The original club was established as Kyoto Shiko Club (京都紫光クラブ, of which 紫光 means purple light, and the name was at first put down as 紫郊クラブ) in 1922, and is the oldest team belonging to the J. League in Japan.
前身は1922年設立の京都紫光クラブ（設立時の名称は紫郊クラブ）でJリーグ所属のチームとしては日本最古。