. Retrieved on November 30, 2016.

Education

Kyoto Computer Gakuin Kyoto Computer Gakuin (KCG) is Japan's first private computer educational institution in Japan founded in 1963 by Yasuko and Shigeo Hasegawa. KCG is the main institution of the KCG Group. KCG’s Eki-mae is the main campus which is centrally loca ...

The community previously had a North Korean school, Kyoto Korean No. 1 Elementary School ( 京都朝鮮第一初級学校).ウリハッキョ一覧
().

Chongryon The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan,
" ''

. November 6, 2005. Retrieved on October 15, 2015.

References

External links