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, meani ...

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 ci ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. 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, mov ...

(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 was a Japanese architect, architectural historian, and critic. He is recognized as the leading architect and architectural theorist of early 20th-century Imperial Japan. Biography Second son of a doctor in Yonezawa, present-day Yamagata Prefect ...

. 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 the 121st Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')孝明天皇 (121)/ref> Kōmei's reign spanned the years from 1846 through 1867, corresponding to the final years of the ...

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 sta ...

, 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 simplest ...

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 under his titular name as the seventh Ueji (植治), was a Japanese garden architect of the Meiji era and Taishō era of modern Japan. Biography He was born Yamamoto Gennosuke and adopted into the Ogawa family at the age of 17 wit ...

, 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, but ...

. Species otherwise rare in Japan such as ''

Acheilognathus cyanostigma The striped bitterling (''Acheilognathus cyanostigma'') is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the genus ''Acheilognathus''. It is endemic to Lake Biwa and Lake Yogo in Japan. It typically grows to a length of 6.0 cm. The reprod ...

'', the Yellow pond turtle 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. Its Japanese name is ''nihon ishigame'', Japane ...

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 The is a traditional Japanese festival (also called matsuri) held annually on October 22 in Kyoto, Japan. It is one of Kyoto's renowned three great festivals, with the other two being the ''Aoi Matsuri'', held annually on May 15, and the '' Gi ...

'', 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 c ...

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 when ...

'' (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, 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 gove ...

Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art The is one of the oldest art museums in Japan. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Museums"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 671-673. It is located in Okazaki Park in Sakyō-ku, Kyoto, and opened in 1928 as a commemoration of Emperor Hirohito's coro ...

, 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 ROHM Theatre Kyoto, originally known as Kyoto Kaikan, is a concert hall and performance venue located in Kyoto, Japan. The main hall was first opened in 1960 and seated 2,005 patrons. The facility closed in 2012 and was redeveloped over a four-ye ...

, and the Kyoto City Zoo.

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 retirem ...

.
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