Hongo in the context of Shitamachi and Yamanote

Yamanote (山の手; Japanese pronunciation: [ja.ma.no(ꜜ).te]) and Shitamachi (下町; [ɕi̥.ta.ma.tɕi]) are traditional names for two areas of Tokyo, Japan.

Yamanote refers to the affluent, upper-class areas of Tokyo west of the Imperial Palace. While citizens once considered it as consisting of Hongo, Kōjimachi, Koishikawa, Ushigome, Yotsuya, Akasaka, Aoyama and Azabu in the Bunkyō, Chiyoda, Shinjuku, and Minato wards, in popular conception, the area extended westwards to include the Nakano, Suginami, and Meguro wards after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923.

Bunkyō (文京区, Bunkyō-ku) is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. Situated in the middle of the ward area, Bunkyō is a residential and educational center. Beginning in the Meiji period, literati like Natsume Sōseki, as well as scholars and politicians have lived there. Bunkyō is home to the Tokyo Dome, Judo's Kōdōkan, and the University of Tokyo's Hongo Campus.

It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Hongo and Koishikawa wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Bunkyo ward exhibits contrasting Shitamachi and Yamanote geographical and cultural division. The Nezu [ja] and Sendagi [ja] neighborhoods in the ward's eastern corner are attached to the Shitamachi area in Ueno. On the other hand, the remaining areas of the ward typically represent Yamanote districts.