Taitō

Taitō

台東区
Taitō 台東区
Special ward
	Taitō City
	Asakusa Senso Temple and Nakamise Street Tokyo National Museum of Ueno Shinobazu Pond in Ueno Park View of cherry blossom in Ueno Park Ueno Zoo Ameya-Yokocho shopping street
	Flag Seal
	Location of Taitō in Tokyo Metropolis
	Taitō
	Coordinates: 35°42′45″N 139°46′48″E / 35.71250°N 139.78000°E
Country	Japan
Region	Kantō
Prefecture	Tokyo Metropolis
Government
• Mayor	Yukuo Hattori
Area
• Total	10.11 km2 (3.90 sq mi)
Population (October 1, 2020)
• Total	211,444
• Density	20,914/km2 (54,170/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)
Tree	Cherry blossom
Flower	Ipomoea nil
City Hall Address	Higashiueno 4-5-6, Taitō-ku, Tokyo 110-8615
Website	www.city.taito.lg.jp

The statue of Saigō Takamori in Ueno Park

Taitō (台東区, Taitō-ku) is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. In English, it is known as Taitō City.^[1]

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 10.11 square kilometres (3.90 sq mi). This makes Taito ward the smallest of Tokyo's wards in area, and third-smallest in population.

History

The ward was founded on March 15, 1947, with the merger of the old Asakusa and Shitaya wards when Tokyo City was transformed into Tokyo Metropolis. During the Edo period, the Yoshiwara licensed quarter was in what is now Taitō. Taitō shares the same Chinese characters, "台東" with Taitung, a city in Taiwan.

Geography

Situated in the northeastern portion of the wards area of Tokyo, Taitō is surrounded by five other special wards: Chiyoda, Bunkyō, Arakawa, Sumida and Chūō.

Districts and neighborhoods

Asakusa area

Asakusa
Asakusabashi
Hanakawado
Hashiba
Higashi-Asakusa (East Asakusa)
Imado
Kaminarimon
Kiyokawa
Kojima
Komagata
Kotobuki
Kuramae
Matsugaya
Misuji
Motoasakusa
Nihonzutsumi (Japan dike)
Nishi-Asakusa (West Asakusa)
Torigoe
Yanagibashi

Shitaya area

Akihabara
Higashi-Ueno (East Ueno)
Ikenohata
Iriya
Kita-Ueno (North Ueno)
Minowa
Negishi [ja]
Ryusen
Senzoku
Shitaya
Taito
Ueno
Ueno-koen (Ueno Park)
Uenosakuragi
Yanaka

Landmarks

Taitō is famous for its typical Shitamachi districts. The Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center provides amenities to both tourists and locals.

Temples and shrines

Parks

Museums and zoos

Entertainment

Suzumoto Engeijo (Suzumoto Vaudeville Hall)
Asakusa Vaudeville Hall

Economy

Eiken Chemical, a clinical diagnostics and equipment manufacturer, has its headquarters in Taito.^[3] Tokyo Ricoh Office Solution and Ricoh Technosystems, divisions of Ricoh, are headquartered in Taitō as of 2008.^[4]^[5] Chikumashobo, a publisher, has its headquarters in the Kuramae (蔵前) area of the ward.^[6]

Retail

Matsuzakaya department store in Ueno
Matsuya department store in Asakusa

Other

Taiyo Yuden, electronics and materials company in Ueno

Events

Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival
Asakusa Samba Carnival
Torigoe Shrine Matsuri
Sanja Matsuri, one of the three great festivals of Tokyo

Education

Colleges and universities

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
Ueno Gakuen University

Primary and secondary schools

Prefectural public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.

Hakuo High School [ja]
Asakusa High School [ja]
Kuramae Technical High School [ja]
Shinobugaoka High School [ja]
Ueno High School [ja]
Ueno Shinobugaoka High School^{[citation needed]}
Taito Commercial High School^{[citation needed]}
Taito Chuyakan High School^{[citation needed]}

Private schools:

Ueno Gakuen Junior and Senior High School [ja]

The school district of the metropolis also operates one metropolitan junior high school:

Hakuo Junior High School [ja]

The Taito City Board of Education (台東区教育委員会) operates municipal elementary and junior high schools.

Municipal junior high schools:^[7]

Asakusa Junior High School (浅草中学校)
Hakuyo Junior High School (柏葉中学校)
Komagata Junior High School (駒形中学校)
Okachimachi Taito Junior High School (御徒町台東中学校)
Sakurabashi Junior High School (台東区立桜橋中学校)
Shinobugaoka Junior High School (忍岡中学校)
Ueno Junior High School (上野中学校)

Municipal elementary schools:^[8]

Asakusa Elementary School (浅草小学校)
Fuji Elementary School (富士小学校)
Heisei Elementary School (平成小学校)
Higashi Asakusa Elementary School (東浅草小学校)
Ishihama Elementary School (石浜小学校)
Kanasogi Elementary School (金曽木小学校)
Kinryu Elementary School (金竜小学校)
Kuramae Elementary School (蔵前小学校)
Kuromon Elementary School (黒門小学校)
Matsuba Elementary School (松葉小学校)
Negishi Elementary School (根岸小学校)
Senzoku Elementary School (千束小学校)
Shinobugaoka Elementary School (忍岡小学校)
Taisho Elementary School (大正小学校)
Taito Ikuei Elementary School (台東育英小学校)
Tawara Elementary School (田原小学校)
Tosen Elementary School (東泉小学校)
Ueno Elementary School (上野小学校)
Yanaka Elementary School (谷中小学校)

Public libraries

Taito operates several public libraries, including the Central Library, the Central Library Asakusabashi Branch, the Negishi Library, and the Ishihama Library. The Central Library is located in the first and second floors of the Lifelong Learning Center.^[9]

Other

The city operates the Lifelong Learning Center, a complex including a multi-media room, a studio, and other facilities. The Central Library is on the first and second floors of the Lifelong Learning Center.^[9]

Transportation

Rail

JR East
- Tōhoku Shinkansen, Jōetsu Shinkansen, Akita Shinkansen, Yamagata Shinkansen: Ueno Station
- Tōhoku Main Line
- Yamanote Line, Keihin-Tōhoku Line: Okachimachi, Ueno, Uguisudani Stations. Also, Nippori Station (on the boundary with Taitō)
- Utsunomiya Line, Takasaki Line: Ueno Station
- Jōban Line: Officially, the line begins at Nippori Station, although most trains start/terminate at Ueno Station
Tokyo Metro
- Ginza Line: Ueno-Hirokoji, Inarichō, Tawaramachi, Asakusa Stations
- Hibiya Line: Okachimachi, Ueno, Iriya, Minowa Stations
Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation
- Toei Asakusa Line: Asakusa-bashi, Kuramae, Asakusa Stations
- Toei Ōedo Line: Ueno-Okachimachi, Shin-Okachimachi, Kuramae Stations
Keisei Electric Railway Keisei Main Line: Keisei Ueno Station
Tobu Railway Skytree Line: Asakusa Station
Tsukuba Express: Shin-Okachimachi, Asakusa Stations

Highways

Sports and recreation

The City of Taito operates the Taito Riverside Sports Center. The center includes a gymnasium, tennis courts, two baseball fields for adults, one baseball field for children, one large swimming pool, one children's pool, and an athletic field. The gymnasium includes two courts, two budo halls, a Japanese-style archery range, a sumo ring, a training room, a table tennis room, an air-rifle shooting range, and a meeting room.^[9]

People

Remi Hirano, Japanese chef, TV personality and chanson singer
Makoto Shimizu, Japanese Musician
Nobuo Kaneko, Japanese actor
Toriyama Sekien, ukiyo-e artist of Japanese folklore^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b "English name of Taitō". Archived from the original on July 16, 2006. Retrieved July 20, 2006.
^ "Population by District". Tokyo Statistical Yearbook. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
^ "Corporate Profile." Eiken Chemical. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
^ "Topics – Annual Report 2006 Archived February 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine." Ricoh. Retrieved January 13, 2009.
^ "Ricoh Group Registration Scope." Ricoh. Retrieved January 13, 2009.
^ 筑摩書房会社概要. Chikumashobo. Retrieved November 2, 2014. 本社〒111-8755 東京都台東区蔵前2-5-3 (Archive ).
^ "中学校". Taito. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
^ "小学校". Taito. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Public Facilities Archived June 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine." City of Taito. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
^ Brecher, Puck (2009). "Down and out in Negishi: Reclusion and Struggle in an Edo Suburb" (PDF). The Journal of Japanese Studies. 35 (1). The Society for Japanese Studies: 18. doi:10.1353/jjs.0.0047. JSTOR 27756616. Retrieved November 14, 2021.