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 is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. In English, it is known as Taitō City. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 186,276, and a population density of 18,420 persons per km2. The total area is . This ...

wards: Yokoami, Midori, Chitose, Higashi

Nihonbashi is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, which sprung up around the bridge of the same name that has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The curre ...

, and Yanagibashi.

History

In 1659, the Ryōgoku Bridge was built, spanning the

Sumida River The is a river that flows through central Tokyo, Japan. It branches from the Arakawa River at Iwabuchi (in Kita-ku) and flows into Tokyo Bay. Its tributaries include the Kanda and Shakujii rivers. It passes through the Kita, Adachi, Arak ...

just upstream of its confluence with the

Kanda River The stretches 24.6 km from Inokashira Park in Mitaka, Tokyo, Mitaka to the Sumida River under the Ryōgoku Bridge at the boundary of Taito, Tokyo, Taitō, Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, and Sumida, Tokyo, Sumida. Its entire length lies within Tok ...

. Its name, meaning "two provinces", came from its joining

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

(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 ...

Musashi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Kawasaki and Yokohama. ...

) and

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture as well as the bordering parts of Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo (the parts that used to be located east of the lower reaches of the old Tone River prior to the ...

. 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 was the ''daimyō'' of the Akō Domain in Japan (1675–1701). His title was ''Takumi no Kami'' (). He is known as the person who triggered a series of incidents retold in a story known as ''Chūshingura'' (involving the forty-seven rōnin), ...

, 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 is a railway station in Yokoami, Sumida, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). Lines The station is served by the JR East Chūō-Sōbu Line and the Toei Oedo Line ...

in the neighboring Yokoami district was opened in 1904, bringing rail transportation to the area. Ryōgoku is home to the

Edo-Tokyo Museum The is a historical museum located at 1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida-Ku, Tokyo in the Ryogoku district. The museum opened in March 1993 to preserve Edo's cultural heritage, and features city models of Edo and Tokyo between 1590 (just prior to the ...

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 is a district in Taitō, Tokyo. The area extending from Ueno to Asakusa is part of the historical Shitamachi (literally "low city") district of Tokyo, which is often associated with working-class traditions and culture as well as their dist ...

and

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known for Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as . History The development of Asaku ...

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 , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The first ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the premises of the Ekōin temple i ...

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 Count , born , best known by his nickname , was a Japanese statesman, naval engineer and military commander during the late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy (Kaishū S ...

, statesman and naval engineer, who was born there in 1823.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Katsu Kaishū" in . Novelist

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa , art name , was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He took his own life at the age ...

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 a Japanese television host and writer. He also served briefly as a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. His real name was Ōhashi Katsumi (大橋克巳). Born in Sumida, Tokyo, he grew up in Chiba prefecture and dropped ...

was born there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryogoku Districts of Sumida, Tokyo