History of Kyoto

At the end of the 8th century, Emperor Kanmu left Nara (Heijo-kyo), Japan's 1rst long-term capital, to found a new city: Heian. It would prove so influential that an entire historical era bears its name. Established in 794, it remained the imperial capital for 1,074 years (aside from a few brief interludes) until 1868.

Heian, the Golden Age of Classical Japan

The Heian period runs from the city's founding in 794 to the end of Fujiwara rule in 1185. The city developed around the Imperial Court over nearly 4 centuries, during which Japan gradually broke away from Chinese cultural influence to develop its own distinct culture.

Emperor Kanmu chose an ideal location for his new city: a plain protected by mountains on three sides, with river access to Osaka Bay. It was named Heian-kyo, a name that stuck until 1868, sometimes shortened to miyako or kyo, using only the character 京, meaning "capital." Heian-kyo means "capital of peace and tranquility."

Designed according to the principles of Chinese geomancy, the city was laid out in a grid south of the Imperial Palace. By the end of the 12th century, Heian-kyo covered a rectangle measuring 5.2 km from north to south and 4.5 km from east to west, roughly between today's Ichijo-dori and Kujo-dori avenues (south of Kyoto Station), Teramachi street to the east, and the Tenjingawa river to the west. The city had no fortifications at the time.

To the north stood the Dai Dairi imperial palace (1.15 by 1.38 km), originally located between Ichijo and Nijo avenues, facing south and marking an axis of symmetry that split the city in 2 along Suzaku Avenue (today's Senbon-dori), leading to the great Rashomon Gate (of which only a marker stone remains). This entrance gate to the city was flanked on either side by the imperial temples To-ji (796) to the east and Sai-ji (794, since destroyed) to the west.

Aside from these two temples, the construction of Buddhist buildings was heavily restricted within the city at the time. Places of worship therefore found their privileged spot on the outskirts, at the foot of or on the slopes of mountains outside the city.

The Distinctive Culture of the Heian Period

During the 9th century, ties with China loosened, giving way to a more local culture, expressed notably through the creation of the hiragana syllabary, derived from Chinese characters. This allowed a wider range of people to master writing and, as a result, to develop literature and poetry, widely practiced by the ladies of the Court. Among the world's oldest novels, whose 1,000th anniversary was celebrated in 2008, is The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu, along with The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon (1002). The Japanese poem Iroha, which contains every syllable of the Japanese language, was also written during the Heian period. Painting saw the emergence of the Yamato-e style, with stylized figures depicted in interior scenes using a "blown-off roof" perspective, illustrating novels and offering a glimpse into the Court's lifestyle.

Heian-era Kyoto also saw the birth of 2 distinctly Japanese Buddhist schools: Tendai (whose main temple, Enryaku-ji, was built in 788) and Shingon (for which To-ji became the head temple in 823).

This golden age of classical culture came to an end with the Genpei War (1180-1185), a succession dispute between the Minamoto and Taira clans, both secondary branches of the imperial family. The various battles took place notably in Uji, Otsu (at the foot of Mount Hiei), and Nara. The conflict allowed the warrior aristocracy to seize temporal power.

The Rise of the Samurai and Zen Refinement

Kyoto remained the capital throughout Japan's long feudal period, but the emperor lost a good deal of his authority to the warrior nobility.

The Hojo clan established a shogunate in Kamakura, a city belonging to the Minamoto clan further east toward the Kanto plain. This state of dual capitals lasted from 1185 to 1333. Kyoto remained the largest city in the country and its cultural and spiritual center. Zen Buddhism took root across the archipelago thanks to the dominant influence of the warrior class. Meanwhile, Mount Hiei (home of Tendai Buddhism) remained an essential training ground for religious figures, including the founders of the Pure Land school (Honen, 1133-1212) and the Lotus school (Nichiren, 1222-1282).

The Kamakura period came to an end with Emperor Go-Daigo's (1288-1339) attempt to restore imperial power. He allied himself with Takauji Ashikaga (1305-1358), who ultimately turned against him, splitting the imperial line into a Northern Court based in Kyoto and a Southern Court in Yoshino. Takauji was named shogun by the Northern Court emperor, ushering in the Muromachi period (1335-1573), named retroactively after the Kyoto neighborhood where the Hana-no-Gosho palace of Yoshimitsu, the 3rd Ashikaga shogun, once stood.

From the 14th to the 16th century, emperors and shoguns coexisted in Heian during a period of remarkable cultural flourishing, largely attributed to 2 shoguns:

• Yoshimitsu Ashikaga (1358-1408, ruled 1368-1394) marked the golden age of his dynasty: he reconciled the Northern and Southern Courts in 1392, restored diplomatic ties with China, and supported the Zen movement by building Shokoku-ji temple (1382-1392). His residence in northwest Kyoto, known today as Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion), stood at the heart of the so-called "Kitayama" culture, which fostered literature (Five Mountains Zen literature, renga poetry), pictorial arts (Chinese ink painting), gave rise to Noh theater, and saw the emergence of the first Zen gardens and tea-tasting contests.
• Yoshimasa Ashikaga (1435-1490, ruled 1449-1473), meanwhile, was at the center of Higashiyama culture, home to his residence, today known as Ginkaku-ji (the Silver Pavilion). This movement contrasted with Kitayama culture through a return to sparser forms of expression grounded in the wabi-sabi aesthetic (simplicity and modesty). Garden design shifted from strolling gardens to contemplative ones, while the tea ceremony and ikebana began to take on more formal shape.

Politically, Yoshimasa's reign was marred by succession disputes that erupted into the Onin civil war (1467-1477), causing widespread destruction across the capital and setting the stage for nearly a century of rivalry and civil war among rival lords during the period known as the Sengoku-jidai, or "Warring States era." As a result, many of today's buildings on ancient sites actually date back no further than the late 16th or early 17th century at the earliest. Older structures can more easily be found around Kyoto, preserved in forests less exposed to unrest.

During the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1578-1603), Kyoto remained at the center of attention and was still regarded as the seat of power: Hideyoshi Toyotomi (1537-1598), then the most powerful man in Japan, built his Jurakudai palace there, along with Fushimi-Momoyama Castle 🏯 and even a 23-km-long defensive wall around the ancient city. All of these structures would later be dismantled by his successors.

After the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), power was seized by Ieyasu Tokugawa (1543-1616), who established his shogunate in Edo, the future Tokyo, in 1603. Kyoto remained the imperial capital, and Ieyasu had Nijo Palace built there as a mark of his presence, even though he and his successors would remain based in Edo.

The Shift Toward the East

The name of the Edo period (1603-1868) reflects the growing importance of the new city. Kyoto now had to share its cultural and artistic influence, as the wealth of the domains flowed primarily toward the shogunal capital. Even so, Kyoto remained a vibrant cultural hub, thanks in part to the presence of the imperial court and the Buddhist clergy. Merchants and tradesmen, who had largely replaced the warrior and aristocratic classes, shared with Edo a hedonistic urban culture centered on woodblock prints and kabuki theater.

Aristocratic traditions also grew stronger during this time, and this period saw the construction of iconic sites and gardens that can still be visited today, such as Katsura Imperial Villa, Shugakuin Imperial Villa, and numerous gardens.

The years 1853 to 1868 were more turbulent, marked by clashes between defenders of the shogunate and revolutionaries seeking to restore imperial power. The restoration took place in 1868 and triggered the Boshin civil war (1868-1869), which caused extensive destruction in the southern part of the city, around the Toba and Fushimi districts.

From the Modern Era to Today

Emperor Meiji moved his residence, and with it the capital, to Tokyo. The 1,000-year-old capital was officially renamed Kyoto in 1889 (literally, "capital city").

At the end of the 19th century, major projects were undertaken in the eastern part of the city to revitalize it, including the construction of the Lake Biwa Canal and Keage Incline, a railway line that remained in operation until 1948.

The Okazaki district is home to a scaled-down reproduction of the old Heian-kyo palace, built for the city's 1,100th anniversary in 1895: today it is the great Heian-jingu shrine.

In the 20th century, Kyoto escaped the bombings of World War II, as the Allies considered its cultural heritage invaluable and believed its destruction would hinder reconciliation with Japan.

In 1994, 198 buildings and 12 gardens built between the 10th and 17th centuries were designated by UNESCO as "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)." The list includes shrines (Kamigamo and Shimogamo), temples (Kiyomizu-dera, Ryoan-ji), and a palace (Nijo Castle). Most of these sites remain major attractions in the city, which today relies largely on cultural tourism.

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Overtourism in Japan - Places And Times Plagued By Mass Tourism

Kyoto now faces a new challenge, however: managing visitor flows driven by effective promotion from the tourism board and social media, which have contributed to overcrowding in certain neighborhoods.


Still, the ancient capital is so vast and so rich that it is entirely possible, and even advisable, to break away from the crowds of tourists to explore it and discover its treasures.