The

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) encompasses 17 locations in Japan within the city of Kyoto and its immediate vicinity. In 794, the Japanese imperial family moved the capital to Heian-kyō. The locations are in three cities:

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 c ...

and Uji in Kyoto Prefecture; and

Ōtsu 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ōtsu ...

Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the north ...

; Uji and Ōtsu border Kyoto to the south and north, respectively. Of the monuments, 13 are

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temples, three are

Shinto shrines 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 ...

, and one is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. The properties include 38 buildings designated by the Japanese government as '' National Treasures'', 160 properties designated as '' Important Cultural Properties'', eight gardens designated as ''

Special Places of Scenic Beauty is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of JapanIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultural ...

'', and four designated as ''Places of Scenic Beauty''. UNESCO listed the site as World Heritage in 1994.

Selection criteria

Kyoto has a substantial number of historic buildings, unlike other Japanese cities that lost buildings to foreign invasions and war; and has the largest concentration of designated Cultural Properties in Japan. Although ravaged by wars, fires, and

earthquakes An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fro ...

during its eleven centuries as the imperial capital, Kyoto was spared from much of the destruction and danger of World War II. It was saved from the nearly universal

firebombing Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs. In popular usage, any act in which an incendiary d ...

of large cities in Japan in part to preserve it as the primary atomic bomb target. It was later removed from the atomic bomb target list by the personal intervention of Secretary of War

Henry L. Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and ...

, as Stimson wanted to save this cultural center which he knew from his honeymoon and later diplomatic visits. As a result,

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

was then added as a target. The 17 properties of the World Heritage Site originate from a period between the 10th century and the 19th century, and each is representative of the period in which it was built. The historical importance of the Kyoto region was taken into account by the UNESCO in the selection process.

List of sites

The table lists information about each of the 17 listed properties of the World Heritage Site listing: :Name: in English and Japanese :Type: Purpose of the site. The list includes 13 Buddhist temples ("-ji"), 3 Shinto shrines ("-jinja"), and one castle ("-jo"). :Period: time period of significance, typically of construction :Location: the site's location (by ward) and by geographic coordinates :Description: brief description of the site

References

External links

Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) - UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Welcome to Kyoto - World Heritage Map
{{World Heritage Sites in Japan World Heritage Sites in Japan Buildings and structures in Kyoto Prefecture Kyoto Tourist attractions in Kyoto Prefecture

Selection criteria

List of sites

See also

References

External links