Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto

Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto

For over a thousand years, Ancient Kyoto has been Japan’s cultural hub, not only witnessing the development of Japanese wooden architecture—especially religious buildings—but also showcasing the evolution of Japanese garden art. Today, Japanese garden design has had a profound impact on landscape gardening worldwide.

Kyoto is a world-renowned ancient cultural capital, home to numerous historic sites, elegantly simple architecture, and refreshing, exquisite gardens. Known as a city of gardens, Kyoto boasts masterpieces of garden design in Japan. The city’s roads are laid out in a grid pattern, with the north-south-running Sakuragi Avenue dividing the city into Left Kyoto and Right Kyoto. There are countless scenic spots, where ancient temples, shrines, and pavilions blend seamlessly with modern structures, creating a magnificent urban tapestry. The city concentrates the richest collection of historical and cultural heritage in all of Japan. Dubbed “a temple every three steps, a shrine every seven,” Kyoto is home to over 1,500 Buddhist temples and more than 2,000 shrines. It is the cradle of Japanese culture and art and the center of Japanese Buddhism. The city has 38 buildings designated as National Treasures and 199 as Important Cultural Properties. Some of the surviving architectural remnants in the Kyoto area, still visible today, date back as far as the 17th century.