Why is Kita called Kita?


Kita (The North)

Kita-ku's logo is a Pink K.
I see what you did there…

Until the 1940’s, this ward didn’t exist. In the 1930’s, 郡 gun districts of Tōkyō were abolished and absorbed into wards or other administrative areas. The former 北豊島郡 Kita Toshima-gun North Toshima District was broken up. Toshima Ward was created in 1932 but two remaining areas of the former district, namely 滝野川 Takinogawa, 王子 Ōji, and 岩淵 Iwabuchi were merged into a new ward in  in 1947. Many names were suggested for the ward, but since the area is in the northernmost part of Tōkyō and is comprised of areas of the former North Toshima district, the name Kita was chosen – reflecting the area’s heritage and geographic reality.

And that’s all she wrote, biatch!

4 thoughts on “Why is Kita called Kita?

  1. Haha, yeah. I always thought it was a pretty unimaginative name until I heard there was at least some tiny connection to the past (ie; the old Kita Toshima-gun).

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