Sumida-ku

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Sumida-ku (墨田区) is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. The ward has a population of 240,296 according to 2008 census data and located in the northeast section of Tokyo. The Sumida and Arakawa rivers form two natural borders for the district and its neighboring wards include Adachi, Arakawa, Katsushika, Edogawa, Taito, Chuo, and Koto. In 1932 the region in which Sumida is now located was made up of the Honjo and Mukojima wards in the City of Tokyo. In 1957, the new special ward was established.

Locations of Note

Sumida is home to multiple locations and destinations of note, including:

Sumida Tower – The Sumida Tower has not yet been built, but is in development to be completed in 2011 to replace the current Tokyo Tower which works as a television and radio broadcast tower for much of the Tokyo region. The new tower would be more than 660 meters tall and provide digital terrestrial television service to large portions of Japan.
Ryogoku Kokugikan National Sumo Stadium
Edo-Tokyo Museum – A museum of Edo and Meiji era artifacts and objects of historical significance.
Asahi Brewery Headquarters – Located here is the Asahi Beer Hall, created in 1989 by Philippe Starck.
Honjo Matsuzaka-cho Park – The one historical home of Kira Yoshinaka of the famed legend of the Forty-Seven Ronin once stood in this location during the Genroku era.
Tokyo Irei-do – The Tokyo Memorial Hall is used to memorialize all those Tokyo residents who lost their lives in the Great Kanto Earthquake and during the Tokyo Air Raids of World War II among other natural and war catastrophes.

Companies Located in Sumida

Currently, numerous companies make their headquarters in Sumida, including the Asahi Breweries in Azuma-bashi, Japan Tobacco in Yokokawa, Keisei Electric Railway in Oshiage, Lion Corporation in Honjo, and Tobu Railway in Oshiage.

Notable Citizens of Sumida

A number of well known celebrities and public personalities are from Sumida. Historical figures who lived and died in Sumida include Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Hasegawa Heizo, Enomoto Takeaki, Koda Rohan, Katsu Kaishu, Mori Ogai, and Nezumi Kozo.

Modern personalities and celebrites include the likes of Chosuke Ikariya, Sadaharu Oh, Kazuhito Tadaono, Hisanori Takahashi, Suiho Tagawa, Nana Kinomi, Chisa Yokoyama, and Yoshihiro Takayama.