Motogakku

District Names That Outlived Their Schools

In 1869 (Meiji 2), Kyoto opened 64 bangumi elementary schools based on the chōgumi (federations of neighborhoods). The areas that came together around each school later came to be called gakku (school districts). The chōgumi fixed by the second chōgumi reform of 1869 lead directly to today's motogakku.

Until they were abolished by the National School Ordinance of 1941, gakku were self-governing bodies with their own finances that paid for education. After the war, some elementary schools were converted into new junior high schools, and elementary-school attendance zones no longer lined up neatly with the old gakku. Even so, the gakku survived as units of residents' self-government handling local welfare and other matters. These are the motogakku.

A School Zone and a Motogakku Are Not the Same

Today's school zone (attendance zone) determines which municipal elementary and junior high school a child attends. The Kyoto City Board of Education assigns schools by attendance zones based on the town and lot number of each address. A motogakku, on the other hand, is a community unit used for self-government, disaster preparedness, social welfare, festivals, sports days, and the like. Depending on the address, the school zone and the motogakku may have different names and boundaries.

The list of town names by attendance zone shows attendance zones only; it does not show the "(former) gakku" used for community activities. When you look into moving, local activities, or disaster preparedness, it is important to check which kind of "gakku" is being discussed.

Where Are Motogakku Used Today?

As of January 2023, within the city's 11 administrative wards there were 222 self-governing organizations (gakku), each based roughly on an elementary-school catchment area, and within them about 6,200 neighborhood associations (jichikai and chōnaikai). On average, one gakku has about 3,300 households.

The motogakku is also the basic unit for disaster preparedness. The smallest unit for evacuation information is the gakku, and voluntary disaster-prevention groups and volunteer fire corps are mostly organized on this basis as well. Because the city has more than 6,000 towns and some town names are shared by several towns, evacuation information is issued by gakku.

The many activities organized by gakku, such as federations of neighborhood associations, sports promotion associations, women's associations, and fire brigade units, are said to have grown out of residents' sense that the schools were "our own."

How to Find Your Motogakku

You can look up your motogakku on the Kyoto City Disaster Prevention Information Map. Click any spot on the map, and the gakku name, such as Ryūchi (柳池), appears on the left side of the screen. The web version of the hazard map, which can show your current location, also lets you check which gakku you live in from the gakku boundaries and your position.

Once you know your gakku name, use the gakku list on the Kyoto City Disaster Prevention Portal to check where your evacuation shelters (evacuation sites) are, and to look up rivers to watch and areas at risk of landslides. That way, your motogakku becomes a direct part of your disaster preparation.

• Click where you live on the Kyoto City Disaster Prevention Information Map and check the gakku name that appears
• Check the location of that gakku's evacuation shelters in the gakku list on the disaster-prevention portal
• To find out which school a child attends, use the Board of Education's list of town names by attendance zone (separate from motogakku)
• For local activities and events, check with your neighborhood association, the federation of neighborhood associations, or the ward office

Bangumi Schools Live On in the Names

Matching the 1869 bangumi with today's motogakku, for example, Kamigyō Bangumi No. 27 corresponds to Ryūchi (柳池), and Shimogyō Bangumi No. 11 to Kaichi (開智). One motogakku name can correspond to two bangumi because gakku were merged in 1892.

Motogakku in the city center covered roughly 20 to 30 hectares and consisted of 20 to 30 towns. It is easy to picture them as walkable areas made up of several ryōgawachō, towns formed by the houses on both sides of a street.