Location: Kyoto
City, Kyoto Pref.
Number of companies: 49
Number of workers: 300
Events: Memorial Service for Dolls
at Hokyoji Temple in October.
The Birthplace of Japanese
Dolls
Japan is regarded as a treasure house of dolls, and Kyoto has
been the focus of doll-making. Kyoto dolls started out as popular
toys among the children of the nobility in the medieval period,
and by the 17th century, had been developed into highly artistic
dolls for decoration. Although many kinds of dolls are produced,
most of them are made with a wooden and painted head dressed in
gorgeous costumes. Being also a production center of high-class
weaves called Nishijin Weaves, Kyoto
has always been the ideal place for making costume dolls. By using
Nishijin textiles for dolls' costumes, the doll-makers in Kyoto
have produced many exquisite and elegant dolls.
In the process of manufacturing dolls, labor is strictly divided
for the head, attaching the hair, limbs, accessories and costuming,
and each is the handicraft of artisans with many years of experience.
This sophisticated, specialized production system has given the
dolls characteristics and individuality that are unique to Kyoto.
Among the Kyoto dolls produced today, 70 percent are so-called
"Sekku-ningyo" (festival dolls). Many families with
children decorate their house with these dolls on the third day
of March for girls and on the fifth of May for boys to celebrate
to grow up in good health. Kyoto dolls are made by techniques
refined over the generations, and their unchanged elegance is
still appreciated by the Japanese.
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Location: Kyoto
City, Kyoto Pref.
THE CITY OF KYOTO
Establishment of the municipal government: April 1, 1889
Area: 610.2 sq km
(235.6 sq mi)
Population: 1,389,342
(as of March 31, 1997)
Reminders of Prosperity
of Japan's Ancient Capital
Since its establishment as the capital of Japan, then called Heian-kyo,
in 794, Kyoto remained as the Imperial resident capital for over
a thousand years and prospered as the center of Japanese culture.
Many Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines were founded in the city
and the surrounding area under the patronage of the Emperors and
Shoguns (warrior elite leaders), and remain today as they used
to be. Each building accurately represents the culture of the
historical period when it was built. Thus the whole Kyoto could
be regarded as a museum of Japanese history.
Heian-kyo was modeled after Chinese city Chang-an, the capital
of Tang China, and the square grid system of roads and streets
then created still forms the center of Kyoto City. Because the
central Heian-kyo was made primarily to be a place for civic functions,
temples were built in the surrounding mountains, and the country
villas of the aristocracy were built in places of scenic beauty.
During this period, an aristocratic culture centered around the
Imperial court flourished. Characterized by finesse, sumptuousness,
and harmonization with nature, this court culture became a model
of Japanese culture itself.
In the late 12th century, warrior elite families came to gain
power. In addition to aristocratic culture and Buddhist culture
introduced from China, powerful warrior elite culture became influential
and the three cultures coexisted, influencing one another. The
highly refined culture which prospered in the 14th and 15th centuries
under the established rule of the military Shogunate reflects
deep admiration for aristocratic culture and the influence of
the Zen Sect of Buddhism. This cultural prosperity can be traced
in many of the Zen temples that were built during the period and
buildings and gardens used as the shoguns' villas.
The city was a battlefield for ten years from 1467, the capital
was devastated, and many properties in the center of the city
were destroyed. When political stability was restored in the late
16th century, many temples and shrines were reconstructed. The
culture of this period was shaped by the warrior elite who had
taken power and by the elite merchants who profited from international
trade. Reflecting their spirit, the period was characterized by
opulence and boldness, represented in the castles of the time
and in an architecture richly decorated with sculpture and painting.
In the Edo period (1603-1868), although
the Imperial court stayed in Kyoto, the center of power shifted
to Edo (present-day Tokyo). In that period, temples of various
sects were organized systematically throughout Japan into head
temples and branch temples, with many of the head temples located
in Kyoto. As large numbers of provincial believers came to visit
the head temples of their sects, the city developed the character
of a religious and tourist center.
In 1868, the government was moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. Under the
influence of modern Western culture, a variety of modernization
policies were enacted, transforming Kyoto into a modern city.
With the national government recognizing the need to protect cultural
properties, the historic sites and monuments in Kyoto and the
vicinity have been provided with appropriate protection and maintenance,
keeping the city's historical scenery intact. Many of the architectural
properties are designated as National Treasures or Important Cultural
Assets, among which a set of 17 historic sites was registered
as World Cultural Heritage in 1993.
Photos: (Top) Byodo-in in Uji, an embodiment of Jodo Buddhism;
(middle) The Kinkaku (Golden Pavilion) of the Rokuon-ji, a symbol
of the gorgeous Kitayama culture in the 14th century. (Ministry
of Foreign Affairs)
The 17 properties of World Heritage
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Date: May 15
Place: Kamigamo Shrine, Kyoto City
Number of Visitors:
61,000 (1997)
Solemnity and Elegance of the Ancient Capital
One of the biggest events on the festival calendar in Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital, is the
Aoi Festival of Kamigamo Shrine, held on May 15. This festival
is one of the most solemn and graceful festivals in the country,
and it has been well preserved since the eighth century, when
it first started.
The festival came to be known by its present name in the Edo period (1603-1868) because the paraders
and carriages were decorated with distinctive aoi (hollyhock)
leaves.
It's a very popular festival that includes a procession of about
500 people clad in the elegant and ornate dress of the ancient
imperial court and gorgeous carriages pulled by oxen. The festival
consists of a private imperial service, a Shinto ritual, and a
parade from the Imperial Palace in Kyoto to Kamigamo Shrine. When
people talk about the Aoi Festival, they usually mean the parade
and the courtly music and dances that are performed along the
way.
The festival began with the court officials in the Heian
period (794-1185) who made an outing to offer their prayers
at the Kamigamo Shrine, as well as the Shimogamo Shrine just to
the south. The parade attracted many onlookers a thousand years
ago, just as it does today, and the event has been the subject
of many literary and artistic works.
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Location: Kyoto
City, Kyoto Pref.
Build between 1615-1662
Area of the site:
70,000 sq m (17 acres)
Old Imperial Villa Has
Functional and Formative Beauty
Katsura Detached Palace, known for its architectural style and
unique beautiful garden, is located in the southwest of Kyoto
City. The source of its beauty lies in the perfect harmony of
the simple, sophisticated appearance of the buildings and the
beautiful scenery of the garden. The 70,000-square meter (17-acre)
site is on the west bank of Katsura River and surrounded by thickets
of bamboo and other trees. The garden in the center of the site
has a pond with three isles of different sizes, and major buildings
are located on the west side of the pond. A walking path goes
around the pond, along which there are tea houses. The pond has
rugged contours so the scenery changes from place to place. The
whole garden is so exquisitely laid out that many different natural
landscapes can be seen while walking through the hills and trees.
The Palace originated when a tea house was built as a villa of
the Imperial Hachijo-no-miya Family in the 1620s, and most of
the existing buildings had been constructed and the garden had
been developed almost as it is now by 1662. Since the Hachijo-no-miya
Family came to an end in the 1880s, the site has been administered
by the Ministry of Imperial Household (the present Imperial Household
Agency). Between 1975 and 1991, all the buildings, which were
over 300 years old and badly damaged, were dismantled and reconstructed
for the first time, and restored to their original charm.
The German architect Bruno Taut, who stayed in Japan and studied
the architectural styles around the country in the 1930s, visited
Katsura Detached Palace soon after his arrival. He was so impressed
by its gracefulness that he wrote in his diary that it was "so
beautiful that it makes me feel like crying." Later, he praised
the palace as a symbol of Japanese aesthetics in his publications,
thus making its elegant beauty known to the world.
To visit Katsura Detached Palace, advance permission of the Imperial
Household Agency is required.
Photo: Ko-shoin, the main building, and the garden of Katsura
Detached Palace (Shogakukan Inc.)