is one of the eleven wards in the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

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 ...

, in

Kyoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Kyoto Prefecture has a population of 2,561,358 () and has a geographic area of . Kyoto Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the northeast, Shiga Prefecture ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. 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, located in Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto, 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 ...

the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

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 s ...

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 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153,458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . History Ōtsu is ...

Shiga Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,398,972 as of 1 February 2025 and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to th ...

. 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, Kyoto, Yamashina-ku ward (east) to the vicinity of t ...

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 with trains running south to

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, 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 , officially named , is a Zen temple in the Sakyo ward of Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the constructions that represent the Higashiyama Culture of the Muromachi period. History Ashikaga Yoshimasa initiated plans for creating a retirement vi ...

, Nanzen-ji, Kamo Shrine,

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

, and Hōnen-in. ''See also: Rurikō-in Buddhist temple'' In the northern parts are Kuramadera, Kifunejinja, Sanzen-in, 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 modernism. Born to a noble family, he was adopted by the influential Iw ...

was imprisoned, the Shugakuin Imperial Villa and Manshuin Temple, and the Kyoto International Conference Hall where the

Kyoto Protocol The 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 global warming is oc ...

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 fami ...

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

The South Korean government maintains the Korea Education Institution (, ) 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 , or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen gra ...

. * Kyoto College of Graduate Studies for Informatics *

Kyoto Institute of Technology is a national university established in 1949 in Kyoto, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and ext ...

Kyoto Notre Dame University , also known as KNDU, is a small private university for women in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan. This is one of several Catholicism, Catholic universities in Japan. Notre Dame means “Our Lady” in French. Overview KNDU is located ...

* Kyoto Prefectural University *

Kyoto Seika University is a private university in Kyoto, Iwakura, Kyoto, Kyoto, 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 ...

* Kyoto University of the Arts The Kyoto Korean Junior High-High School, a North Korean school, is in the ward.Home page
Kyoto Korean Junior High-High School. 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