When residing in the Kyoto Imperial Palace the emperor would sit facing south,[1] thus the western direction would be to his right.

In old times, ukyō was referring to the western part of the capital.

This increased the ward's territory from 74.27 square kilometres (28.68 sq mi) to 291.95 square kilometres (112.72 sq mi), and made it the largest ward in the city by area.

As of October 1, 2020, the ward has an estimated population of 202,047, with 97,849 households and a density of 692 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,790/sq mi).

Ukyo-ku is home to many renowned sites, including: Rohm, an electronic parts manufacturer,[2] and Nissin Electric, a global electrical equipment company,[3] are headquartered in the ward.