In the impressive streets of Kyoto,
There are wide streets with six and sometimes eight lanes.
This is Horikawa Street.
Going up from south to north, passing Oike Pond,
A small river called Horikawa appears,
The street names will resonate with everyone.
Once you pass Marutamachi,
You will see a low, three-story apartment complex on the west side.
This is the Horikawa housing complex.
Before the Pacific War,
The wide Horikawa-dori street we see today did not exist at that time.
In the area where the Horikawa housing complex is now located,
Between Horikawa and Kayamachi-dori,
There was a narrow street running north and south called Nishihorikawa-dori.
Across Nishihorikawa-dori,
On both sides of Nakadachiuri-dori and Marutamachi-dori
There were over 250 different shops lined up.
This is the "Horikawa Kyogoku Shopping Street"
It is the predecessor of the current Horikawa Shopping Street.
Building evacuation just before the end of the war.
What is building evacuation?
When a fire broke out during an air raid
In order to prevent the spread of fire to surrounding houses and important facilities,
To create a fire zone,
Buildings along the planned fire break
It was national policy to forcibly remove them.
The area north and south of Horikawa
It was planned as a wide-area firebreak,
Towards the end of the Pacific War (1945),
Building evacuation was to be carried out,
The Horikawa Kyogoku shopping street was also included.
Demanding the eviction of a house or store
The "wartime evacuation order" was issued,
Residents are within the grace period
I was forced to leave.
Houses and stores have been demolished and removed.
The Horikawa Kyogoku shopping street has disappeared.
In its place there was a large open space.
At Horikawa Kyogoku Shopping Street
Shortly after the building evacuation,
The war ended in Japan.
A house to live in, a store to do business
The former landowners who lost their land
The site was not used for Horikawa-dori.
They lived on private land on the west side .
Kyoto Prefecture Housing Association
( Chairman: Governor; predecessor of the current Kyoto Prefectural Housing Supply Corporation)
Aiming to resolve the housing shortage and revive the Horikawa shopping district,
From 1950 to 1953
On the first floor there are 14 shops and 48 residential units with shops.
The second and third floors were used as rental housing for 122 units.
We built six apartment buildings with shops.
The 62 stores contributed greatly to the postwar reconstruction.
It has developed into a local shopping district to this day.
This is the current Horikawa housing complex.
Horikawa Danchi is the first of its kind in the country.
It also attracted attention as an apartment complex with shops.
The store is located in front (on the Horikawa-dori side),
A residence was built on the west side of the building.
It is designed as a residential building with a shop.
In principle, this store-cum-use residence has the following:
Shop at Horikawa Kyogoku Shopping Street
The person who ran it moved in.
~Extracted from the Kyoto Prefectural Housing Corporation Horikawa Danchi Special Website~
Turbulent times
The Horikawa Shopping Street has survived.
It still supports the lives of local residents.
I support you.
Building renovations,
By repeatedly opening new stores,
A shopping street that will continue to be loved by the local community
We are evolving with this goal in mind.