Around Ryogoku Station: before it was Ryogoku

Ryogoku Means Two Provinces

The name Ryogoku literally means two provinces. During the Edo period, the Sumida River marked a boundary between Musashi Province on the western bank and Shimosa Province on the eastern bank. A bridge connecting them was originally known as Ohashi, meaning Great Bridge. According to Sumida City's local-history materials, the bridge was renamed Ryogokubashi in 1693, when another crossing called Shin-Ohashi was built. Its new name emphasized the connection between the two provinces. The bridge helped develop the Honjo area on the eastern bank and became an important route across the river. Eventually, the name of the crossing became the name of the surrounding district and the railway station. The present Ryogokubashi was completed in 1932. What looks like a single Tokyo neighborhood today was once divided by a provincial boundary.

→ Stand on Ryogokubashi and look across the Sumida River: the western bank was Musashi, while the eastern bank was Shimosa.

Sources (in Japanese): 墨田区郷土文化資料館・今と昔の橋物語, 墨田区・両国まちあるき瓦版

Was Tokyo's Sumo District Originally a Place of Mourning?

Ryogoku's history begins with one of Edo's worst disasters. In 1657, the Great Fire of Meireki destroyed more than half the city. The Tokugawa government established Ekoin Temple to commemorate and bury victims of the catastrophe.

On December 13, 1659, Ryogoku Bridge was completed across the Sumida River. Connecting the historical provinces of Musashi and Shimosa, it helped transform the eastern bank into a developing urban district.

Ekoin later became a center of charitable sumo exhibitions. From 1833, it served as a regular venue for spring and autumn tournaments. On June 2, 1909, the first Kokugikan opened within the temple grounds. Designed by Kingo Tatsuno and Manji Kasai, its great steel-supported dome became famous.

The original arena endured fires, the 1923 earthquake and wartime destruction. After the war, it was requisitioned by the Allied Occupation authorities. Sumo subsequently moved to Kuramae, where a new arena was completed in 1954. In 1985, the Kokugikan returned to Ryogoku, restoring the district's historic association with Japan's national sport.

→ Visit Ekoin Temple to find memorials to the Great Fire and a monument honoring sumo elders, then walk toward the present-day Kokugikan north of Ryogoku Station.

Sources (in Japanese): 墨田区・墨田区の通史年表, 墨田区・両国まちあるき瓦版 Vol.5, 日本相撲協会・明治時代の大相撲, 浄土宗・新纂浄土宗大辞典：回向院