Nijō Street (二条通にじょうどおり ''Nijō dōri'') is a major street that crosses the center of the city of

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

from east to west, running for approximately 3.5 km from Shirakawa Street (east) to the

Nijō Castle is a flatland Japanese castle, castle in Kyoto, Japan. The castle consists of two concentric rings (Kuruwa) of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. The surface area ...

(west).

History

Current day Nijō Street corresponds to the Nijō Ōji of the

Heian-kyō Heian-kyō was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the official capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180. Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, mo ...

, which according to records had a total wide of 51 meters (actual road section 43.8 meters wide), being the second widest road of the time, after the

Suzaku Avenue is the name given to the central avenue leading to the Imperial Palace from the south in Japanese capitals. Traditionally the Imperial palace complex faces south, whilst Suzaku Avenue leads directly away from the main gate. Cities were often ba ...

. During the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

it was a drugstore district with the approval of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

and to this day some of these businesses still remain in the area. From 1895 to 1926, a

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

operated by the former Kyoto Electric Railway ran on the street, between Teramachi Street and Jingū Michi Street.

Present Day

Nowadays the section west of Teramachi Street becomes a narrow one-way road. An important number of cultural, art and education related institutions are located in the vicinity of the street as well.

Relevant Landmarks Along the Street

Source: *

Kyoto City Zoo Kyoto City Zoo (京都市動物園) is a zoo located in Sakyō ward, Kyoto and was established in 1903, making it the second oldest zoo in the country after Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. The Kyoto City Zoo is a member of the world Association of Zoos an ...

National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto The is an art museum in Kyoto, Japan. This Kyoto museum is also known by the English acronym MoMAK (Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto). History The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (MoMAK) was initially created as the Annex Museum of the Nationa ...

Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art The is located in Okazaki Park in Sakyō-ku Kyoto. Formerly , it is one of the oldest art museums in Japan. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Museums"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 671-673. it opened in 1928 as ''Shōwa Imperial Coronation Art ...

* Kyoto Prefectural Library *

ROHM Theatre Kyoto Rohm Theatre Kyoto, officially known as Kyoto Kaikan, is a concert hall and performance venue located in Kyoto, Japan. The main hall was first opened in 1960 and seated 2,005 patrons. The facility closed in 2012 and was redeveloped over a four-y ...

* Miyako Messe * The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto * Bank of Japan Kyoto Branch * Shimadzu Foundation Memorial Hall * HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO *

History

Present Day

Relevant Landmarks Along the Street

References

External links