Kyoto (;
Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of
Kyoto Prefecture in
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 ...
. Located in the
Kansai region on the island of
Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the
Keihanshin metropolitan area along with
Osaka and
Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
. , the city had a population of 1.46 million. The city is the cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as
Greater Kyoto, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 3.8 million people.
Kyoto is one of the oldest municipalities in Japan, having been chosen in 794 as the new seat of Japan's imperial court by
Emperor Kanmu. The original city, named
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 ...
, was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese
feng shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capital of
Chang'an/
Luoyang. The emperors of Japan ruled from Kyoto in the following eleven centuries until 1869. It was the scene of several key events of the
Muromachi period,
Sengoku period, and the
Boshin War
The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...
, such as the
Ōnin War, the
Honnō-ji Incident
The was an attempt to assassinate Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at the Honnō-ji temple in Kyoto on 21 June 1582, resulting in the suicide by '' seppuku'' of both Nobunaga and his son Oda Nobutada. The unprotected Nobunaga was ambushed by his ...
, the
Kinmon incident and the
Battle of Toba–Fushimi
The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 (or fourth year of Keiō, first month, 3rd day, according to the lunar calendar), when the forces of the shog ...
. The capital was relocated from Kyoto to
Tokyo after the
Meiji Restoration. The modern municipality of Kyoto was established in 1889. The city was spared from large-scale destruction during
World War II and as a result, its prewar cultural heritage has mostly been preserved.
Kyoto is considered the cultural capital of Japan and is a major tourist destination. It is home to numerous
Buddhist temples,
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 ...
s, palaces and gardens, some of which have been designated collectively as a
World Heritage Site by
UNESCO. Prominent landmarks include the
Kyoto Imperial Palace,
Kiyomizu-dera,
Kinkaku-ji,
Ginkaku-ji, and
Kyoto Tower. The internationally renowned video game company
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
is based in Kyoto. Kyoto is also a center of higher learning in the country, and its institutions include
Kyoto University
, mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture
, established =
, type = National university, Public (National)
, endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD)
, faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff)
, administrative_staff ...
, the second oldest university in Japan.
Name
In Japanese, Kyoto was previously called Kyō (), Miyako (), Kyō no Miyako (), and . In the 11th century, the city was officially named "Kyōto" (, "capital city"), from the
Middle Chinese ' (cf.
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
''jīngdū''). After the seat of the emperor was moved to the city of
Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
and that city was renamed "
Tōkyō" (, meaning "eastern capital"), Kyoto was briefly known as "Saikyō" (, meaning "western capital"). As the capital of Japan from 794 to 1868, Kyoto is sometimes called the thousand-year capital ().
Historically, foreign spellings for the city's name have included Kioto and Miaco or Meaco.
History
Origins
Ample
archeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
evidence suggests human settlement in the area of Kyoto began as early as the
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
period, although not much published material is retained about human activity in the region before the 6th century, around which time the
Shimogamo Shrine is believed to have been established.
During the 8th century, when powerful
Buddhist clergy became involved in the affairs of the imperial government,
Emperor Kanmu chose to relocate the capital in order to distance it from the clerical establishment in
Nara. His last choice for the site was the village of Uda, in the Kadono district of
Yamashiro Province.
[Kyoto Exhibitors' Association (1910) ''Kyoto'' Kyoto Exhibitors' Association of the Japan-British exhibition, Kyoto, p. 3 ]
The new city, , modeled after Chinese
Tang dynasty capital
Chang'an,
[.] became the seat of Japan's imperial court in 794, beginning the
Heian period of
Japanese history. Although military rulers established their governments either in Kyoto (
Muromachi shogunate) or in other cities such as
Kamakura
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939.
Kamak ...
(
Kamakura shogunate) and
Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
(
Tokugawa shogunate), Kyoto remained Japan's capital until the transfer of the imperial court to
Tokyo in 1869 at the time of the
Imperial Restoration.
Middle Ages
In the
Sengoku period, the city suffered extensive destruction in the
Ōnin War of 1467–1477, and did not really recover until the mid-16th century. During the war, battles between samurai factions spilled into the streets, and came to involve court nobility (''
kuge
The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamakur ...
'') and religious factions as well. Nobles' mansions were transformed into fortresses, deep trenches dug throughout the city for defense and as firebreaks, and numerous buildings burned. The city has not seen such widespread destruction since.
In the late 16th century,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi reconstructed the city by building new streets to double the number of north–south streets in central Kyoto, creating rectangle blocks superseding ancient square blocks. Hideyoshi also built earthwork walls called encircling the city.
Teramachi Street in central Kyoto is a Buddhist temple quarter where Hideyoshi gathered temples in the city.
File:Kanō Eitoku - Rakuchū rakugai zu (Uesugi) - right screen.jpg, ''Rakuchū rakugai zu'', a 16th century depiction of central Kyoto including Gion Matsuri
The is one of the largest and most famous festivals in Japan, taking place annually during the month of July in Kyoto. Many events take place in central Kyoto and at the Yasaka Shrine, the festival's patron shrine, located in Kyoto's famous Gion ...
floats (center) and Kiyomizu-dera (upper right)
Early modern period
Throughout the
Edo period, the economy of the city flourished as one of three major cities in
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 others being
Osaka and Edo. At the end of the period, the
Hamaguri rebellion
The , also known as the , was a rebellion against the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan that took place on August 20 unar calendar: 19th day, 7th month 1864, near the Imperial Palace in Kyoto.
History
Starting with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1 ...
of 1864 burned down 28,000 houses in the city, which showed the rebels' dissatisfaction towards the Tokugawa Shogunate.
File:Scenes_in_and_around_Kyoto_Funaki_1.jpg, Scenes in and around Kyoto (circa 1615)
File:1696_Genroku_9_%28early_Edo%29_Japanese_Map_of_Kyoto%2C_Japan_-_Geographicus_-_Kyoto-genroku9-1696.jpg, Map of Heian-kyō, 1696
File:伏見桃山城06.jpg, Fushimi Castle
, also known as or Fushimi-Momoyama Castle, is a Japanese castle located in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto.
Fushimi Castle was constructed from 1592 to 1594 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the Sengoku period as his retirement residence. Fushimi Castle ...
Modern period
At the start of the
Meiji period, the emperor's move from Kyoto to Tokyo in 1869 weakened the economy of Kyoto. The modern city of Kyoto was formed on April 1, 1889. The construction of
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 ...
in 1890 was one measure taken to revive the city. The population of the city exceeded one million in 1932.
File:Kyoto View from Kiyomizudera 1870s.jpg, alt=View of Kyoto from beside the Hondō of Kiyomizudera. – 1870s, View of Kyoto from beside the Hondō of Kiyomizudera – 1870s
File:Nanzen-ji, Suirokaku (Lake Biwa Canal) -1 (November 2008) - panoramio.jpg, Nanzenji aqueduct
Contemporary history
There was some consideration by the
United States of targeting Kyoto with an
atomic bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
at the end of
World War II because of the possibility that the city's importance was great enough that its loss might persuade Japan to surrender. In the end, at the insistence of
Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, the city was removed from the list of targets and replaced by
Nagasaki. The city was largely spared from conventional bombing as well, although small-scale air raids did result in casualties. During the occupation, the
U.S. Sixth Army and
I Corps were headquartered in Kyoto.
As a result, Kyoto is one of the few Japanese cities that still have an abundance of prewar buildings, such as the traditional townhouses known as ''
machiya''. However, modernization is continually breaking down traditional Kyoto in favor of newer architecture, such as the
Kyōto Station complex.
Kyoto became a
city designated by government ordinance on September 1, 1956. In 1997, Kyoto hosted the conference that resulted in the
protocol on greenhouse gas emissions (
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).
Geography
Terrain
Kyoto is located in a valley, part of the Yamashiro (or Kyoto) Basin, in the eastern part of the mountainous region known as the Tamba highlands. The Yamashiro Basin is surrounded on three sides by mountains known as Higashiyama, Kitayama and Nishiyama, with a maximum height of approximately
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
. This interior positioning results in hot summers and cold winters. There are three rivers in the basin, the
Uji River to the south, the
Katsura River to the west, and the
Kamo River to the east. Kyoto City takes up 17.9% of the land in Kyoto Prefecture and has a total area of .
Kyoto sits atop a large natural water table that provides the city with ample freshwater wells. Due to large-scale urbanization, the amount of rain draining into the table is dwindling and wells across the area are drying at an increasing rate.
Climate
Kyoto has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(
Köppen ''Cfa''), featuring a marked seasonal variation in temperature and precipitation. Summers are hot and humid, but winters are relatively cold with occasional snowfall. Kyoto's
rainy season begins around the middle of June and lasts until the end of July, yielding to a hot and sunny latter half of the summer. Kyoto, like most of the Pacific coast and central areas of Japan, is prone to typhoons during the summer and autumn.
Cityscape
Kyoto contains roughly 2,000 temples and shrines.
[Scott, David (1996). ''Exploring Japan''. Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc. .] The main business district is located to the south of the
Kyoto Imperial Palace. In the center of the city, there are several
covered shopping arcades only open to pedestrian traffic, such as
Teramachi Street and
Shinkyōgoku Street.
The original city was arranged in accordance with traditional
Chinese feng shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capital of
Chang'an/
Luoyang. The
Imperial Palace faced south, resulting in Ukyō (the right sector of the capital) being on the west, while Sakyō (the left sector) is on the east. The streets in the modern-day wards of Kamigyō-ku, Nakagyō-ku, and
Shimogyō-ku still follow a grid pattern. Areas outside of the city center do not follow the same grid pattern, though streets throughout Kyoto are referred to by name, a practice that is rare in most regions of Japan.
Administrative divisions
In the 1870s, the city was divided into a northern ward (Kamigyō-ku) and a southern ward (Shimogyō-ku), each working as individual administrative divisions of Kyoto Prefecture. The modern municipality was created by the unification of these wards into the city of Kyoto in 1889.
Due to the creation of new administrative districts and a number of
municipal mergers that took place between the 1920s and the 1970s, the contemporary city of Kyoto is divided into eleven . The central wards, located to the west of the Kamo River, are small and densely populated. The city hall is located in
Nakagyō-ku, and the Kyoto prefectural offices are located in present-day
Kamigyō-ku.
Demographics
Kyoto was the largest city in Japan until the late 16th century, when its population was surpassed by those of
Osaka and
Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
. Before World War II, Kyoto vied with
Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
and
Nagoya to rank as the fourth or fifth largest city in Japan. Having avoided most wartime destruction, it was again the third largest city in 1947. By 1960 it had fallen to fifth again, and by 1990 it had fallen to seventh. , it was the ninth largest city in Japan by population and had led the country in population decrease for two consecutive years. However, the population of the city rises during standard working hours, and Kyoto ranks seventh in Japan in terms of
daytime population
Daytime population, also known as commuter-adjusted population, is a demographic concept used in sociology referring to the number of people who are present in an area, typically a city or urban area, during normal business hours (daytime), inc ...
.
Approximately 55% of the total population of
Kyoto Prefecture is concentrated in the city of Kyoto, which is the highest ratio among the prefectures of Japan.
Government
The city of Kyoto is governed by the mayor of Kyoto and the Kyoto City Assembly, a
municipal council.
Kyoto City Assembly
The legislative city assembly has 67 elected members, and terms are four years in length. As of 2022, the assembly is controlled by a coalition of members affiliated with the
Liberal Democratic Party,
Komeito, and the Democratic Civic Forum.
List of mayors
Between the founding of the modern city and 1898, the
governor of Kyoto Prefecture also acted as the mayor of the city of Kyoto. From 1898 through the Second World War, mayors were nominated by the Kyoto City Assembly and appointed by the
Minister of Home Affairs.
Since 1947, mayors of Kyoto have been chosen by
direct election
Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...
to four-year terms. As of 2022, there have been nine mayors elected using this system. While some mayors have resigned or died in office, no mayor has lost a reelection bid in the postwar period. In the 2020 Kyoto mayoral election, independent candidate
Daisaku Kadokawa was re-elected for the third time, supported by the
Liberal Democratic Party,
Komeito, the
Constitutional Democratic Party, the
Democratic Party for the People, and the
Social Democratic Party.
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
The city of Kyoto has
sister-city
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
relationships with the following cities:
*
Boston, United States (since June 1959)
*
Cologne, Germany (since May 1963)
*
Florence, Italy (since September 1965)
*
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
, Mexico (since October 1980)
*
Kyiv, Ukraine (since September 1971)
*
Prague, Czech Republic (since April 1996)
*
Xi'an, China (since May 1974, friendship city)
*
Zagreb, Croatia (since October 1981)
Partner cities
In addition to its sister city arrangements which involve multi-faceted cooperation, Kyoto has created a system of "partner cities" which focus on cooperation based on a particular topic. At present, Kyoto has partner-city arrangements with the following cities:
*
Brussels, Belgium (since April 2006)
*
Huế, Vietnam (since February 2013)
*
Istanbul, Turkey (since June 2013)
*
Jinju
Jinju () is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was the location of the first (1592) and second (1593) Sieges of Jinju by Japanese forces during the Imjin War. The Republic of Korea Air Force Education and Training Command is ...
, South Korea (since March 1999)
*
Konya, Turkey (since December 2009)
*
Paris, France (since June 1958)
*
Qingdao
Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
, China (since August 2012)
*
Quebec City, Canada (since May 2016)
*
Tainan, Taiwan (since June 2021)
*
Varanasi, India (since August 2014)
*
Vientiane, Laos (since November 2015)
*
Yilan City, Taiwan (since August 2018)
Economy
Information technology and electronics are key industries in Kyoto. The city is home to the headquarters of
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
,
Intelligent Systems,
SCREEN Holdings
is a Japanese Semiconductor industry, semiconductor and electronics company, headquartered in Kyoto, engaged in the manufacture and sale of equipment for the manufacturing of semiconductors, flat panel displays, storage media (such as optical dis ...
,
Tose,
Hatena,
Omron,
Kyocera,
Shimadzu,
Rohm,
Horiba,
Nidec Corporation,
Nichicon
is a manufacturer of capacitors of various types, and is one of the largest manufacturers of capacitors in the world, headquartered in Karasuma Oike, Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. In 1950, it separated from the Nii Works Co., established itself a ...
,
Nissin Electric, and
GS Yuasa.
Domestic and international
tourism contributes significantly to Kyoto's economy. In 2014, the city government announced that a record number of tourists had visited Kyoto. As a result of a sharp decline in tourism during the
COVID-19 pandemic, the mayor acknowledged in 2021 "the possibility of bankruptcy in the next decade" and announced job cuts in the administration and cuts in social assistance, including reductions in funding for home care.
Traditional
Japanese crafts are also a major industry of Kyoto; Kyoto's
kimono weavers are particularly renowned, and the city remains the premier center of kimono manufacturing.
Sake brewing is another prominent traditional industry in Kyoto, and the headquarters of major sake brewers
Gekkeikan
is a Japanese manufacturer of sake and plum wine based in Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1637 by Jiemon Ōkura, in Fushimi, it is one of the world's oldest companies, and is a member of the Henokiens group. The name of the company literally ...
and
Takara Holdings are found in Kyoto.
Other notable businesses headquartered in Kyoto include
Aiful,
Ishida
Ishida (written: lit. "stone ricefield") is a Japanese surname. The name is sometimes romanized as Isida. Notable people with the surname include:
*, Japanese voice actor
*, actress and singer
*, Japanese singer
*, Japanese idol and singer
*, J ...
,
Nissen Holdings,
Gyoza no Ohsho
is a Japanese restaurant chain serving gyōza and other food from Japanese Chinese cuisine. There are over 700 Ohsho restaurants in Japan. Ohsho restaurants may be either owned and operated by the parent company or franchises operated by indepen ...
,
Sagawa Express
is a major transportation company in Japan. Its headquarters are in Minami-ku, Kyoto. It competes with Yamato Transport, Nippon Express, and other major logistics companies. Its total sales for the year ending March 2005 were ¥728,000,000,0 ...
,
Volks, and
Wacoal.
Education
Colleges and universities
Home to 40 institutions of
higher education, Kyoto is one of the academic centers in Japan.
Kyoto University
, mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture
, established =
, type = National university, Public (National)
, endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD)
, faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff)
, administrative_staff ...
is often ranked first or second among
national universities nationwide. The
Kyoto Institute of Technology is considered to be among best universities for architecture and design in the country. Influential private universities such as
Doshisha University and
Ritsumeikan University are also located in the city.
The
Consortium of Universities in Kyoto
A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...
is a Kyoto-based higher education network consisting of three national universities, three public (prefectural and municipal) universities, 45 private universities, five other organizations, and representatives from the city government. The Consortium does not offer its own degree, but allows students to take courses at other participating universities.
In addition to Japanese universities and colleges, educational institutions from other countries operate programs in the city. The
Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies
The Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies (KCJS; Japanese: 京都アメリカ大学コンソーシアム) is an intensive, in-country program for the study of Japanese language and culture located in Kyoto, Japan. Operating under the auspices of ...
(KCJS) is a group of 14 American universities that runs overseas academic programs in Japanese language and cultural studies for university students.
Transportation
Railways
Kyoto is served by
rail transportation systems operated by several different companies and organizations. The city's main gateway terminal,
Kyōto Station, connects the
Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train Line with five
JR West lines, a
Kintetsu line, and a municipal subway line.
The
Keihan Electric Railway, the
Hankyu Railway, and other rail networks also offer frequent services within the city and to other cities and suburbs in the
Kinki region. Although Kyoto does not have its own commercial airport, the
Haruka Express operated by
JR West carries passengers from
Kansai International Airport to Kyōto Station in 73 minutes.
The
Kyoto Railway Museum in
Shimogyō-ku, operated by JR West, displays many steam, diesel, and electric locomotives used in Japan between the 1880s and the present.
High-speed rail
The
Tokaidō Shinkansen
The is a Japanese high-speed rail line that is part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Along with the Sanyo Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed railway through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tokaido corridor. Opened in 1964, ...
, operated by
JR Central
is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical ...
, provides high-speed rail service linking Kyoto with
Nagoya,
Yokohama, and
Tokyo to the east and with nearby
Osaka to the west. Beyond Osaka, many trains boarding at Kyoto continue on the
San'yō Shinkansen route managed by JR West, providing access to cities including
Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
,
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
, and
Fukuoka. The trip from Tokyo to Kyoto takes around 2.5 hours, and the trip from
Hakata Station in Fukuoka to Kyoto takes just over three hours by
Nozomi train service. All Shinkansen trains stop at Kyōto Station, including
Hikari and
Kodama trains.
Conventional lines
;
West Japan Railway Company(JR West)
*
Tōkaidō Main Line (
JR Kyoto Line/
Biwako Line)
*
San'in Main Line (
Sagano Line)
*
Kosei Line
*
Nara Line
;
Hankyu
*
Hankyu Kyoto Main Line
*
Hankyu Arashiyama Line
;
Keihan Electric Railway (Keihan)
*
Keihan Main Line
**
Keihan Ōtō Line
*
Keihan Uji Line
The is a 7.6-km long commuter rail line in Kyoto, Japan, operated by the Keihan Electric Railway. It connects Chushojima Station on the Keihan Main Line in Fushimi, Kyoto and Uji Station in Uji, Kyoto, forming an alternative route to JR West's ...
*
Keihan Keishin Line
;
Kintetsu Railway (Kintetsu)
*
Kintetsu Kyoto Line
The is a Japanese railway line owned and operated by the Kintetsu Railway, a private railway operator. It connects the cities of Kyoto, Uji, and Nara, and competes with the Nara Line of West Japan Railway Company (JR-West), which also connects ...
;
Sagano Scenic Railway
*Sagano Scenic Line
Subways
The
Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau operates the
Kyoto Municipal Subway consisting of two lines: the
Karasuma Line and the
Tōzai Line. The two lines are linked at
Karasuma Oike Station near the center of the economic district.
The Karasuma Line runs primarily north to south between the terminal of
Kokusaikaikan Station and
Takeda Station, and takes its name from the fact that trains run beneath
Karasuma Street between
Kitaōji Station in Kita-ku and
Jūjō Station in Minami-ku. The Karasuma Line connects to the
Hankyu Kyoto Main Line at the intersection of Shijō Karasuma in Kyoto's
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
and to
JR lines and the
Kyoto Kintetsu Line at Kyōto Station. In addition, the Transportation Bureau and
Kintetsu jointly operate through services which continue to
Kintetsu Nara Station in
Nara.
The Tōzai Line runs from the southeastern area of the city towards the center, then east to west (''tōzai'' in Japanese) through the Kyoto downtown area where trains run beneath the east–west streets of
Sanjō Street,
Oike Street, and Oshikōji Street. The
Keihan Keishin Line has been integrated into this line, and thus Keihan provides through services to in the neighboring city of
Ōtsu, the capital of
Shiga Prefecture. Within the city of Kyoto, the Tōzai Line also connects to Keihan lines at
Yamashina Station,
Misasagi Station, and
Sanjō Keihan Station, and to the
Keifuku Electric Railroad at the terminal of
Uzumasa Tenjingawa Station.
Tramways
;
Keifuku Electric Railroad (Randen)
*Keifuku Arashiyama Main Line
*Keifuku Kitano Line
;
Eizan Electric Railway
*Eizan Main Line
*Eizan Kurama Line
Buses
Kyoto's
municipal bus network is extensive. Private carriers also operate within the city. Many tourists join commuters on the public buses, or take tour buses. Kyoto's buses have announcements in English and electronic signs with stops written in the Latin alphabet. Buses operating on routes within the city, the region, and the nation stop at
Kyōto Station. In addition to Kyōto Station, bus transfer is available at the intersections of
Shijō Kawaramachi
is a vibrant part of central Kyoto, Japan where Shijō and Kawaramachi Streets intersect. Kawaramachi Street runs parallel to the Kamo River on the eastern side of Kyoto, while Shijō Street runs east–west through the center of the city.
St ...
and . The intersection of Karasuma Kitaōji, near
Kitaōji Station on the Karasuma Line north of downtown, has a major bus terminal.
Roads and waterways
Because many older streets in Kyoto are narrow, there are a significant number one-way roads without sidewalks.
Cycling is a common form of personal transportation in the city, although there are few areas set aside for bicycle parking and bicycles parked in restricted areas are impounded.
Kyoto has fewer toll-highways than other Japanese cities of comparable size. There are nine national highways in the city of Kyoto:
Route 1
The following highways are numbered 1.
For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads.
For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads.
For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads.
For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads.
For roads numbered ...
,
Route 8,
Route 9,
Route 24,
Route 162,
Route 171,
Route 367,
Route 477, and
Route 478.
The city is connected with other parts of Japan by the
Meishin Expressway
The , or Nagoya-Kōbe Expressway is a toll expressway in Japan. It runs from a junction with the Tōmei Expressway in Komaki, Aichi (outside Nagoya) west to Nishinomiya, Hyōgo (between Osaka and Kobe). It is the main road link between Osaka and ...
, which has two interchanges in the city: Kyoto Higashi (Kyoto East) in Yamashina-ku and Kyoto Minami (Kyoto South) in Fushimi-ku. The
Kyoto Jūkan Expressway connects the city to northern regions of Kyoto Prefecture. The
Second Keihan Highway
The , also called as Daini-Keihan Road, is a national highway and 6-laned Regional High-Standard Highways (expressways of Japan, expressway) in Japan, leading from Fushimi-ku, Kyoto through Kansai Science City to Kadoma, Osaka. This road is a Bypas ...
is another bypass to Osaka.
Traditionally, trade and haulage took place by waterway, and there continue to be a number of navigable rivers and canals in Kyoto. In contemporary Kyoto, however, waterways are no longer commonly used for transportation of passengers or goods, other than for limited sightseeing purposes such as excursion boats on the
Hozu River and
cormorant fishing boats on the
Ōi River.
Culture
Although ravaged by wars, fires, and earthquakes during its eleven centuries as the imperial capital, Kyoto suffered only minor damage in
World War II. It was removed from the atomic bomb target list (which it had headed) by the personal intervention of Secretary of War
Henry L. Stimson, as Stimson wanted to save this cultural center, which he knew from his honeymoon and later diplomatic visits.
Kyoto has been, and still remains, Japan's cultural center. About 20% of Japan's
National Treasures
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
and 14% of
Important Cultural Properties exist in the city proper. The government of Japan plans to relocate the
Agency for Cultural Affairs
The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture.
The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion.
Overview
The ag ...
to Kyoto in 2023.
With its 2,000 religious places – 1,600
Buddhist temples and 400
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 ...
s, as well as palaces, gardens and architecture intact – it is one of the best preserved cities in Japan. Among the most famous temples in Japan are
Kiyomizu-dera, a magnificent wooden temple supported by pillars off the slope of a mountain;
Kinkaku-ji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion;
Ginkaku-ji, the Temple of the Silver Pavilion; and
Ryōan-ji, famous for its
rock garden
A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small A ...
. The
Heian Jingū
The is a Shinto shrine located in Sakyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The Shrine is ranked as a ''Beppyō Jinja'' () (the top rank for shrines) by the Association of Shinto Shrines. It is listed as an important cultural property of Japan.
History
2 ...
is a Shinto shrine, built in 1895, celebrating the imperial family and commemorating the first and last emperors to reside in Kyoto. Three special sites have connections to the imperial family: the Kyoto Gyoen area including the
Kyoto Imperial Palace and
Sentō Imperial Palace, homes of the
emperors of Japan for many centuries;
Katsura Imperial Villa, one of the nation's finest architectural treasures; and
Shugakuin Imperial Villa, one of its best
Japanese gardens. In addition, the temple of Sennyu-ji houses the tombs of the emperors from
Shijō to
Kōmei.
Other sites in Kyoto include
Arashiyama, the
Gion and
Ponto-chō geisha quarters, the
Philosopher's Walk
The is a pedestrian path that follows a cherry-tree-lined canal in Kyoto, Japan between Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji. First opened in 1890 and extended again in 1912, the path follows the course of a shallow irrigation channel bringing water fro ...
, and the canals that line some of the older streets.
The "
Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto" are listed by the
UNESCO as a
World Heritage Site. These include the
Kamo Shrines (Kami and Shimo),
Kyō-ō-Gokokuji (Tō-ji), Kiyomizu-dera,
Daigo-ji,
Ninna-ji,
Saihō-ji (Kokedera),
Tenryū-ji,
Rokuon-ji (Kinkaku-ji),
Jishō-ji (Ginkaku-ji),
Ryōan-ji,
Hongan-ji,
Kōzan-ji, and the
Nijō Castle, primarily built by the
Tokugawa shōguns
Tokugawa may refer to:
*Tokugawa era, an alternative term for the Edo period, 1603 to 1868
*Tokugawa shogunate, a feudal regime of Japan during the Edo period
**Tokugawa clan, a powerful family of Japan
***Tokugawa Ieyasu (154 ...
. Other sites outside the city are also on the list.
Kyoto is renowned for its abundance of delicious Japanese foods and cuisine. The special circumstances of Kyoto as a city away from the sea and home to many Buddhist temples resulted in the development of a variety of vegetables peculiar to the . The oldest restaurant in Kyoto is
Honke Owariya which was founded in 1465.
Japan's television and film industry has its center in Kyoto. Many ''
jidaigeki'', action films featuring samurai, were shot at
Toei Uzumasa Eigamura. A film set and theme park in one, Eigamura features replicas of traditional Japanese buildings, which are used for ''jidaigeki''. Among the sets are a replica of the old
Nihonbashi
is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current ...
(the bridge at the entry to
Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
), a traditional courthouse, a Meiji Period
police box and part of the former
Yoshiwara red-light district. Actual film shooting takes place occasionally, and visitors are welcome to observe the action.
The
dialect spoken in Kyoto is known as ''Kyō-kotoba'' or ''Kyōto-ben'', a constituent dialect of the
Kansai dialect. Until the late Edo period, the Kyoto dialect was the ''de facto'' standard Japanese, although it has since been replaced by
modern standard Japanese. Traditional Kyoto expressions include the polite copula ''dosu'', the honorific verb ending ''-haru'', and the greeting phrase ''okoshi-yasu''.
Festivals
Kyoto is well known for its traditional festivals which have been held for over 1,000 years and are a major tourist attraction.
[Kyoto Visitors Guide (1998). Kyoto Tourist Office, Kyoto City Council.] The first is the
Aoi Matsuri on May 15. Two months later (July) is the
Gion Matsuri
The is one of the largest and most famous festivals in Japan, taking place annually during the month of July in Kyoto. Many events take place in central Kyoto and at the Yasaka Shrine, the festival's patron shrine, located in Kyoto's famous Gion ...
known as one of the 3 great festivals of Japan, culminating in a massive parade on July 17. Kyoto marks the
Bon Festival with the
Gozan no Okuribi, lighting fires on mountains to guide the spirits home (August 16). The October 22
Jidai Matsuri, Festival of the Ages, celebrates Kyoto's illustrious past.
Minami Kannonyama Gion Matsuri Yoiyama.jpg, Gion Matsuri
The is one of the largest and most famous festivals in Japan, taking place annually during the month of July in Kyoto. Many events take place in central Kyoto and at the Yasaka Shrine, the festival's patron shrine, located in Kyoto's famous Gion ...
Gozanokuribi Daimonji2.jpg, Gozan no Okuribi
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The
UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) includes fourteen temples, shrines, and castles in Kyoto dating from between the sixth century (
Shimogamo Shrine, though extant structures are more recent) and the seventeenth century (
Nijō Castle). The sites were designated as World Heritage in 1994.
File:KamigamoJinjya Saiden.jpg, Kamigamo Shrine
File:Shimogamo 01.jpg, Shimogamo Shrine
File:Kozanji Kyoto Kyoto11s5s4592.jpg, Kōzan-ji
Museums
* Hakusasonso
Hashimoto Kansetsu Garden and Museum ()
*
Hosomi Museum ()
* Joutenkaku Museum ()
*
Kitamura Museum ()
*
Koryo Museum of Art
The opened in Kyoto, Japan, in 1988. The collection amassed by the Museum's founder, pachinko magnate and izakaya operator , comprises some 1,700 objects including Goryeo celadons, Joseon white porcelain, Buddhist art, Korean folk art, archaeolo ...
()
* Kyoto Arashiyama Orgel Museum ()
*
Kyoto Art Center
The is a venue for promoting the arts which is located in the heart of Kyoto, Japan. The center, a three-story reinforced-concrete building, occupies the site of the former Meirin Elementary School (founded by the people of Kyoto during the Meij ...
()
*
Kyoto Botanical Garden
The , also known as the Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden, is a major botanical garden with conservatory located next to the Kamo River, Hangi-cho Simogamo, Sakyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. It is open daily; a general admission fee is charged, and an ...
()
* Kyoto City Archaeological Museum ()
* Kyoto City Heiankyo Sosei-Kan Museum ()
*
Kyoto International Manga Museum
The Kyoto International Manga Museum (京都国際マンガミュージアム, Kyōto Kokusai Manga Myūjiamu) is located in Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The museum's collection includes approximately 300,000 items as of 2016, with 50,000 volumes o ...
()
* Kyoto
Kaleidoscope Museum ()
*
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art ()
*
Kyoto Museum for World Peace ()
* Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts ()
*
Kyoto National Museum ()
* Kyoto Prefectural Garden of Fine Arts ()
* Kyoto Prefectural Insho-Domoto Museum of Fine Arts ()
*
Kyoto Railway Museum ()
*
Kyoto University Museum
The opened in Kyōto, Japan, in 2001. It exhibits materials from the collection of some 2,600,000 objects built up by Kyoto University since its foundation as Kyoto Imperial University in 1897. Arranged in accordance with three main themes - natu ...
()
*
Museum of Kyoto ()
* Namikawa Cloisonne Museum of Kyoto ()
*
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto ()
*
Nomura Art Museum ()
* Onishi Seiwemon Museum ()
*
Raku Museum ()
*
Ryozen Museum of History ()
*
Sen-oku Hakuko Kan
250px, Sen-oku Hakuko Kan
is located in Kyoto, Japan and houses a large collection of Chinese bronze vessels, Chinese and Japanese mirrors, and a few Chinese bronze Buddhist figures. The collection was brought together by Sumitomo Kichizaemon V ...
()
*
Shigureden
is a museum in Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan, centered on the ''Ogura Hyakunin Isshu'' anthology of ''waka'' poems compiled by Fujiwara no Teika in the 13th century. The museum was founded by former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, who invested m ...
()
* Tin Toy Museum ()
*
Toei Kyoto Studio Park ()
*
Yurinkan Museum ()
Sports
Kyoto has been the site of many annual sporting events, ranging from the 400-year-old
Tōshiya archery exhibition held at the
Sanjūsangen-dō Temple to the
Kyoto Marathon
The is an annual marathon sporting event for men and women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held in mid February in Kyoto, Japan. The course starts at Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium and pass through Kyoto Botanical Gard ...
and the
Shimadzu All Japan Indoor Tennis Championships.
Several sports teams are based in Kyoto, including professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and
basketball teams. In football, Kyoto has been represented by
Kyoto Sanga FC, a club which won the
Emperor's Cup
, commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...
in 2002 and rose to
J. League's Division 1 in 2005. Kyoto Sanga began as an amateur non-company club in the 1920s, making it the J. League team with the longest history, although it was only after professionalization in the 1990s that it was able to compete in the Japanese top division. Until 2019, Kyoto Sanga used
Takebishi Stadium Kyoto in Ukyō-ku as its home stadium, but home matches were moved to the city of
Kameoka, Kyoto in 2020. There are also several amateur football clubs based in Kyoto. The amateur clubs AS Laranja Kyoto,
Ococias Kyoto AC, and Kyoto Shiko Soccer Club compete in the regional
Kansai Soccer League.
Another professional team based in Kyoto is the
Kyoto Hannaryz, a men's basketball team in the First Division of the
B.League
The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that w ...
that plays its home games at the
Kyoto City Gymnasium
Kyoto City Gymnasium (京都市体育館, ''Kyoto-shi Taiikukan'') is an arena in Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan. It is the home arena of the Kyoto Hannaryz
The Kyoto Hannaryz (京都ハンナリーズ ''Kyōto Hannarīzu'') are a Japanese basketball tea ...
in Ukyō-ku. Kyoto has also been the home of other professional teams that have subsequently moved or been disbanded. Between 1949 and 1952, the
Central League professional baseball team
Shochiku Robins played home games at Kinugasa Ballpark in Kita-ku and Nishi-Kyōgoku Baseball Park (now known as Wakasa Stadium) in Ukyō-ku. This team eventually became the
Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Kyoto also hosted two teams in the
Japan Women's Baseball League
The , formerly Girls Professional Baseball League until 2012, was the highest level of women's baseball
Women's baseball is played in several countries. The strongest and most organized women's baseball leagues are in the United States, Austr ...
before the league folded in 2021.
Company team
A works team (sometimes factory team, company team) is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business. Sometimes, works teams contain or are entirely made up of employees of the supporting company.
Association footb ...
s in Kyoto include two rugby squads, the
Mitsubishi Motors Kyoto Red Evolutions and the
Shimadzu Breakers, which compete in the Kansai regional rugby league
Top West. In baseball, company teams have competed in the regional JABA Kyoto Tournament annually since 1947.
Kyoto Racecourse in Fushimi-ku is one of ten racecourses operated by the
Japan Racing Association. It hosts notable horse races including the
Kikuka-shō
The is a Japanese Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 3,000 metres (approximately 1 7/8 miles) at the Kyoto Racecourse, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture in October.
...
, Spring
Tenno Sho, and
Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
See also
*
List of bridges in Kyoto
*
List of Buddhist temples in Kyoto
*
List of fires in Kyoto
The list of fires in Kyoto encompasses an essential aspect of urban life in the Japanese capital.
History
Although accidental fire were regular occurrences, some blazes were so devastating that they were afterwards identified as "great;" and thes ...
*
List of Shinto shrines in Kyoto
List of Shinto shrines in Kyoto includes many Shinto shrines; but this list encompasses only some of the 400 Shinto shrines with scattered locations throughout the municipality of Kyoto and the prefecture of Kyoto:
The Kamo Shrine predates the f ...
*
Outline of Kyoto
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Kyoto:
Kyoto – capital city of Kyoto Prefecture, located in the Kansai region of Japan. It is most well known in Japanese history for being the former Imperial capit ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
*Fiévé, Nicolas (ed.) (2008) ''Atlas historique de Kyôto. Analyse spatiale des systèmes de mémoire d’une ville, de son architecture et de ses paysages urbains''. Foreword Kôichirô Matsuura, Preface Jacques Gernet, Paris, Éditions de l’UNESCO / Éditions de l’Amateur, 528 pages, 207 maps et 210 ill. .
*Fiévé, Nicolas and Waley, Paul. (2003). Japanese Capitals in Historical Perspective: Place, Power and Memory in Kyoto, Edo and Tokyo. London: Routledge. 417 pages + 75 ill.
*Lone, John. (2000). ''Old Kyoto: A Short Social History.'' Oxford:
Oxford University Press. .
*Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A. B. (1956). ''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869.'' Kyoto: The Ponsonby Memorial Society.
*Ropke, Ian Martin. ''Historical Dictionary of Osaka and Kyoto.'' 273pp Scarecrow Press (July 22, 1999) .
External links
Kyoto City Official Website(in Japanese)
Kyoto City Official Travel Guide City of Kyoto and Kyoto City Tourism Association (in English)
*
{{Authority control
Populated places established in the 8th century
1889 establishments in Japan
Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Japan
Former capitals of Japan
Environmental model cities
Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan