Ukyō-ku, Kyoto

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The karesansui garden at Ryoan-ji is one of Kyoto's most famous sights.

Ukyō-ku (右京区, Ukyō-ku^?) is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The word Ukyō (右京, Ukyō^? right capital), as opposed to Sakyō (左京, Sakyō^? left capital), refers to the western half of the ancient capital of Heiankyō (Kyoto). The area of ancient Ukyō slightly overlaps the area of present Ukyō-ku.

Ukyo-ku is home to many renowned sites, including

Arashiyama, a hill famed for its maple leaves and the Togetsu-kyō, the Bridge to the Moon
Ninna-ji, a Buddhist temple with a fine pagoda
Ryoan-ji, the Zen Buddhist temple with the karesansui (dry-landscape, i.e. raked stones) garden
Sagano, a neighborhood with many temples, as well as Rakushi-sha, the Fallen Persimmon Hut
Uzumasa, the location of Kōryū-ji, a temple founded before Kyoto became the Imperial capital. The neighborhood is also the home of the Tōei Uzumasa Eigamura studios and the center of Japan's television and film industries.

On April 1, 2005, the ward expanded its territory to the area of former town of Keihoku when the town merged into the city of Kyoto. This increased the ward's territory from 74.27 km² to 291.95 km².

As of April 1, 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 202,992 and a density of 694.39 persons per km².