Their grounds and those of the Kyōto Imperial Palace (Kyōto Gosho) and Nijō Castle (Nijō-jo) give Kyōto more green areas than most Japanese cities. Climateīuddhist temples and Shintō shrines abound. Kyōto is actually cradled in a saucer of hills on three sides that opens to the southwest toward Ōsaka. But the attraction of the eastern hills kept the city from filling out to its original western border until after World War II. The Kamo and Katsura rivers-before joining the Yodo-gawa ( Yodo River) to the south-were, respectively, the original eastern and western boundaries. Hiei-zan especially came to figure prominently between the 11th and 16th centuries, when warrior-monks from its Tendai Buddhist monastery complex frequently raided the city and influenced politics. Thus, Hiei-zan ( Mount Hiei 2,782 feet ) to the northeast and Atago-yama ( Mount Atago 3,031 feet ) to the northwest were considered natural guardians. Following Chinese precedent, care was taken when the site was selected to protect the northern corners, from which, it was believed, evil spirits could gain access. The Imperial Palace, surrounded by government buildings, was in the city’s north-central section. The plan called for a rectangular enclosure with a grid street pattern, 3.2 miles (5.1 km) north to south and 2.8 miles (4.5 km) east to west. Physical and human geography The landscape The city siteĭesignated the site of a new capital by the emperor Kammu, Kyōto was laid out in 794 on the model of Chang’an (modern Xi’an), the capital of China’s Tang dynasty. Several of the historic temples and gardens of Kyōto were collectively added as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994. The deep feeling of the Japanese people for their culture and heritage is represented in their special relationship with Kyōto-all Japanese try to go there at least once in their lives, with almost a third of the country’s population visiting the city annually. Nevertheless, Kyōto is the centre of traditional Japanese culture and of Buddhism, as well as of fine textiles and other Japanese products. The contemporary phrase sekai no Kyōto (“the world’s Kyōto”) reflects the reception of Japanese culture abroad and Kyōto’s own attempt to keep up with the times. The capital of Japan for more than 1,000 years (from 794 to 1868), Kyōto (literally, “Capital City”) has been called a variety of names through the centuries-Heian-kyō (“Capital of Peace and Tranquillity”), Miyako (“The Capital”), and Saikyō (“Western Capital”), its name after the Meiji Restoration (1868) when the imperial household moved to Tokyo.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |