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Kyoto & Nara at a Glance

The city of Kyoto is situated in the center of Honshu, Japan’s main island, about 370 kilometers (230 miles) west of Tokyo and 30 kilometers (20 miles) east of Osaka. The city, which is part of the wider Kyoto Prefecture, is comprised of eleven ku (wards) that are run by a single city council. The eleven wards, which are home to the vast majority of Kyoto’s main sights, cover 828km² (320 mi²), while the entire Kyoto Prefecture stretches to 4,613 km² (1780mi²). Directly south is Nara Prefecture and within it the city of Nara, which is considerably smaller than Kyoto at just 276km² (105mi²). Just 40 km (25 miles) and an easy 45-minute train journey separate the two cities.

A Brief History

Nara served as Japan’s capital from 710 to 784, while Kyoto was officially established as the country’s capital, named Heian-kyo, in 794, although people had been living in the area for centuries prior. The first Aoi Matsuri (page 76) was held in what would become the city of Kyoto in 544, and before that the Hata clan had settled in what is now the Sagano district and laid early foundations for the city by developing flood control measures. From 794 through to 1868, when the Meiji Restoration saw the emperor and capital status move to Tokyo, Kyoto remained the home of the emperor and with it the country’s capital. The only exception was the period 1192–1333, when under the Minamoto clan, power shifted to the Kamakura shogunate in Kamakura.

Unlike Tokyo and many other cities in Japan, Kyoto managed to avoid the worst ravages of World War Two. Much of it was, however, levelled during the bloody Onin War of 1467–77, the catalyst for Japan’s turbulent 150 year-long Sengoku Jidai (Country at War period), which eventually culminated with the unification of Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate.

Gion district

Kyotoites

At last count, Kyoto’s population was roughly 1.5 million, making it the eighth largest city in Japan, behind (in order) Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kobe and Fukuoka. The population of the whole of Kyoto Prefecture is approximately 2.6 million. Like Japan as a whole, aside from the large numbers of foreign tourists who visit the city (some 500,000 a year), Kyoto has a very low number of non-Japanese residents. Nara almost feels like a town by comparison, with a population of approximately 370,000.

Language

Japanese is the first language of 99% of the Japanese population. With a complex system of honorifics and three separate writing systems (the complicated kanji and less difficult, phonetic hiragana and katakana) that between them use thousands of different characters, it isn’t an easy language to learn. Fortunately, even though Japan consistently ranks poorly among Asian countries for English proficiency levels, you will be able to enjoy Kyoto and Nara without knowing any Japanese—there will be someone who can speak English at tourist offices, most hotels, and many of the major tourist attractions. Many tourist attractions, shops and restaurants will have English signs, labels or menus prepared as well. All that said, it’s worth learning a few basic phrases. The locals will certainly appreciate any effort you make, no matter how mangled. If you’d like to try, have a look at the section on useful expressions and pronunciation on page 90.

Maiko in full dress

Religion

Most Japanese don’t consider themselves to be religious—more than 80% say they have no religious affiliation and approximately 65% don’t believe in God or Buddha. It’s better to think of Buddhism, which arrived from China in the 6th century, and Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, forming one set of traditional practices that are followed by the majority. In fact, that’s why the Japanese sometimes say they are born Shinto but die Buddhist, in reference to the traditional rituals used for birth and death. Shrines are Shinto, temples are Buddhist. Besides these two religions, between 1% and 2% of the population are Christian and a smaller number Muslim.

Yasaka Shrine