Fushimi-ku, Kyoto

Fushimi
伏見区
Ward of Kyoto
Fushimi Momoyama Castle
Fushimi Momoyama Castle
Location of Fushimi in Kyoto
Location of Fushimi in Kyoto
Fushimi is located in Japan
Fushimi
Fushimi
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 34°56′10″N 135°45′41″E / 34.93611°N 135.76139°E / 34.93611; 135.76139
CountryJapan
RegionKinki (Kansai)
PrefectureKyoto
First official recorded473 AD
Fushimi City SettledMay 1, 1929
Merger with Kyoto CityApril 1, 1931
Area
 • Total61.66 km2 (23.81 sq mi)
Population
 (October 1, 2020)
 • Total277,858
 • Density4,500/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address681 Higashigumi-chō, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
612-8511
Websitewww.city.kyoto.lg.jp/fushimi/

Fushimi (伏見区, Fushimi-ku) is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Famous places in Fushimi include the Fushimi Inari Shrine, with thousands of torii lining the paths up and down a mountain; Fushimi Castle, originally built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, with its rebuilt towers and gold-lined tea-room; and the Teradaya, an inn at which Sakamoto Ryōma was attacked and injured about a year before his assassination. Also of note is the Gokōgu shrine, which houses a stone used in the construction of Fushimi Castle. The water in the shrine is particularly famous and it is recorded as one of Japan's 100 best clear water spots.

Although written with different characters now, the name Fushimi (which used to be its own "town") originally comes from fusu + mizu, meaning "hidden water" or "underground water". In other words, the location was known for good spring water. The water of Fushimi has particularly soft characteristics, making it an essential component to the particular type of sake brewed in Fushimi. This also explains why the area developed as a sake-brewing center in Kyoto. Today, Fushimi is the second greatest area of Japan in terms of sake production,[1] and is where the sake company Gekkeikan was founded.[2]

  1. ^ Kansai Window Archived 2009-04-25 at the Wayback Machine - "Japan's number one sake production", retrieved January 24, 2007
  2. ^ Gekkeikan (in English)

Developed by StudentB