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How Kawaramachi got its name

2025.12.22
Photo Credit: Satoshi Hirayama@pexels

Before I began to write this blog, I thought I knew what I was going to say. As I have done several times before, I set out to cover an aspect of Kyoto, in this case, a partial history of Kawaramachi Avenue. However, when I did some research into the topic, I found that my understanding was incorrect, or at a minimum incomplete, so let me cover what I got wrong.

A few years ago, when I was doing research into the river, Takasegawa, I had read that the “kawara” in Kawaramachi referred to roof tiles. “Machi” I knew meant area or town, so I had erroneously concluded that the place had taken its name from its proximity to the tile industry. However, while roof tiles were produced in the area, the “kawara” in Kawaramachi refers to a river plain and not roof tiles. This is clear if you look at the two root Kanji for “kawara” which separately mean “river” (河) and “plain” (原).  Thus, Kawaramachi is the area of the riverbed.

At first it might seem odd to name an area after a river plain and not the river itself, but I have a theory on why this was done. In the past, the widths of rivers would vary much more than they do nowadays, so flooding was a common threat. Stroll along the river between Shichijo Avenue and Kitaoji Avenue today and you will find signs that recall when the river became many times its normal size. In other words, if you wanted to build a house or business in the area, you needed to be cognizant of how wide the river could be. In effect, the name Kawaramachi is an apt warning for those who choose to inhabit the area: you can live here, but don’t be shocked if the river inundates your house.

Thankfully, the section of the Kamo river that passes through Kyoto city no longer poses the severe flooding risk that it once did.  Today, only rarely does the river breach any part of its levee and even when this happens the consequences are much smaller than in the past.  These days when most locals hear the name “Kawaramachi” they think of shopping and not riverbeds. 

Vocabulary
erroneously – incorrectly
cognizant – know something
inundate – flood, cover with water

Questions:
1.    What are the two translations for “kawara” mentioned in the essay?  
2.    Why does the author think the area was named after the river’s bed? 
3.    What do most people think of when they hear “Kawaramachi” today?

Scroll down for answers. ↓





















Answers:
A1. “Roof tiles” and “River plain”
A2. To warn residents of the risk of flooding
A3. Shopping

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