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Bunkyō

Special ward in Kantō, Japan

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
5 min read
Source updated August 30, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Bunkyō (文京区, Bunkyō-ku) is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as scholars and politicians have lived there. Bunkyō is home to the Tokyo Dome, Judo's Kōdōkan, and the University of Tokyo's Hongo Campus.

It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Hongo and Koishikawa wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Bunkyo ward exhibits contrasting Shitamachi and Yamanote geographical and cultural division. The Nezu and Sendagi neighborhoods in the ward's eastern corner are attached to the Shitamachi area in Ueno. On the other hand, the remaining areas of the ward typically represent Yamanote districts.

As of 2022, the ward has a population of 240,069 (including about 8,500 foreign residents), and a population density of 21,263 inhabitants per square kilometre (55,070/sq mi). The total area is 11.29 square kilometres (4.36 sq mi).

01History

Bunkyo was formed in 1947 as a merger of Hongo and Koishikawa wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis.

Denzū-in
Denzū-in

02Geography

Districts and neighborhoods

There are approximately twenty districts in the area and these are as follows:

Koishikawa Area
Hongō Area

03Politics and government

Bunkyo is governed by Mayor Hironobu Narisawa, an independent supported by the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito. The city council has 34 elected members.

04Economy

The publishing company Kodansha has its headquarters in the ward, and Kodansha International has its headquarters in the Otowa YK Building in the ward. The drugstore chain Tomod's has its headquarters in the ward. Penta-Ocean, the construction firm specializing in marine works and land reclamation also has its headquarters in Bunkyo. The automobile manufacturer Toyota has its Tokyo headquarters in the ward.

Aerial view of Bunkyo (southwest)
Aerial view of Bunkyo (southwest)

05Demographics

By 2025, increasing numbers of Chinese immigrant families, of wealthy backgrounds, were moving to the ward to enroll their children in local elementary schools.

06Cityscape

In 2025, real estate agency worker Bun Kaito stated that "The ward is also renowned for safety, often ranked as the safest in statistics."

07Landmarks

Akamon gate at the University of Tokyo
Akamon gate at the University of Tokyo

08Education

As of 2025 Bunkyo built up a reputation as having strong educational facilities, and this stems from institutions being established in the Meiji era in former samurai estates.

Universities and colleges

National

Private

Primary and secondary schools

Nationally-operated high schools:

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

The metropolis operates the Koishikawa Secondary Education School.

The metropolis operates the Bunkyo School for the Blind.

Public elementary and junior high schools are operated by Bunkyo Board of Education.

Municipal junior high schools:

Municipal elementary schools:

Four of those elementary schools (Kubomachi, Seishi, Sendagi, and Showa) are known as "3S1K", as having a very prominent status; by 2025 many Chinese immigrant families, looking for strong educational facilities, moved to the attendance zones of those schools to enroll their children there.

09Culture

In 2025 Kaito highlighted that Koishikawa-Kōrakuen made the ward attractive to Chinese families.

Museums

Former museums

10Transportation

Train stations

Toei subway lines

Tokyo Metro subway lines

Highways

Shuto Expressway

  • No.5 Ikebukuro Route (Takebashi JCT, Bijogi JCT)
Hosuinomori at Toyo University
Hosuinomori at Toyo University

11Sister cities

Bunkyō has a sister-city relationship with Kaiserslautern in the Rhineland-Palatinate of Germany.

12Notable people from Bunkyō

Watch videos about BunkyōExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Bunkyō”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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