is a special ward located in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in 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 ...

, literati like

Natsume Sōseki , born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known around the world for his novels ''Kokoro'', ''Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', '' Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work '' Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of British literature and writer ...

, as well as scholars and politicians have lived there. Bunkyō is home to the

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

's Kōdōkan, and the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project b ...

's Hongo Campus. Bunkyō has a sister-city relationship with Kaiserslautern in the

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Hongo and

Koishikawa is a district of Bunkyo, Tokyo. It consists of five sub-areas, . In Koishikawa are located two well regarded gardens: the Koishikawa Botanical Garden (operated by the University of Tokyo) in Hakusan, and the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden in Kō ...

wards following

Tokyo City was a municipality in Japan and part of Tokyo-fu which existed from 1 May 1889 until its merger with its prefecture on 1 July 1943. The historical boundaries of Tokyo City are now occupied by the Special Wards of Tokyo. The new merged gove ...

's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Bunkyo ward exhibits contrasting Shitamachi and Yamanote geographical and cultural division. The Nezu and Sendagi neighborhoods in the ward's eastern corner is attached to the Shitamachi area in

Ueno is a district in Tokyo's Taitō Ward, best known as the home of Ueno Park. Ueno is also home to some of Tokyo's finest cultural sites, including the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, and the National Museum of Na ...

with more traditional Japanese atmosphere. On the other hand, the remaining areas of the ward typically represent Yamanote districts. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has a population of 217,743 (including about 6,500 foreign residents), and a population density of 19,290 persons per km². The total area is 11.29 km².

History

Bunkyo was formed in 1947 as a merger of Hongo and

wards following

's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis.

Geography

Districts and neighborhoods

There are approximately twenty districts in the area and these are as follows: ;

Area * Hakusan *

Kasuga may refer to: Places * Kasuga, Fukuoka, a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan ** Kasuga Station (Fukuoka), on the Kagoshima Main Line * Kasuga, Hyogo, a former town in Hyōgo Prefecture * Kasuga, Gifu, a former village in Gifu Prefecture * Kas ...

* Kohinata *

* Kōraku * Mejirodai * Otowa *

Ōtsuka is a Japanese surname. Alternative transliterations include Otsuka and Ohtsuka. Notable people with the surname include: * Ai Otsuka (大塚愛, born 1982), Japanese pop singer from the Kansai region * Akinori Otsuka (大塚晶則, born 1972) ...

* Sekiguchi *

Sengoku The was a period in Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the feudal system of Japan under the Ashikaga shogunate. Various ...

* Suidō ; Hongō Area * Hongō * Honkomagome * Mukōgaoka * Nezu * Nishikata * Sendagi *

Yayoi The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

* Yushima

Politics and government

Bunkyo is governed by Mayor Hironobu Narisawa, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

supported by the Liberal Democratic Party,

Democratic Party of Japan The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * to centre-left liberal or social-liberal political party in Japan from 1998 to 2016. The party's origins lie in the previous Democratic ...

and

Komeito , formerly New Komeito and abbreviated NKP, is a conservative political party in Japan founded by lay members of the Buddhist Japanese new religious movement Soka Gakkai in 1964. Since 2012, it has served in government as the junior coalit ...

. The city council has 34 elected members.

Economy

The publishing company Kodansha has its headquarters in the ward, and Kodansha International has its headquarters in the Otowa YK Building in the ward. The drugstore chain

Tomod's , doing business as , is a Japanese drugstore chain headquartered on the third floor of the in Nishikata, Bunkyō, Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List ...

has its headquarters in the ward.

Penta-Ocean is a major Japanese construction, construction firm. It specializes in marine works and land reclamation. It originated from Mizuno Gumi (水野組) in 1896 in Hiroshima Prefecture, and later renamed to the current name and capitalized in 1954. ...

, the construction firm specializing in marine works and land reclamation also has its headquarters in Bunkyo. The automobile manufacturer

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

has its Tokyo headquarters in the ward.

Landmarks

* Chinzan-so Garden * Denzū-in Temple *

Gokoku-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Tokyo's Bunkyō. History This Buddhist temple was established by the fifth shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, who dedicated it to his mother. It is notable for surviving the American air raids during World War II, w ...

Temple * Harimasaka Sakura Colonnade *

Hatoyama Hall , also known as the , is a Western-style residence in Bunkyō, Tokyo commissioned in 1924 by Ichirō Hatoyama, and it was here that he helped form the present Liberal Democratic Party. The house and gardens are in the process of evolving into a ...

Kisshō-ji Kisshō-ji, also Kichijō-ji (吉祥寺) is a Buddhist Temple located in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1458, during the Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period ...

Kodansha Noma Memorial Museum is located in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. Its collection includes fine Japanese art objects. The museum was opened in April 2000, in order to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the founding of Japan's largest publishing company, Kodansha Publishing ...

Kodokan Judo Institute The , or ''Kōdōkan'' (講道館), is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. The ''kōdōkan'' was founded in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo, and is now an eight-story building in Tokyo. Etymology Literally, ''kō'' ( ...

Koishikawa Botanical Garden The is a botanical garden with an arboretum operated by the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Science. They are located at 3-7-1 Hakusan, Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan, and open daily except Mondays; an admission fee is charged. History The T ...

* Koishikawa Kōrakuen *

Nezu Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the Bunkyō ward of Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1705, it is one of the oldest places of worship in the city, and several of the buildings on the shrine grounds have been designated as Important Cultural Propert ...

Nippon Medical School is a private university in Sendagi (), Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. History In 1876, Tai Hasegawa () established a medical school in Tokyo. At that time, the Japanese government and the Ministry of Education only permitted one medical school: the Un ...

Rikugien Garden is a Tokyo metropolitan park in Bunkyō-ku. The name ''Rikugi-en'' means "Garden of the Six Principles", referring to the six elements in ''waka'' poetry, based on the traditional division of Chinese poetry into six categories. The gardens co ...

Shin-Edogawa Garden is a Japanese garden located near the Kanda River in Bunkyō, Tokyo. The garden underwent renovation work and along with this there was a request for submission of a new name for the garden. The name was changed from on March 18, 2017. Formerl ...

* Tokyo Cathedral (St. Mary's Cathedral) *

Tokyo Dome City , referred to as Big Egg City before January 1, 2000, is an entertainment complex in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It also includes the world's largest roofed baseball stadium, known as Tokyo Dome (AKA "Big Egg"); an amusement park known as Tokyo Dome ...

* Toshimagaoka Imperial Cemetery *

Toyo University is a university with several branches in Japan, including Hakusan, Asaka, Kawagoe, Itakura, and Akabane. Overview The predecessor to Toyo University was , which was founded at Rinsho-in Temple by Enryo Inoue in 1887. Inoue felt that the ...

Tōyō Bunko The , or "Oriental Library", is Japan's largest Asian studies library and one of the world's five largest, located in Tokyo. It also functions as a research institute dedicated to the study of Asian history and culture. It has greatly contributed ...

"Oriental Library", Japan's largest Asian studies library *

Yanaka Cemetery is a large cemetery located north of Ueno in Yanaka 7-chome, Taito, Tokyo, Japan. The Yanaka sector of Taito is one of the few Tokyo neighborhoods in which the old Shitamachi atmosphere can still be felt. The cemetery is famous for its beautif ...

Yushima Seidō , is a Confucian temple () in Yushima, Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was established in end of the 17th century during the Genroku era of the Edo period. Towards the late Edo period, one of the most important educational institutions of the sh ...

Education

Universities and colleges

National

Ochanomizu University is a women's university in the Ōtsuka neighborhood of Bunkyō-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Ochanomizu University is one of the top national universities in Japan. Ochanomizu is the name of a Tokyo neighborhood where the university was founded. Hi ...

University of Tsukuba is a public research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. It is a top 10 Designated National University, and was ranked Type A by the Japanese government as part of the Top Global University Project. The university has 28 colle ...

Ōtsuka Campus *

Hongō Campus *

Tokyo Medical and Dental University is a Japanese national university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1928, it was the first national school of dentistry in Japan. TMDU is one of top 9 Designated National University and selected as a Top Type university of Top G ...

Private

Atomi University is a private women's college in Niiza, Saitama, Japan, established in 1965. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1875. Atomi Junior College was a private junior college in Bunkyo Ward, in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1950 and close ...

Juntendo University is a private university in Japan. Its headquarters are on its campus in Bunkyo, Tokyo, for the School of Medicine and in Inzai, Chiba, for the School of Health and Sports Science. The university was established in 1838 for medical and in 1946 ...

Takushoku University Takushoku University (拓殖大学; ''Takushoku Daigaku'', abbreviated as 拓大 ''Takudai'') is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Duke Taro Katsura (1848–1913).

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The univer ...

Engineering department *

Tokyo Woman's Christian University , often abbreviated to TWCU or , is an independent Protestant university in Tokyo, Japan. Founding TWCU was established by Nitobe Inazō (1862–1933), an author, diplomat and educator, who was appointed as the first president in 1918. The first ...

* Toyo Gakuen University *

Japan Women's University is the oldest and largest of private Japanese women's universities. The university was established on 20 April 1901 by education reformist . The university has around 6000 students and 200 faculty. It has two campuses, named after the neighb ...

Bunkyo Gakuin University is a coeducational university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan, near the University of Tokyo. Bunkyo Gakuin University was founded in April 1991 in Kamekubo, Ōimachi, Iruma, Saitama by Ishiko Shimada. In 2001, it opened the Faculty of Foreign S ...

Bunkyo Gakuin College is a private junior college in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was set up as a women's junior college in 1963, and became coeducational in 2006. After a new schoolhouse had been built to Ōi, Saitama (at present Fujimino, Saitama), it became thre ...

* International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies

Primary and secondary schools

Nationally-operated high schools: * * Public high schools are operated by the

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education (東京都教育委員会 ''Tōkyō-to Kyōiku Iinkai'') is the board of education in Tokyo, Japan. The board directly manages all of the public high schools in all 23 special wards, the Wester ...

. * ref> * Koishikawa High School * * The metropolis operates the

Koishikawa Secondary Education School is a public day school established by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The campus is located in the Bunkyō district of Tokyo, Japan. It is a combined junior high school (students study for 3 years) and senior high school (also 3 years). Acce ...

. The metropolis operates the . Public elementary and junior high schools are operated by Bunkyo Board of Education. Municipal junior high schools: * No. 1 Junior High School ( 第一中学校) * No. 3 Junior High School ( 第三中学校) * No. 6 Junior High School ( 第六中学校) * No. 8 Junior High School (第八中学校) * No. 9 Junior High School (第九中学校) * No. 10 Junior High School (第十中学校) * Bunrin Junior High School (文林中学校) * Hongodai Junior High School ( 本郷台中学校) * Meidai Junior High School ( 茗台中学校) * Otowa Junior High School ( 音羽中学校) Municipal elementary schools: * Aoyagi Elementary School (青柳小学校) * Hayashicho Elementary School (林町小学校) * Hongo Elementary School ( 本郷小学校) * Kagomachi Elementary School (駕籠町小学校) * Kanatomi Elementary School (金富小学校) * Kohinata Daimachi Elementary School ( 小日向台町小学校) * Komamoto Elementary School (駒本小学校) * Kubomachi Elementary School ( 窪町小学校) * Meika Elementary School ( 明化小学校) * Nezu Elementary School ( 根津小学校) * Otsuka Elementary School (大塚小学校) * Rekisen Elementary School ( 礫川小学校) * Sasugaya Elementary School ( 指ケ谷小学校) * Seishi Elementary School ( 誠之小学校) * Sekiguchi Daimachi Elementary School ( 関口台町小学校) * Sendagi Elementary School ( 千駄木小学校) * Shiomi Elementary School ( 汐見小学校) * Showa Elementary School ( 昭和小学校) * Yanagicho Elementary School ( 柳町小学校) * Yushima Elementary School ( 湯島小学校)

Culture

Museums

* Bunkyo Museum * Eisei Bunko Museum *

Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame The is a museum which includes a library, reference rooms and . It first opened in 1959 next door to Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. In 1988, the museum moved to a new site within the Tokyo Dome. The Hall of Fame and Museum was created as ...

* Koishikawa Annex * Koishikawa Ukiyo-e Art Museum * Orugoru no Chiisana Hakubutsukan * Printing Museum, Tokyo *

The University Museum, The University of Tokyo is a museum in Tokyo, Japan. It is part of The University of Tokyo. UMUT was established in 1966 to mainly preserve the collection of the university. Today UMUT works with preservation, research, and exhibitions for the general public. History ...

* Tokyo Waterworks Historical Museum * Yayoi Museum

Transportation

Train stations

Toei subway lines

Toei Mita Line The is a subway line of the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei) network in Tokyo, Japan. The line runs between Nishi-Takashimadaira in Itabashi and Meguro in Shinagawa. Trains continue with direct service into the Meguro Line ...

: Sengoku, Hakusan, Kasuga, Suidōbashi *

Toei Ōedo Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). It commenced full operations on December 12, 2000; using the Japanese calendar this reads "12/12/12" as the year 2000 equals Heisei 12. T ...

: Iidabashi, Kasuga, Hongō Sanchōme

Tokyo Metro subway lines

Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro in Tokyo, Japan. On average, the line carries 1,447,730 passengers daily (2017), the second highest of the Tokyo Metro network, behind the Tozai Line (1,642,378).Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metro. The line runs in a U-shape between Ogikubo Station in Suginami and Ikebukuro Station in Toshima, with a branch line between Nakano-Sakaue Station and Hōnanchō Station. The offici ...

: Shin-Ōtsuka, Myōgadani, Kōrakuen, Hongō Sanchōme, Ochanomizu *

Tokyo Metro Yūrakuchō Line The is a subway line in Japan owned and operated by Tokyo Metro. The line connects Wakōshi Station in Wakō, Saitama and Shin-Kiba Station in Kōtō, Tokyo. On maps, diagrams and signboards, the line is shown using the color "gold" (), and ...

: Gokokuji, Edogawabashi *

Tokyo Metro Namboku Line The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro in Tokyo, Japan. The line runs between Meguro in Shinagawa and Akabane-Iwabuchi in Kita. The Namboku Line was referred to as Line 7 during the planning stages, thus the seldom-used officia ...

: Kōrakuen, Tōdaimae, Honkomagome

Highways

Shuto Expressway is a network of toll expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the . Most routes are grade-separated (elevated roads or tunnels) and central routes have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that requi ...

*No.5 Ikebukuro Route (Takebashi JCT—Bijogi JCT)

Notable people from Bunkyō

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

(

Nihongo is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been m ...

: 宮崎駿, ''Miyazaki Hayao''), Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, manga artist and one of the co-founders of

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...

Makiko Tanaka is a Japanese politician. She is the daughter of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and his official wife Hana. Early life Tanaka attended high school at Germantown Friends School in the United States and graduated from Waseda University. She s ...

(

: 田中眞紀子, ''Tanaka Makiko''), Japanese politician and daughter of

Kakuei Tanaka was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1947 to 1990, and was Prime Minister of Japan from 1972 to 1974. After a power struggle with Takeo Fukuda, he became the most influential member of the ruling Liberal ...

(former

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Sta ...

) *

Osamu Noguchi (24 January 1934 - 9 May 2016) is often credited for creating the sport and the term kickboxing. Biography Osamu Noguchi family moved to Shanghai in 1938 at the invitation of Yoshio Kodama, Noguchi spent his childhood being entertained by Jap ...

(

: 野口修, ''Noguchi Osamu''), the creator of Kickboxing *

Kaito Ishikawa is a Japanese voice actor. He is affiliated with Stay Luck. He voiced Nero in ''Devil May Cry'', Genos in ''One Punch Man'', Tenya Iida in ''My Hero Academia'' and Tobio Kageyama in '' Haikyu!!''. Biography Ishikawa performed in a production ...

(

: 石川界人, ''Ishikawa Kaito''),

Japanese voice actor Voice acting in Japan is an industry where actors provide voice-overs as characters or narrators in media including anime, video games, audio dramas, commercials, and dubbing for non-Japanese films and television programs. In Japan, and a ...

Yukio Hatoyama is a former Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 16 September 2009 to 8 June 2010. He was the first Prime Minister from the modern Democratic Party of Japan. First elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, Hatoy ...

(

: 鳩山由紀夫, ''Hatoyama Yukio''), Japanese politician and former

* Shinichiro Kobayashi (

: 小林伸一郎, ''Kobayashi Shin'ichirō''), Japanese photographer *

Teiichi Matsumaru was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. Club career Matsumaru was born in Bunkyo, Tokyo on February 28, 1909. He played for Keio BRB was consisted of his alma mater Keio University players and graduates. At Keio BRB ...

(

: 松丸貞一, ''Matsumaru Teiichi''), Japanese football player * Hiroto Muraoka (

: 村岡博人, ''Muraoka Hiroto''), Japanese football player *

Yu-ki Matsumura is a Japanese actor who has appeared in nine feature films, as well as a number of television series and theater productions. He is also a singer and has released eight albums and eight singles. He is represented with All-Stars Company. Biogra ...

(Real Name: Noriyuki Matsumura,

: 松村憲幸, ''Matsumura Noriyuki''), Japanese actor and

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

Yūko Minaguchi is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator from Bunkyō, Tokyo. She is affiliated with Aoni Production. In 2012, Minaguchi took a nineteen-month-long hiatus from acting in order to study abroad in the United States. This resulted in Shin ...

(

: 皆口裕子, ''Minaguchi Yūko''), Japanese actress,

voice actress Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

and

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

* Yukio Tsuchiya (

: 土屋征夫, ''Tsuchiya Yukio''), Japanese football player (

Tokyo 23 FC Tokyo 23 Football Club (東京23フットボールクラブ) is a Japanese football club based in the 23 special wards of Tokyo. Their motto is "Tokyo Pride" (Be Pride of the Tokyoites). The club now participates in the first division of Kanto ...

)

References

External links

*
Bunkyo City Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunkyo, Tokyo Wards of Tokyo