The is a

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more '' kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, mean ...

located in Sakyō-ku,

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...

, Japan. The Shrine is ranked as a ''Beppyō Jinja'' () (the top rank for shrines) by the

Association of Shinto Shrines The is a religious administrative organisation that oversees about 80,000 Shinto shrines in Japan. These shrines take the Ise Grand Shrine as the foundation of their belief. It is the largest Shrine Shinto organization in existence. Descriptio ...

. It is listed as an important cultural property of Japan.

History

220px, Lake at Heian Shrine In 1895, a partial reproduction of the Heian Palace from

Heian-kyō Heian-kyō was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the official capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180. Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, m ...

(the former name of

) was planned for construction for the 1100th anniversary of the establishment of Heian-kyō. The Industrial exposition fair (an exhibition of development of Japanese and foreign cultures) was held in Kyoto that year, where the replica was to be the main monument. However, failure to buy enough land where the Heian Palace used to stand, the building was built in Okazaki at 5/8 scale of the original. The ''Heian-jingū'' was built according to designs by Itō Chūta. After the Exhibition ended, the building was kept as a shrine in memory of the 50th Emperor,

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sco ...

, who was the Emperor when Heian-kyō became the capital. In 1940, Emperor Kōmei was added to the list of dedication. In 1976, the Shrine was set on fire; and nine of the buildings, including the

honden In Shinto shrine architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined '' kami'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a s ...

, or main sanctuary, burned down. Three years later, the burned buildings were reconstructed with money collected from donations.Nussbaum, "''Heian jingū''" in

Architecture

The architecture design was a reproduction of the Chōdōin (Emperor's palace in the former eras) in 5/8th scale (in length). The large red entrance gate is a reproduction of the Outenmon of the Chōdōin. The architecture of the main palace mirrors the style and features of the Kyoto Imperial Palace,Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Heian jingū''" in the style from the 11th–12th century (late Heian Period). The Shrine's

torii A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simples ...

is one of the largest in Japan.

Garden

The Japanese-style garden takes up about half the land area (approximately 33060 m²). Renowned gardener Ogawa Jihei VII, also known as Ueji, created the garden over a 20-year period. The water used in the ponds comes from the

Lake Biwa Canal is a historic waterway in Japan connecting Lake Biwa to the nearby City of Kyoto. Constructed during the Meiji Period the canal was originally designed for the transportation of lake water for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes, bu ...

. Species otherwise rare in Japan such as '' Acheilognathus cyanostigma'', the

Yellow pond turtle The yellow pond turtle (''Mauremys mutica''), is a medium-sized (to 19.5 cm), semiaquatic turtle in the family Geoemydidae. This species has a characteristic broad yellow stripe extending behind the eye and down the neck; the carapace ranges ...

and the

Japanese pond turtle The Japanese pond turtle (''Mauremys japonica''), also called commonly the Japanese pond terrapin and the Japanese pond tortoise, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae endemic to Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and forma ...

live around the ponds. Visitors may feed the fish and turtles with food sold around the ponds.

Festivals

Annual festivals celebrate the memory of Emperor Kōmei (late January) and Emperor Kanmu (early April). On October 22, ''Heian-jingū'' hosts the '' Jidai Matsuri'', which is one of the most important

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

s of Kyoto. The procession of this festival begins at the old Imperial palace, and includes carrying the ''

mikoshi A is a sacred religious palanquin (also translated as portable Shinto shrine). Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle to transport a deity in Japan while moving between main shrine and temporary shrine during a festival or wh ...

'' (portable shrines) of Emperors Kanmu and Kōmei to the Heian-jingū. The Shrine is also used for traditional Japanese weddings as well as concerts. It is rare for a modern concert to be held at a historic site like the shrine, but merging modern and old culture in Kyoto has become a trend.

Around the Shrine

Adjacent to the Shrine is

Okazaki Park Okazaki may refer to: * Okazaki (surname) * Okazaki, Aichi, a city in Japan * Okazaki Castle, a castle in Japan * Okazaki fragments, DNA fragments formed during DNA replication (biology) See also *Okasaki Okasaki (written: 岡咲) is a Japanese su ...

, where visitors can learn about culture. The Shrine is surrounded by the

Kyoto Prefectural Library Kyoto Prefectural Library (京都府立図書館 Kyōto Furitsu Toshokan) is a prefectural library located in Seishoji-cho 9, Okazaki, Sakyō-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture. It was established in 1873, and is supported by the Kyoto prefectural gov ...

, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, the

National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto The is an art museum in Kyoto, Japan. This Kyoto museum is also known by the English acronym MoMAK (Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto). History The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (MoMAK) was initially created as the Annex Museum of the Nationa ...

, Kyoto Kaikan, and the

Kyoto City Zoo Kyoto City Zoo (京都市動物園) is a zoo located in Sakyō ward, Kyoto and was established in 1903, making it the second oldest zoo in the country after Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. The Kyoto City Zoo is a member of the world Association of Zoos and ...

Notes

References

* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the reti ...

.
OCLC 58053128
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1964)
''Visiting Famous Shrines in Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby-Fane Memorial Society. * 平安神�

* 国指定文化財データベー�

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heian Jingu Kanpei-taisha Beppyo shrines Jingū Religious buildings and structures completed in 1895 Shinto shrines in Kyoto Places of Scenic Beauty Important Cultural Properties of Japan Emperor Kanmu