is one of the eleven

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

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 ci ...

, in Kyoto Prefecture,

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 ...

. It is located in the northeastern part of the city.

History

The meaning of ''sakyō'' (左京) is "on the Emperor's left." When residing in the

Kyoto Imperial Palace The is the former palace of the Emperor of Japan. Since the Meiji Restoration in 1869, the Emperors have resided at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, while the preservation of the Kyoto Imperial Palace was ordered in 1877. Today, the grounds are open t ...

the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

would sit facing south, thus the eastern direction would be to his left. Similarly, there is a ward to the west called Ukyō-ku (右京区), meaning "the ward on the Emperor's right." In old times, ''sakyō'' was referring to the eastern part of the capital, but the present Sakyō-ku is bounded to the west by 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 ...

and is thus outside the historical capital. It was created in 1929 when it was split off from Kamigyō-ku.

Geography

It is located in the north-east corner of Kyoto city. In the east, it borders the city of

Ōtsu file:Otsu City Hall.JPG, 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km². The total a ...

Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...

. In the south

Sanjō Street Sanjō Street（三条通さんじょうどおり ''sanjō dōri''）is a major street that crosses the center of the city of Kyoto from east to west, running from Shinomiya in the Yamashina-ku ward (east) to the vicinity of the Tenryū-ji in Ara ...

separates it from Higashiyama-ku and Yamashina-ku. In the north, it borders the city of Nantan in Kyoto Prefecture and Takashima in Shiga Prefecture. In central Kyoto, the

flows on the western border of this ward. Areas like have been designated urbanization control areas, where large-scale exploitation and erection of tall buildings is restricted. Many rice fields remain in this area. The northern part of Sakyō-ku is mountainous and has a thriving forest industry. The large streets , and run from south to north. The train station Demachiyanagi is the terminal for both the

Keihan railway , known colloquially as the , , or simply , is a major Japanese private railway operator in Osaka, Kyoto, and Shiga Prefectures. The transit network includes seven lines; four main lines with heavy rolling stock, two interurban lines, and a funic ...

with trains running south to

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 the Eizan railway running north to and Kurama.

Demographics

According to census data, the population of Sakyō-ku has been decreasing since 1980.

Sights

Famous places located inside Sakyō-ku include

Ginkaku-ji __NOTOC__ , officially named , is a Zen temple in the Sakyo ward of Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the constructions that represents the Higashiyama Culture of the Muromachi period. History Ashikaga Yoshimasa initiated plans for creating a retirem ...

Nanzen-ji , or Zuiryusan Nanzen-ji, formerly , is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. Emperor Kameyama established it in 1291 on the site of his previous detached palace. It is also the headquarters of the Nanzen-ji branch of Rinzai Zen. The precincts o ...

, Kamo Shrine,

Heian Shrine The is a Shinto shrine located in Sakyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The Shrine is ranked as a ''Beppyō Jinja'' () (the top rank for shrines) by the Association of Shinto Shrines. It is listed as an important cultural property of Japan. History 220 ...

, and

Hōnen-in Hōnen-in (法然院) is a Buddhist temple located in Sakyō-ku, Kyoto, western Japan. Honen-in is a single-estate temple located in Shikagaya, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto. It was originally part of the Jodo sect, but became independent and is now a single ...

. In the northern parts are

Kuramadera is a temple in the far north of Kyoto, Japan which houses some National Treasures of Japan. It was a member of the Tendai sect and subordinate to Shōren-in from the 12th century until 1949 when it founded its own religious body. The object of ...

Kifunejinja is a Shinto shrine located at Sakyō-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture Japan. History The shrine became the object of Imperial patronage during the early Heian period. In 965, Emperor Murakami ordered that Imperial messengers were sent to report imp ...

Sanzen-in is a Tendai school monzeki temple in Ōhara, Kyoto, Japan. The Heian period triad of Amida Nyorai flanked by attendants is a National Treasure. Sanzenin Temple is the main attraction of the rural town of Ohara, which is located about an hour n ...

, the ruins of a house where

Iwakura Tomomi was a Japanese statesman during the Bakumatsu and Meiji period. He was one of the leading figures of the Meiji Restoration, which saw Japan's transition from feudalism to modernity. Born to a noble family, he was adopted by the influential Iwa ...

was imprisoned, the

Shugakuin Imperial Villa The , or Shugaku-in Detached Palace, is a set of gardens and outbuildings (mostly teahouses) in the hills of the eastern suburbs of Kyoto, Japan (separate from the Kyoto Imperial Palace). It is one of Japan's most important large-scale cultural ...

and Manshuin Temple, and the Kyoto International Conference Hall where the

Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...

was adopted. Sakyō-ku also contains the Kyoto Botanical Garden and several of the mountains lit up during the yearly

Gozan no Okuribi , more commonly known as , is a festival in Kyoto, Japan. It is the culmination of the Obon festival on August 16, in which five giant bonfires are lit on mountains surrounding the city. It signifies the moment when the spirits of deceased famil ...

festival, including the main Daimonji-yama. Kyoto Botanical Garden - conservatory

The South Korean government maintains the Korea Education Institution ( ko, 교토한국교육원, ja, 京都韓国教育院) in Sakyō-ku. Kyoto Prefectural Library 20161002

Education

The ward contains 23 elementary schools (of which 3 are private), 7 public middle schools, and 7 public high schools. It also has 5 private schools that are both middle and high schools. Several universities are located in the ward, including the prominent

Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = National university, Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff ...

. *

Kyoto Institute of Technology Kyoto Institute of Technology (京都工芸繊維大学, Kyōto Kōgei Sen'i Daigaku) in Kyoto, Japan is a Japanese national university established in 1949. The Institute's history extends back to two schools, Kyoto Craft High School (established i ...

Kyoto Prefectural University , or for short, is one of the public universities in Japan. Its campus is located in Nakaragi-cho, Shimogamo, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Jap ...

Kyoto Seika University is a private university in Iwakura, Kyoto, Japan. The school's predecessor was founded in 1968, and it was chartered as a university in 1979. The school is noted for its faculties of manga and anime, and being involved in the teaching and trai ...

Kyoto University of the Arts is a private university in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1934. It was chartered as a junior college in 1977 and became a four-year college in 1991, known as the Kyoto University of Art and Design (� ...

* Kyoto Notre Dame University * Kyoto College of Graduate Studies for Informatics The

Kyoto Korean Junior High-High School is a North Korean international school in Sakyō-ku, Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto form ...

, a North Korean school, is in the ward.Home page

. Retrieved on 14 October 2015. "京都朝鮮中高級学校〒606-8282 京都府京都市左京区北白川外山町1"

References

External links

The ward's official homepage

article on Kyoto Protocol
Pool of photographs taken in Sakyo-ku on Flickr
(retrieved March 9, 2010) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakyo-ku, Kyoto Wards of Kyoto