History
Sanjō Station opened on 27 October 1915 as a Keihan Electric Railway terminus at the east end of Sanjō-Ōhashi in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto. The neighbouring Keishin Electric Tramway had earlier opened its Sanjō-Ōhashi Station on 15 August 1912; the two were merged on 1 November 1949 as 'Sanjō Sōgō Station' after Keishin Electric Tramway was absorbed by Keihan in 1925. The wartime merger of Keihan into Keihan-Shinkyū Express on 1 October 1943 saw the station operated by Keihan-Shinkyū until the post-war demerger on 1 December 1949. The Keihan Main Line section through the station was placed underground on 24 May 1987 (the Keishin side becoming the surface Keishin-Sanjō Station from 1 April 1987). The Keihan Ōtō Line opened from Sanjō to Demachiyanagi on 5 October 1989, making Sanjō effectively a through-station rather than a terminus. The Keishin section was abolished on 12 October 1997 when the Kyoto Municipal Subway Tōzai Line opened with Sanjō Keihan Station as its connection point. The station carries number KH40.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
Sanjō was assigned the platform-colour 'usuake' (light pink) — the colour of dyed fabric considered suitable for the bustle of an old-capital gateway connecting to the eastern terminus of the Tōkaidō Fifty-Three Stages, which historically ended at Sanjō-Ōhashi just outside the station. The colour scheme of the underground stations from Shichijō to Demachiyanagi was selected for the 7th Public Color Awards' 'Top 10 Environmental Colour' in February 1992.