yoto

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This article is about the city in Japan. For other uses, see Kyoto (disambiguation).

Kyoto

京都市

Designated city

Kyoto City

From top left: Tō-ji, Gion Matsuri in modern Kyoto, Fushimi Inari-

taisha, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kiyomizu-dera, Kinkaku-ji, Ponto-
chō and Maiko, Ginkaku-ji, Cityscape from Higashiyama and Kyoto
Tower

Flag
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

Location of Kyoto in Kyoto Prefecture

Kyoto
 

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Coordinates:  35°0′42″N 135°46′6″ECoordinates:  35°0′42″N 135
°46′6″E

Country  Japan
Region Kansai
Prefecture Kyoto Prefecture

Founded 794

Government
 • Type Mayor–council
 • Body Kyoto City Assembly
 • Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa

Area
 • Designated city 827.83 km2 (319.63 sq mi)

Highest elevation 971 m (3,186 ft)

Lowest elevation 9 m (30 ft)

Population
 (October 1, 2015)[1]
 • Designated city 1,475,183
 • Estimate  1,468,980
(2018)[2]
 • Rank 9th, Japan
 • Density 1,800/km2 (4,600/sq mi)
 • Metro 2,801,044 (JP: 4th)
[3]
 (2015)

Time zone UTC+9 (Japan Standard Time)

- Tree Weeping Willow, Japanese
Maple and Katsura
- Flower Camellia, Azalea and Sugar Cherry

Website www.city.kyoto.lg.jp

Kyoto

"Kyoto" in kanji

Japanese name
 Kanji 京都

Hiragana きょうと

Katakana キョウト

showTranscriptions

Kyoto (/ˈkjoʊtoʊ/;[4] Japanese: 京都, Kyōto [kʲoꜜːto] ( listen)), officially Kyoto City (京都

市, Kyōto-shi, [kʲoːtoꜜɕi] ( listen)), 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. As of 2018, the city had
a population of 1.47 million.
In 794, Kyoto (then known as Heian-kyō) was chosen as the new seat of Japan's
imperial court. The original city was arranged in accordance with traditional
Chinese feng shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an. 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 Nakagyō, Shimogyō, and Kamigyō-ku still follow a grid pattern.
The emperors of Japan ruled from Kyoto in the following eleven centuries until 1869,
when the court relocated to Tokyo. The city was devastated during the Ōnin War in the
15th century and went into an extended period of decline, but gradually revived under
the Tokugawa shogunate (1600–1868) and flourished as a major city in Japan. 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 a major tourist destination. It is
home to numerous Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, palaces and gardens, some of
which are listed collectively by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Prominent
landmarks include the Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kiyomizu-dera, Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji and
the Katsura Imperial Villa. Kyoto is also a center of higher learning, with Kyoto
University being an institution of international renown.

Contents

Name[edit]
In Japanese, Kyoto was previously called Kyō (京), Miyako (都), or Kyō no Miyako (京
の都). In the 11th century, the city was renamed "Kyōto" (京都, "capital city"), from
the Middle Chinese kiang-tuo (cf. Mandarin jīngdū).[5] After the city of Edo was renamed
"Tōkyō" (東京, meaning "Eastern Capital") in 1868 and the seat of the emperor was
moved there, Kyoto was for a short time known as "Saikyō" (西京, meaning "Western
Capital"). Kyoto is also sometimes called the thousand-year capital (千年の都).
The National Diet never officially passed any law designating a capital. [6] Foreign
spellings for the city's name have included Kioto, Miaco and Meaco, utilised mainly by
Dutch cartographers. Another term commonly used to refer to the city in the pre-modern
period was Keishi (京師), "capital".[7]
  Gallery


18th-century map with the Japanese capital "Meaco"

History[edit]
See also: Timeline of Kyoto
Origins[edit]
Ample archaeological evidence suggests human settlement in the area of Kyoto began
as early as the Paleolithic period,[8] 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.
Heian-kyō[edit]
Main article: Heian-kyō
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.[9]
The new city, Heian-kyō (平安京, "tranquility and peace capital"), a scaled replica of the
then Chinese Tang dynasty capital Chang'an,[10] 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 (Kamakura shogunate) and Edo (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.
The city suffered extensive destruction in the Ōnin War of 1467–1477, and did not really
recover until the mid-16th century. During the Ōnin War, the shugo collapsed, and
power was divided among the military families. [11] Battles between samurai factions
spilled into the streets, and came to involve the court nobility (kuge) 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 odoi (御土居) encircling the city. Teramachi Street in central Kyoto is a Buddhist
temple quarter where Hideyoshi gathered temples in the city. Throughout the Edo
period, the economy of the city flourished as one of three major cities in Japan, the
others being Osaka and Edo.

 Gallery
 Map of Heian-kyō, 1696
  

Daidairi (palace in the center) and the cityscape of Heian-kyō

 

Perspective Pictures of Places in Japan: Sanjūsangen-dō  in Kyoto

Toyoharu, c. 1772–1781