is a district in

Sumida, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Sumida City. As of 1 April 2025, the ward has an estimated population of 287,766 and a population dens ...

. It is surrounded by various districts in Sumida, Chūō, and Taitō wards: Yokoami, Midori, Chitose, Higashi Nihonbashi, and Yanagibashi.

History

In 1659, the Ryōgoku Bridge was built, spanning the Sumida River just upstream of its confluence with the Kanda River. Its name, meaning "two provinces", came from its joining Edo (the forerunner of

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in Musashi Province) and Shimōsa Province. The district derived its name from that of the bridge. The

Forty-seven rōnin The revenge of the , also known as the or Akō vendetta, was a historical event in Japan in which a band of ''rōnin'' (lordless samurai) avenged the death of their former master on 31 January 1703. The incident has since become legendary. I ...

avenged the death of their lord, Asano Naganori, by breaking into the mansion of his enemy,

Kira Yoshinaka (October 5, 1641 – January 30, 1703) was a Japanese ''kōke'' (master of ceremonies). His court title was ''Kokushi (officials), Kōzuke no suke (上野介)''. He is famous as the adversary of Asano Naganori in the events of the forty-seven ...

, in 1703. Part of the mansion has been preserved in a public park in Ryōgoku. At 2 a.m. on 26 January 1881, a fire broke out in Ryōgoku. Due to strong seasonal winds, the fire spread throughout Tokyo and destroyed over 10,000 buildings. The fire was the largest of the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, 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 feu ...

. Ryōgoku Station in the neighboring Yokoami district was opened in 1904, bringing rail transportation to the area. Ryōgoku is home to the Edo-Tokyo Museum.

Sumo

Because the Ryōgoku bridge was developed in the region, 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 ...

this part of Tokyo became as significant as Ueno and Asakusa.

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestling began to grow very popular due to the Kanjin sumo, which were championships organized to raise money for the construction of temples. These tournaments were held at the Eko-in temple. Ryōgoku is regarded as the heartland of professional sumo. Most training stables or '' heya'' are based there. The first Ryōgoku Kokugikan stadium for sumo was completed in 1909. The present one was built in 1985 in the Yokoami district north of Ryōgoku. Three of professional sumo's six annual official tournaments take place there in January, May and September at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan.

Education

Sumida City Board of Education (墨田区教育委員会) operates public elementary and junior high schools. Ryōgoku is zoned to Ryōgoku Elementary School (両国小学校) and Ryōgoku Junior High School ( 両国中学校).

Notable people

Famous people connected with Ryōgoku include Katsu Kaishū, statesman and naval engineer, who was born there in 1823.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Katsu Kaishū" in . Novelist Ryūnosuke Akutagawa was raised in the district. Television personality and former member of the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...

Kyosen Ōhashi was born there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryogoku Districts of Sumida, Tokyo