Uji-shi

Kyoto Tower (京都タワー) is an observation tower located in Kyoto, Japan. The steel tower is the tallest structure in Kyoto with its observation deck at 100 metres (328 ft) and its spire at 131 metres (430 ft). The 800-ton tower stands atop a 9-story building, which houses a 3-star hotel and several stores. The entire complex stands opposite Kyōto Station. History Kyoto Tower was proposed in the early 1960s, and it was planned to be constructed and completed in time to correspond with the 1964 Summer…

Fushimi Inari-taisha (伏見稲荷大社) is the head shrine of the kami Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari which is above sea level, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines which span and take approximately 2 hours to walk up. Inari was originally and remains primarily the kami of rice and agriculture, but merchants and manufacturers also worship Inari as the patron of business. Each of Fushimi Inari…

The Kyoto National Museum (京都国立博物館) is one of the major art museums in Japan. Located in Kyoto's Higashiyama ward, the museum focuses on pre-modern Japanese and Asian art. History The Kyoto National Museum, then the Imperial Museum of Kyoto, was proposed, along with the Imperial Museum of Tokyo (Tokyo National Museum) and the Imperial Museum of Nara (Nara National Museum), in 1889, and construction on the museum finished in October 1895. The museum was opened in 1897. The museum went through a …

The Kyoto Railway Museum (京都鉄道博物館) (formerly the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum (梅小路蒸気機関車館) until 2016) is a railway museum in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The original Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum opened in 1972, but was expanded and modernized in 2016, becoming the Kyoto Railway Museum. The museum is owned by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and is operated by Transportation Culture Promotion Foundation. Exhibition zones The museum is divided into the following exhibition areas, includin…

Tōfuku-ji (東福寺) is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku in Kyoto, Japan. Tōfuku-ji takes its name from two temples in Nara, Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji. It is one of the Kyoto ''Gozan'' or "five great Zen temples of Kyoto". Its honorary sangō prefix is Enichi-san (慧日山). History Tōfuku-ji was founded in 1236 by the imperial chancellor Kujō Michiie. He appointed the monk Enni as founding priest, who had studied Rinzai Zen Buddhism in China under the monk Wuzhun Shifan. The temple was burned but rebuil…

Byōdō-in (平等院) is a Buddhist temple in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, built in the late Heian period. It is jointly a temple of the Jōdo-shū (Pure Land) and Tendai-shū sects. History This temple was originally built in 998 in the Heian period as a rural villa of high-ranking courtier Minamoto no Shigenobu, Minister of the Left. After he died, one of the most powerful members of the Fujiwara clan, Fujiwara no Michinaga, purchased the property from the courtier's widow. The villa was…

Fushimi Castle (伏見城), also known as Momoyama Castle (桃山城) 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 was destroyed in 1596 and rebuilt before eventually being demolished in 1623 and its site later used for the tomb of Emperor Meiji. The current Fushimi Castle is a replica constructed in 1964 near the original sit…

Tō-ji Temple (東寺), also known as Kyō-ō-gokoku-ji (教王護国寺) is a Shingon Buddhist temple in the Minami-ku ward of Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 796, it was one of the only three Buddhist temples allowed in the city at the time it became the capital of Japan. As such it has a long history, housing treasures and documents from the early Heian period and the Tang dynasty, and with buildings in its complex covering the Kamakura, Muromachi, Momoyama, and Edo periods. Five of these buildings have been designa…

Sennyū-ji (泉涌寺), formerly written as Sen-yū-ji (仙遊寺), is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku in Kyoto, Japan. For centuries, Sennyū-ji has been a mausoleum for noble families and members of the Imperial House of Japan. Located within the temple grounds are the official tombs of Emperor Shijō and many of the emperors who came after him. History Sennyū-ji was founded in the early Heian period. According to one tradition, it was founded as Senyū-ji (仙遊寺) in 855 at the former mountain villa of Fuji…

Hongan-ji (本願寺), also archaically romanized as Hongwanji, is the collective name of the largest school of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism (which further sub-divides into the Nishi and Higashi branches). 'Hongan-ji' may also refer to any one of several actual temple buildings associated with the sect. Nishi Honganji (西本願寺) and Higashi Honganji (東本願寺) are two major temples in Kyoto. Early history The Hongan-ji was established as a temple in 1321, on the site of the Ōtani Mausoleum, where Shinran, the founde…

Emperor Go-Shirakawa (後白河天皇) was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the ''insei'' system – scholars differ as to whether his rule can be truly considered part of the insei system, given that the Hōgen Rebellion undermined the imperial position. However, it is broadly acknowledged that by politically ou…

The Ujigami Shrine (宇治上神社) is a Shinto shrine in the city of Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The shrine was built as a guardian shrine for the nearby Byōdō-in, and is adjacent to the Uji Shrine. In 1994, it was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto". The honden and haiden have been designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as National Treasures in the category shrines. The Ujigami Shrine is dedicated to the Emperor Ōjin and his sons, the …

Emperor Kammu (桓武天皇), or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Kammu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the scope of the emperor's powers reached its peak. Traditional narrative Kammu's personal name (imina) was Yamabe (山部). He was the eldest son of Prince Shirakabe (later known as Emperor Kōnin), and was born prior to Shirakabe's ascension to the throne. According to the Shoku Nihongi (続日本紀), Yamabe's mother, Yamato no Nii…

The Amagase Dam (天ヶ瀬ダム) is an arch dam on the Uji River just upstream from Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The main purpose of the dam is flood control but it supports a hydroelectric power station and creates the lower reservoir for the Kisenyama Pumped Storage Plant. The dam itself serves a 92 MW power station while the pumped-storage power station upstream has a 466 MW capacity. Construction on the dam began in 1955 and it was complete in 1964. The pumped-storage power station became operationa…

The Mimizuka (耳塚), an alteration of the original Hanazuka (鼻塚) is a monument in Kyoto, Japan, dedicated to the sliced noses of killed Korean soldiers and civilians as well as Ming Chinese troops taken as war trophies during the Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 to 1598. The monument enshrines the severed noses of at least 38,000 Koreans and over 30,000 Chinese killed during Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasions. The shrine is located just to the west of Toyokuni Shrine, the Shinto shrine honoring …

The Kamo River (鴨川) is located in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The riverbanks are popular walking spots for residents and tourists. In summer, restaurants open balconies looking out to the river. There are walkways running alongside the river, and some stepping stones that cross the river. The water level of the river is usually relatively low; less than one meter in most places. During the rainy season, however, the walkways sometimes flood in their lower stretches. Geography The Kamo River has its…

The UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) encompasses 17 locations in Japan within the city of Kyoto and its immediate vicinity. In 794, the Japanese imperial family moved the capital to Heian-kyō. The locations are in three cities: Kyoto and Uji in Prefecture]; and Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture; Uji and Ōtsu border Kyoto to the south and north, respectively. Of the monuments, 13 are Buddhist temples, three are Shinto shrines, and one is a castle.…

Emperor Rokujō (六条天皇) was the 79th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1165 through 1168. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina) was Nobuhito-shinnō (順仁). He was as Yoshihito- or Toshihito-shinnō. He was the son of Emperor Nijō. He left no children. Events of Rokujō's life He was made Crown Prince before his first birthday, and was enthroned at the age of 8 months. • 1165 (Eiman…

Itō Chūta (伊東 忠太) was a Japanese architect, architectural historian, and critic. He is recognized as the leading architect and architectural theorist of early 20th-century Imperial Japan. Biography Second son of a doctor in Yonezawa, present-day Yamagata Prefecture, Itō was educated in Tokyo. From 1889 to 1892 he studied under Tatsuno Kingo in the Department of Architecture at the Imperial University. Josiah Conder was still teaching in the department, while Ernest Fenollosa and Okakura Kakuzō w…

Emperor Chūkyō (仲恭天皇) (October 30, 1218 – June 18, 1234) was the 85th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned only months in 1221, and he was not officially listed amongst the emperors until 1870 because of doubts caused by the length of his reign. The Imperial Household Agency recognizes Kujō no misasagi (九條陵) near Tōfuku-ji in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto as his tomb. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina) wa…

Emperor Toba (鳥羽天皇) was the 74th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Toba's reign spanned the years from 1107 through 1123. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina) was Munehito-shinnō (宗仁親王). He was the son of Emperor Horikawa. His mother was Empress Dowager Fujiwara no Ishi (藤原苡子) Toba had three Empresses, some consort ladies and 14 imperial sons and daughters. • chūgū : Fujiwara no Tamako (藤原璋子) later Taikenmon’…

Emperor Konoe (linktext) was the 76th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Konoe's reign spanned the years from 1142 through 1155. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina) was Narihito-shinnō (体仁親王). He was also known as Tosihito-shinnō. Emperor Konoe was the eighth son of Emperor Toba. His mother was Fujiwara no Nariko (1117–1160), the wife of Emperor Toba. • Kōgō: Fujiwara no Tashi (藤原多子), Tokudaiji Kin'yoshi‘s d…

Emperor Suzaku (ruby-ja) was the 61st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Suzaku's reign spanned the years from 930 through 946. Biography Before his ascension of the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (imina) was Hiroakira-shinnō. He was also known as Yutaakira (ruby-ja). Hiroakira-shinnō was the 11th son of Emperor Daigo and Empress Consort Onshi, a daughter of the regent and great minister of the council of state, Fujiwara no Mototsune. Suzaku had two Empr…

Emperor Ninmyō (仁明天皇) was the 54th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Ninmyō's reign lasted from 833 to 850, during the Heian period. Traditional narrative Ninmyō was the second son of Emperor Saga and the Empress Tachibana no Kachiko. His personal name (imina) was Masara (正良). After his death, he was given the title Ninmyō (仁明). Ninmyō had nine Empresses, Imperial consorts, and concubines (kōi); and the emperor had 24 Imperial sons and daughters. Emperor Ninm…