is one of the 23 special wards

Special wards of Tokyo

The are 23 municipalities that together make up the core and the most populous part of Tokyo, Japan. Together, they occupy the land that was the city of Tokyo before it was abolished in 1943. The special wards' structure was established under the Japanese Local Autonomy Law and is unique to...

 of Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan. It calls itself Sumida City in English.

As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 240,296 and a density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 17,480 persons per km². The total area is 13.75 km².

Sumida maintains sister-city relationships with Seodaemun-gu

Seodaemun-gu

Seodaemun-gu is a gu located in northwestern Seoul, South Korea. The name derives from Seodaemun, meaning literally "Great West Gate", which was once located in the district...

, Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

; and with Shijingshan District

Shijingshan District

Shijingshan District is an urban district of the municipality of Beijing. It lies to the west of the urban core of Beijing, and is part of the Western Hills area...

, Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

.

Geography

Sumida is in the northeastern part of the mainland portion of Tokyo. The Sumida and Arakawa are the major rivers, and form parts of its boundaries. Its neighbors are all special wards: Adachi

Adachi, Tokyo

is one of the Special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is located north of the heart of Tokyo. The ward consists of two separate areas: a small strip of land between the Sumida River and Arakawa River and a larger area north of the Arakawa River...

 to the north; Arakawa

Arakawa, Tokyo

is a special ward located in Tokyo, Japan. The ward takes its name from the river, the Arakawa, though the Arakawa River does not run through or touch the ward. Its neighbors are the wards of Adachi, Kita, Bunkyo, Taito and Sumida. In English, the ward calls itself Arakawa City.Arakawa has...

 to the northwest; Katsushika

Katsushika, Tokyo

is one of the special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It lies in the northeast of the ward area. The ward calls itself Katsushika City in English.As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 429,289 and a density of 12,600 people per km²...

 to the east; Edogawa

Edogawa, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It takes its name from the river that runs from north to south along the eastern edge of the ward. In English, it uses the name Edogawa City....

 to the southeast; Taitō

Taito, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself Taito City.As of April 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 168,909, with 94,908 households, and a population density of 16,745.86 persons per km². The total area is 10.08 km².-History:The ward was founded...

 to the west; Chūō

Chuo, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards that form the heart of Tokyo, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Chūō City in English.Its Japanese name literally means "Central Ward," and it is historically the main commercial center of Tokyo, although Shinjuku has risen to challenge it since the end of World War II...

 to the southwest; and Kōtō

Koto, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 442,271 and a population density of 11,070 persons per km². The total area is 39.48 km². The ward refers to itself as Kōtō City in English....

 to the south.

Landmarks

• Tokyo Sky Tree: NHK
  NHK
  NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
  
   and other broadcasters have proposed a new tower, which, when completed, will be the tallest freestanding tower in the world and the tallest man-made structure in Japan. It is currently scheduled for completion in 2011, when all of Japan will have switched to digital terrestrial television
  Digital terrestrial television
  Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
  
  .
• Ryōgoku Kokugikan
  Ryogoku Kokugikan
  , also known as Sumo Hall, is an indoor sporting arena located in the Ryōgoku neighborhood of Sumida, one of the 23 wards of Tokyo in Japan, next to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It is the third building built in Tokyo associated with the name kokugikan. The current building was opened in 1985 and has a...
  
   (National Sumo Stadium)
• Edo-Tokyo Museum
  Edo-Tokyo Museum
  The is a museum of the history of Tokyo, established in 1993. The main features of the permanent exhibitions are the life-size replica of the Nihonbashi, which was the bridge leading into Edo; the Nakamuraza theatre; scale models of town; and buildings from the Edo, Meiji and Shōwa periods.The...
  
  
• Asahi Breweries
  Asahi Breweries
  Asahi Breweries, Ltd. is a leading brewery and soft drink company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company has a 40% share of the Japanese beer market....
  
   Headquarters: The Asahi Beer Hall
  Asahi Beer Hall
  The Asahi Beer Hall is one of the buildings of the Asahi Breweries headquarters located on the east bank of the Sumida River in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed by French designer Philippe Starck and was completed in 1989...
  
   with the Asahi flame created by French designer Philippe Starck
  Philippe Starck
  Philippe Patrick Starck is a French product designer and probably the best known designer in the New Design style...
  
   in 1989, is one of Tokyo's most recognizable modern structures.
• Eko-in
  Eko-in
  , also known as Honjo Ekōin, is a Pure Land Buddhist temple in Ryōgoku, Tokyo. The formal name of the temple is , reflecting its founding principle of Pariṇāmanā, or the spreading of Amida Buddha's benevolence to all souls of all living creatures.-History:...
  
  : Buddhist
  Buddhism
  Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
  
   temple
• Honjo Matsuzaka-cho Park: the residence of Kira Yoshinaka
  Kira Yoshinaka
  was a kōke . His court title was Kōzuke no suke. He is famous as the adversary of Asano Naganori in the events of the Forty-seven Ronin...
  
   stood on this site. The Forty-seven Ronin
  Forty-seven Ronin
  The revenge of the , also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the took place in Japan at the start of the 18th century...
  
   took his life during the Genroku
  Genroku
  was a after Jōkyō and before Hōei. This period spanned the years from September 1688 through March 1704. The reigning emperor was .The years of Genroku are generally considered to be the Golden Age of the Edo Period. The previous hundred years of peace and seclusion in Japan had created relative...
  
   era.
• Hokusai-dori (street), with a series of prints by famed Japanese artist Hokusai
  Hokusai
  was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. He was influenced by such painters as Sesshu, and other styles of Chinese painting...
  
   who was born in the Kamezawa area of Sumida.
• Tobu Museum
• Tokyo Irei-do (Tokyo Memorial Hall): a memorial to those unidentified people who died in the Great Kantō Earthquake, the Bombing of Tokyo in World War II
  Bombing of Tokyo in World War II
  The bombing of Tokyo, often referred to as a "firebombing", was conducted by the United States Army Air Forces during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. The U.S. mounted a small-scale raid on Tokyo in April 1942, with large morale effects...
  
   and other catastrophes
• Yokoamicho Park
  Yokoamicho Park
  is a public park in the Yokoami district of Sumida, Tokyo, Japan.-History:Following the Great Kantō earthquake on 1 September 1923, as many as 44,000 people were killed in the park when it was swept by a firestorm...
  
  , in the Yokoami district

Places

• In the north (the former Mukojima Ward): Sumida, Tsutsumi-dori, Higashi Sumida, Yahiro, Higashi Mukojima, Tachibana, Bunka, Kyojima, Oshiage
• In the center (former Honjo Ward): Azuma-bashi, Higashi Komagata, Honjo, Narihira, Yokokawa
• In the south (former Honjo Ward): Yokoami, Ryogoku, Chitose, Ishiwara, Kamezawa, Midori, Tatekawa, Kikukawa, Taihei, Kinshi, Koto-bashi

History

The ward was founded on March 15, 1947. It was previously the (ordinary) wards Honjo and Mukojima. Mukojima, formed in 1932, contained the former town of Sumida, which along with the river gave the ward its name.

Companies

• Asahi Breweries
  Asahi Breweries
  Asahi Breweries, Ltd. is a leading brewery and soft drink company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company has a 40% share of the Japanese beer market....
  
   has its headquarters in Azuma-bashi.
• Japan Tobacco
  Japan Tobacco
  , abbreviated JT, is a cigarette manufacturing company. It is part of the Nikkei 225 index. In 2009 the company was listed at number 312 on the Fortune 500 list. The company is headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo. The international headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.-History:The company...
  
   has a plant in Yokokawa.
• Keisei Electric Railway
  Keisei Electric Railway
  The is a major private railway in Chiba and Tokyo, Japan. The name Keisei is the combination of the kanji 京 from and 成 from , which the railways main line connects. The combination uses different readings than the ones used in the city names. The railway's main line runs from Tokyo to Narita and...
  
   has its headquarters in Oshiage.
• Lion Corporation, the detergent and toiletries giant, has its home office in Honjo.
• Tobu Railway
  Tobu Railway
  is a Japanese commuter railway company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. It operates in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Tochigi, and Gunma Prefectures...
  
   has its headquarters in Oshiage.

Rail lines

• JR East
  East Japan Railway Company
  is the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo....
  
   Sōbu Main Line: Kinshichō, Ryōgoku Stations
• Tobu Railway
  Tobu Railway
  is a Japanese commuter railway company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. It operates in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Tochigi, and Gunma Prefectures...
  
  
  • Tōbu Isesaki Line: Oshiage, Narihira-bashi, Hikifune, Higashi-Mukōjima, Kanegafuchi Stations
  • Tōbu Kameido Line: Higashi-Azuma, Omurai, Hikifune Stations
• Keisei Electric Railway
  Keisei Electric Railway
  The is a major private railway in Chiba and Tokyo, Japan. The name Keisei is the combination of the kanji 京 from and 成 from , which the railways main line connects. The combination uses different readings than the ones used in the city names. The railway's main line runs from Tokyo to Narita and...
  
   Keisei Oshiage Line: Oshiage, Keisei Hikifune, Yahiro Stations
• Tokyo Metro Hanzōmon Line
  Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line
  The is a subway line owned and operated by Tokyo Metro located in Tokyo, Japan.-Overview:The 16.8 km line serves the wards of Shibuya, Minato, Chiyoda, Chūō, Kōtō and Sumida. Hanzōmon Line trains run through onto the Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line from Shibuya Station and the Tōbu Isesaki Line from...
  
  : Kinshichō, Oshiage Stations
• Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation
  Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation
  The is Tokyo's public transportation authority. Its subway lines are commonly described as 都営 Toei, meaning "operated by the metropolitan government ." It is one of two rapid transit systems making up the Tokyo subway system, the other being Tokyo Metro.-Toei Subway:The lines were originally...
  
  
  • Toei Asakusa Line: Honjō Azuma-bashi, Oshiage Stations
  • Toei Shinjuku Line
    Toei Shinjuku Line
    The is a subway line in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation . The line runs between Motoyawata Station in Ichikawa, Chiba in the east and Shinjuku Station in the west...
    
    : Kikukawa Station
  • Toei Ōedo Line
    Toei Oedo Line
    The is a subway line in Tokyo, Japan operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation . It commenced full operations on December 12, 2000; using the Japanese calendar this reads "12/12/12" as the year 2000 equals Heisei 12...
    
    : Ryōgoku Station

Train stations

Higashi-Azuma Station Higashi-Mukōjima Station Higashi-Mukōjima Station is a railway station in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tobu Railway.-Lines:The station is served by the Tōbu Isesaki Line from Asakusa Station in Tokyo to Isesaki in Gunma Prefecture... Hikifune Station Honjō Azumabashi Station Kanegafuchi Station Kanegafuchi Station is a railway station in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tobu Railway.-Lines:Kanegafuchi station is served by the Tobu Isesaki Line, and is located 4.2 km from the Tokyo terminus at .-Station layout:... Kinshichō Station

Kikukawa Station Narihira-bashi Station Omurai Station Oshiage Station Oshiage Station Oshiage Station is a train station located at the Oshiage-eki-mae intersection of Metropolitan Routes 453 and 465 in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan... Ryōgoku Station Ryogoku Station is a railway station in Yokoami, Sumida, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company and Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation .-Lines:... Yahiro Station

Highway

• Shuto Expressway
  Shuto Expressway
  is a network of toll expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the .Most routes consist of elevated roadway above other roads or over water, and have many sharp curves which require caution to drive safely...
  
  
  • C2 Central Loop
  • No.6 Mukōjima Route
  • No.7 Komatsugawa Route
• National highways
  National highways of Japan
  Japan has a nationwide system of distinct from the expressways. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other government agencies administer the national highways. Beginning in 1952, Japan classified these as Class 1 or Class 2. Class 1 highways had one- or two-digit numbers, while...
  
  
  • Route 6
  • Route 14

Historical

• Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
  Ryunosuke Akutagawa
  was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "Father of the Japanese short story". He committed suicide at age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.-Early life:...
  
   lived in Mukojima
• Enomoto Takeaki
  Enomoto Takeaki
  Viscount was a samurai and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu period Japan, who remained faithful to the Tokugawa shogunate who fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War...
  
   lived in Mukojima
• Hasegawa Heizo lived in Honjō
• Katsushika Hokusai
  Hokusai
  was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. He was influenced by such painters as Sesshu, and other styles of Chinese painting...
  
   was born in Kamezawa
• Katsu Kaishū
  Katsu Kaishu
  was a Japanese statesman, naval engineer during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy by Sakuma Shōzan. He went through a series of given names throughout his life; his childhood name was and his real name was...
  
   was born in Kamezawa
• Kōda Rohan
  Koda Rohan
  who used the pen name was a Japanese author in the Meiji period. His daughter, Aya Kōda, was also a noted author who often wrote about him.Kōda wrote "The Icon of Liberty", also known as "The Buddha of Art" or "The Elegant Buddha", in 1889. A house in which Kōda lived was rebuilt in 1972 by the...
  
   lived in Mukōjima
• Matsuo Bashō
  Matsuo Basho
  , born , then , was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku...
  
   lived in Honjō
• Mori Ōgai
  Mori Ogai
  was a Japanese physician, translator, novelist and poet. is considered his major work.- Early life :Mori was born as Mori Rintarō in Tsuwano, Iwami province . His family were hereditary physicians to the daimyō of the Tsuwano Domain...
  
   lived in Mukōjima
• Nezumi Kozō
  Nezumi Kozo
  Nezumi Kozō is the nickname of Nakamura Jirokichi , a Japanese thief and folk hero who lived in Edo during the Edo period.-Capture and tattoo:In 1822, he was caught and tattooed, and banished from Edo...
  
   (Jirokichi): A memorial is located at Eko-in
  Eko-in
  , also known as Honjo Ekōin, is a Pure Land Buddhist temple in Ryōgoku, Tokyo. The formal name of the temple is , reflecting its founding principle of Pariṇāmanā, or the spreading of Amida Buddha's benevolence to all souls of all living creatures.-History:...
  
  

Modern

• Haruka Igawa
  Haruka Igawa
  Haruka Igawa is a Japanese actress.-Personal life:Haruka married fashion designer Matsumoto Ato and has one daughter -Recognitions:* 39th Golden Arrow Award: Graph Award...
  
  : actress, model
• Chosuke Ikariya
  Chosuke Ikariya
  was a Japanese comedian and film actor, and leader of the Owarai comedy group The Drifters. His nickname was .-1931–1962: Early career:Chōsuke Ikariya was born with the name of on November 1, 1931 in Tokyo, Japan. During the war his family moved from their home in Sumida, Tokyo to the countryside...
  
  : actor, comedian (The Drifters)
• Nana Kinomi
  Nana Kinomi
  , born July 11, 1946 in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese actress and singer.-Selected works:* Abunai Keiji* Daitokai* Otoko wa Tsurai yo* Yogoreta Eiyu* Furuhata Ninzaburo-External links:...
  
  : actress
• Masao Oba: former WBA flyweight champion
• Sadaharu Oh
  Sadaharu Oh
  Sadaharu Oh, or Wang Chenchih , is a retired Japanese-Taiwanese baseball player and manager. He batted and threw left-handed and primarily played first base. Oh, who was born in Sumida, Tokyo the son of a Taiwanese father and a Japanese mother, had originally signed with the powerhouse Yomiuri...
  
  : baseball player and manager
• Kazuhito Tadano
  Kazuhito Tadano
  is a right-handed pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific League. He had previously pitched in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians.-Biography:...
  
  : Major League Baseball player
• Suihō Tagawa: manga artist
• Hisanori Takahashi
  Hisanori Takahashi
  is a Japanese Major League Baseball pitcher who is currently with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.-Career:-Nippon Professional Baseball:Takahashi previously spent his entire professional career with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball...
  
  : baseball player
• Yoshihiro Takayama
  Yoshihiro Takayama
  is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Takayama is well known for his ability to endure massive amounts of punishment, especially after his fight at PRIDE 21 against Don Frye...
  
  : pro wrestler
• Chisa Yokoyama
  Chisa Yokoyama
  is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo. She is founder and head of her own voice company called Banbina after leaving Arts Vision. When she was a high school student, she was an assistant of Jump Broadcasting Station of Weekly Shōnen Jump...
  
  : voice actor

Education

Public elementary and middle schools are operated by Sumida.

Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education is the board of education in Tokyo, Japan. The board manages the individual school systems within the metropolis. The board also directly manages all of the public high schools in Tokyo...

.

• Honjo High School
• Mukojima Commercial High School
• Mukojima Technical High School
• Ryogoku High School
• Sumidagawa High School
• Tachibana High School

In addition the metropolitan school district also operates a metropolitan junior high school:

• Ryogoku Junior High School

Works set in Sumida

• Chushingura, the fictional account of the events surrounding the revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin
  Forty-seven Ronin
  The revenge of the , also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the took place in Japan at the start of the 18th century...
  
  
• Bokuto Kitan, the novel by Nagai Kafu
  Nagai Kafu
  is the pen name of Japanese author, playwright, essayist, and diarist Nagai Sōkichi . His works are noted for their depictions of life in early 20th-century Tokyo, especially among geisha, prostitutes, cabaret dancers, and other denizens of the city's lively entertainment districts.-Biography:Kafū...
  
  
• You're Under Arrest

External links

• Sumida official website in English