The Kyoto School is the name given to the Japanese philosophical movement centered at Kyoto University that assimilated western philosophy and religious ideas and used them to reformulate religious and moral insights unique to the East Asian cultural tradition."^[1] However, it is also used to describe several postwar scholars from various disciplines who have taught at the same university, been influenced by the foundational thinkers of Kyoto school philosophy, and who have developed distinctive theories of Japanese uniqueness. To disambiguate the term, therefore, thinkers and writers covered by this second sense appear under The Kyoto University Research Centre for the Cultural Sciences.

Beginning roughly in 1913 with Nishida Kitaro, it survived the serious controversy it garnered after World War II to develop into a well-known and active movement. However, it is not a "school" of philosophy in the traditional sense of the phrase, such as with the Frankfurt School or Plato's Academy. Instead, the group of academics gathered around Kyoto University as a de facto meeting place, and as its founder, Nishida, steadfastly encouraged independent thinking.

According to James Heisig, the name "Kyoto School" was first used in 1932 by a student of Nishida and Hajime Tanabe. Tosaka Jun (1900–45) considered himself to be part of the 'Marxist left-wing' of the school.^[2] Afterwards, the media and other academic institutions outside of Japan began to use the moniker, and by the 1970s it had become a universal title - practically by default.

History[link]

Masao Abe writes in his introduction to a new English translation of Nishida's magnum opus, that if one thinks of philosophy in terms of Kant or Hegel, then there is no philosophy taking place in Japan. But if it is instead thought of in terms of the tradition carried out by Augustine and Kierkegaard, then Japan has a rich philosophical history, composed of the great thinkers Kūkai, Shinran, Dogen, and others.^[3]

The group of philosophers involved with the Kyoto School in its nearly 100 year history is a diverse one. Individual members often come from very different social backgrounds. At the same time, in the heat of intellectual they did not hesitate to criticise each others' work.

The following criteria roughly characterize the features of this school:

1. Teaching at Kyoto University or at a nearby affiliated school
2. Share some basic assumptions about using Asian thought in the framework of western philosophical tradition.
3. Introduce and rationally investigate the meaning of "nothingness" and its importance in the history of philosophical debate.
4. Expand on the philosophical vocabulary introduced by Nishida.

Generally, most were strongly influenced by the German philosophical tradition, especially the thought of Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. In addition, many employed their cultural resources in formulating their philosophy and bringing it to play to add to the philosophical enterprise. However, while their work was not expressly religious it was informed significantly by it. For example, both Tanabe and Keiji Nishitani wrote on Christianity and Buddhism and identified common elements between the two religions.^[4] For this reason, some scholars classify the intellectual products of the school as "religious philosophy."

Although the group was fluidic and largely informal, traditionally whoever occupied the Chair of the Department of Modern Philosophy at the University of Kyoto was considered its leader. Nishida was the first, from 1913 to 1928. Hajime Tanabe succeeded him until the mid-1930s. By this time, Nishitani had graduated from Kyoto University, studied with Martin Heidegger for two years in Germany, and returned to a teaching post since 1928. From 1955 to 1963, Nishitani officially occupied the Chair and since his departure, leadership of the school has crumbled - turning the movement into a very decentralized group of philosophers with common beliefs and common interests.

Significance of its notable members[link]

The significance of the group continues to grow, especially in American departments of religion and philosophy. Since the mid-1980s, there has been a growing interest in East/West dialogue, especially inter-faith scholarship. Masao Abe traveled to both coasts of the United States on professorships, and lectured to many groups on Buddhist-Christian relations.

In addition, although Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki was closely connected to the Kyoto school and in some ways critical to the development of thought that occurred there—indeed, Suzuki personally knew Nishida, Tanabe, and Nishitani—he is not considered a true member of the group.^[5]

Kitaro Nishida[link]

Nishida, the school's founder, is most known for his groundbreaking work An Inquiry into the Good and later for his elucidation of the "logic of basho" (Japanese: 場所; usually translated as "place," or the Greek topos) - which brought him fame outside of Japan, and contributed largely to the attention later paid to philosophers from the Kyoto School.

Nishida's work is notable for a few reasons, chief among them however is how much they are related to the German tradition of philosophy since Schopenhauer. The logic of basho is a non-dualistic 'concrete' logic, meant to overcome the inadequacy of the subject-object distinction essential to the subject logic of Aristotle and the predicate logic of Kant, through the affirmation of what he calls the 'absolutely contradictory self-identity', a dynamic tension of opposites that, unlike the dialectical logic of Hegel, does not resolve in a synthesis, but rather defines its proper subject by maintaining the tension between affirmation and negation as opposite poles or perspectives.

Nishitani describes East Asian philosophy as something very different from what the Western tradition of Descartes, Leibniz or Hume would indicate,

It is 'intuitive and practical,' with its emphasis on religious aspects of experience not lending themselves readily to theoretical description. True wisdom is to be distinguished from intellectual understanding of the kind appropriate to the sciences. The 'appropriation' of Nishida's thought,...'embraces difficulties entirely different from those of intellectual understanding'...and those who 'pretend to understand much but do not really understand, no matter how much they intellectually understand' are the object of his scorn.^[1]

Before his death Nishida wrote The Logic of Place and the Religious Worldview, developing more fully the religious implications of his work and philosophy through "Absolute Nothingness," which "contains its own absolute self-negation within itself."^[6] By this Nishida means that, while the divine is dynamically paradoxical, it should not be construed as pantheism or transcendent theism. Both Nishitani and Abe spent much of their academic lives dedicated to this development of nothingness and the Absolute, leading on occasion to panentheism.^{[citation needed]}

Hajime Tanabe[link]

Keiji Nishitani[link]

Nishitani, one of Nishida's main disciples, would become the doyen in the post-war period. Nishitani's works, such as his Religion and Nothingness, primarily dealt with the Western notion of nihilism, inherited from Nietzsche, and religious interpretation of nothingness, as found in the Buddhist idea of sunyata and the specifically Zen Buddhist concept of mu.

Masao Abe[link]

Shizuteru Ueda[link]

A disciple of Keiji Nishitani.

Eshin Nishimura[link]

Criticism of the Kyoto School[link]

Today, there is a great deal of critical research into the school's role prior to and during the Second World War. Hajime Tanabe bears the greatest brunt of the criticism for bringing his work on the "Logic of Species" into Japanese politics, which was used to buttress the militarist project to formulate imperialist ideology and propaganda. Tanabe's notion is that the logical category of "species" and nation are equivalent, and each nation or "species" provides a fundamental set of characteristics which define and determine the lives and outlooks of those who participate in it.

Some western scholars think this criticism of the Kyoto School is inaccurate and spurious.^[7] They have shown that Tanabe did not support the war effort and that Nishitani tried to organize intellectuals to question and criticize the growing militarism of the Tojo junta. This scholarly work attempts to provide an historical understanding of these thinkers' work in terms of opposition to western colonial imperialism at the same as the thinkers opposed fascist reactionary politics.^[8]

Members[link]

• Kitaro Nishida: 1870 - 1945 (KU Philosophy Dept. 1910-13, Chair 1913-28)
• Hajime Tanabe: 1885 - 1962 (KU Philosophy Dept. ?, Chair, 1928-35?)
• Keiji Nishitani: 1900 - 1990 (KU Philosophy Dept. 1928-35, Chair 1935-63)
• Masao Abe
• Miki Kiyoshi
• Hisamatsu Shinichi
• Shizuteru Ueda
• Saneshige Komaki
• Yamanouchi Tokuryu
• Takeuchi Yoshinori

Suggested reading[link]

Scholarly books

• The Buddha Eye: An Anthology of the Kyoto School. Edited by Frederick Franck. New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1982.

—Seventeen essays, most from The Eastern Buddhist, on Zen and Pure Land Buddhism.

• Kyoto School Philosophy: A Call for a Paradigm Shift in Philosophical Thoughthttp://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/publications/Bulletin_and_Shoho/pdf/16-Horo.pdf, by HORO Atsuhiko. Nanzan Bulletin 16, 1992, pp. 15-32.
• The Philosophy of the Kyoto School, edited by Fujita Masakatsu. 2001.

—Anthology of texts by Kyoto scholars themselves, with additional biographical essays.

• The Thought of the Kyoto School, edited by Ohashi Ryosuke. 2004.

—Collection of essays dealing with the history of its name, and its members contributions to philosophy.

• Philosophers of Nothingness by James Heisig. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8248-2481-4

—Excellent introduction to the School's history and content; includes rich multilingual bibliography.

• Absolute Nothingness: Foundations for a Buddhist-Christian Dialogue, Hans Waldenfels. New York: Paulist Press, 1980.

—Good early work, focuses mostly on Nishitani's relevance for the perspective of Buddhist-Christian dialogue.

• James W. Heisig, John C. Maraldo (Ed.): "Rude Awakenings. Zen, the Kyoto School, & the Question of Nationalism", Honololu: University of Hawaii Press, 1994.

Journal articles

• "The Religious Philosophy of the Kyoto School: An Overview," by James Heisig. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies Vol.17, No.1, (1990), p51-81.
• "Heidegger and Buddhism," by T. Umehara. Philosophy East and West, Vol.20 (1970), p271-281.
• "Nishida's Philosophy of 'Place'," by Masao Abe, International Philosophical Quarterly Vol.28, No.4 (Winter 1988), p. 355-371.
• "In Memoriam: Keiji Nishitani (1900-1990)," by E. Kawamura-Hanoka. Buddhist-Christian Studies, Vol.12 (1992), p241-245.

[edit] Readings by individual members

For further information, see the Nanzan Institute's Complete Bibliography for all Kyoto School members

• Kitaro Nishida, An Inquiry into the Good, Translated by Masao Abe and Christopher Ives. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987 (1921).
• ——, Art and Morality, Translated by D. Dilworth and Valdo Viglielmo. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1973.
• ——, Intelligibility and the Philosophy of Nothingness, Translated by Robert Schinzinger. Westport: 1958.
• Tanabe, Hajime, "Demonstratio of Christianity", in Introduction to the philosophy of Tanabe: According to the English translation of the seventh chapter of the demonstratio of Christianity, translated by Makoto Ozaki, Rodopi Bv Editions, January 1990, ISBN 90-5183-205-2,ISBN 978-90-5183-205-1, ASIN B0006F1CBU.
• --, "The Logic of The Species as Dialectics," trns. David Dilworth; Taira Sato, in Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 24, No. 3, 1969, pp. 273-288. [Available as pdf through JSTOR]
• --, Philosophy as Metanoetics (Nanzan studies in religion and culture), Yoshinori Takeuchi, Valdo Viglielmo, and James W. Heisig (Translators), University of California Press, April 1987, ISBN 0-520-05490-3.
• Keiji Nishitani, Religion and Nothingness, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982. ISBN 0-520-04946-2
• ——, The Self-overcoming of Nihilism, translated by Graham Parkes and Setsuko Aihara. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990.
• Yoshinori Takeuchi, The Heart of Buddhism, translated by James Heisig. New York: 1983.

[edit] Secondary sources on individual members

• Nishida Kitaro, by Nishitani Keiji, translated by Yamamoto Sesaku and James Heisig. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
• The Religious Philosophy of Tanabe Hajime, edited by Taitetsu Unno and James Heisig. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.
• The Religious Philosophy of Nishitani Keiji, edited by Taitetsu Unno. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} D.S. Clarke, Jr. "Introduction" in Nishida Kitaro by Nishitani Keiji, 1991.
2. ^ Heisig 2001, p.4
3. ^ Masao Abe, "Introduction" in An Inquiry into the Good, 1987, (1921).
4. ^ Tanabe in Philosophy as Metanoetics and Demonstratio of Christianity, and Nishitani in Religion and Nothingness and On Buddhism.
5. ^ Robert Lee, "Review of The Buddha Eye: An Anthology of the Kyoto School," in The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol.42, No.4 (Aug.,1983).
6. ^ The Kyoto School (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
7. ^ Parkes, Graham, 'Heidegger and Japanese Fascism: An Unsubstantiated Connection,' in Japanese and Continental Philosophy, Indiana University press, 2011. Parkes exposes the shabby scholarship of the accusers of the Kyoto School, while leaving open the question of what exactly the politics of the Kyoto school philosophers consisted in.
8. ^ David Williams, Defending Japan's Pacific War: The Kyoto School philosophers and post-White power Routledge Curzon, London and New York 2004

External links[link]

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
• The Fascist Next Door? Nishitani Keiji and the Chuokoron Discussions in Perspective, Discussion Paper by Xiaofei Tu in the electronic journal of contemporary Japanese studies, 27 July 2006.

Philosophy portal

Kyoto 京都 Meaco (historic)
—  Designated city  —
京都市 · Kyoto City
From top left: Tō-ji, Gion Matsuri in modern Kyoto, Fushimi Inari-taisha, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kiyomizu-dera, Kinkaku-ji, Pontochō and Maiko, Ginkaku-ji, Cityscape from Higashiyama and Kyoto Tower
Flag Logo
Location of Kyoto in Kyoto Prefecture
Kyoto
Coordinates: 35°0′42″N 135°46′6″E / 35.01167°N 135.76833°E / 35.01167; 135.76833Coordinates: 35°0′42″N 135°46′6″E / 35.01167°N 135.76833°E / 35.01167; 135.76833
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Prefecture	Kyoto Prefecture
Government
• Mayor	Daisaku Kadokawa (門川大作)
Area
• Total	827.90 km2 (319.65 sq mi)
Population (August 1, 2011)
• Total	1,473,746
• Density	1,800/km2 (4,600/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City Symbols
- Tree	Weeping Willow, Japanese Maple and Katsura
- Flower	Camellia, Azalea and Sugar Cherry
Phone number	075-222-3111
Address	488 Teramachi-Oike, Nakagyō-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu 604-8571
Website	City of Kyoto

Kyoto (京都市, Kyōto-shi^?, "Capital City") (Japanese pronunciation: [kʲoːto] ( listen)) is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area.

History[link]

Daidairi (大内裏, palace in the center) and the panoramic view of Heian-kyō (restoration model)

Although archaeological evidence places the first human settlement on the islands of Japan to approximately 10,000 BC, relatively little is known about human activity in the area before the 6th century AD, around which time the Shimogamo Shrine is believed to have been established. During the 8th century, when powerful Buddhist clergy became involved in the affairs of the Imperial government, the Emperor chose to relocate the capital to a region far from the Buddhist influence. Emperor Kammu selected the village of Uda, at the time in the Kadono district of Yamashiro Province, for this honor.^[1]

The new city, Heian-kyō (平安京, "tranquility and peace capital"), a scaled replica of the then Tang capital Chang'an,^[2] became the seat of Japan's imperial court in 794, beginning the Heian period of Japanese history. Although military rulers established their governments either in Kyoto (Muromachi shogunate) or in other cities such as Kamakura (Kamakura shogunate) and Edo (Tokugawa shogunate), Kyoto remained Japan's capital until the transfer of the imperial court to Tokyo in 1869 at the time of the Imperial Restoration. (Some believe that it is still a legal capital: see Capital of Japan.)

The city suffered extensive destruction in the Ōnin War of 1467-1477, and did not really recover until the mid-16th century. Battles between samurai factions spilled into the streets, and came to involve the court nobility (kuge) and religious factions as well. Nobles' mansions were transformed into fortresses, deep trenches dug throughout the city for defense and as firebreaks, and numerous buildings burned. The city has not seen such widespread destruction since.

In late 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi restructured the city by building new streets to double the number of north-south streets in central Kyoto, creating rectangle blocks superseding ancient square blocks. Hideyoshi also built earthwork walls called Odoi (御土居^?)　circulating the city. Teramachi Street in central Kyoto is a Buddhist temple quarter where Hideyoshi gathered temples in the city. Throughout the Edo period, the economy of the city flourished as one of three major cities in Japan, the others being Osaka and Edo.

Overview of Kyoto's cityscape

The Hamaguri rebellion of 1864 burnt down 28,000 houses in the city, and the subsequent move of the Emperor to Tokyo in 1869 weakened the economy. The modern city of Kyoto was formed on April 1, 1889. The construction of Lake Biwa Canal in 1890 is one measure taken to revive the city. The population of the city exceeded one million in 1932.^[3]

There was some consideration by the United States of targeting Kyoto with an atomic bomb at the end of World War II because, as an intellectual center of Japan, it had a population "better able to appreciate the significance of the weapon."^[4] In the end, at the insistence of Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, the city was removed from the list of targets and replaced by Nagasaki. The city was largely spared from conventional bombing as well, although small-scale air raids did result in casualties.

As a result, Kyoto is one of the few Japanese cities that still have an abundance of prewar buildings, such as the traditional townhouses known as machiya. However, modernization is continually breaking down the traditional Kyoto in favor of newer architecture, such as the Kyoto Station complex.

Kyoto became a city designated by government ordinance on September 1, 1956. In 1997, Kyoto hosted the conference that resulted in the protocol on greenhouse gas emissions that bears the city's name.

Name[link]

Boats on the Katsura River at Arashiyama

In Japanese, the city has been called Kyō (京), Miyako (都) or Kyō no Miyako (京の都). In the 11th century, the city was renamed Kyoto ("capital city"), after the Chinese word for capital city, jingdu (京都).^[5] After Edo was renamed Tokyo (meaning "Eastern Capital") in 1868, Kyoto was known for a short time as Saikyō (西京, meaning "Western Capital").

An obsolete spelling for the city's name is Kioto; it was formerly known to the West as Meaco (/miːækoʊ/; Japanese: 都; miyako, meaning "the seat of Imperial palace" or "capital".). Another term commonly used to refer to the city in the pre-modern period was Keishi (京師), meaning "metropolis" or "capital".

Geography[link]

Autumn in Kyoto attracts throngs of tourists to temples like this.

Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji during Autumn 2010

Kyoto is located in a valley, part of the Yamashiro (or Kyoto) Basin, in the eastern part of the mountainous region known as the Tamba highlands. The Yamashiro Basin is surrounded on three sides by mountains known as Higashiyama, Kitayama and Nishiyama, with a height just above 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) above sea level. This interior positioning results in hot summers and cold winters. There are three rivers in the basin, the Ujigawa to the south, the Katsuragawa to the west, and the Kamogawa to the east. Kyoto City takes up 17.9% of the land in the prefecture with an area of 827.9 km².

The original city was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese feng shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an (present-day Xi'an). The Imperial Palace faced south, resulting in Ukyō (the right sector of the capital) being on the west while Sakyō (the left sector) is on the east. The streets in the modern-day wards of Nakagyō, Shimogyō, and Kamigyō still follow a grid pattern.

Today, the main business district is located to the south of the old Imperial Palace, with the less-populated northern area retaining a far greener feel. Surrounding areas do not follow the same grid pattern as the center of the city, though streets throughout Kyoto share the distinction of having names.

Kyoto sits atop a large natural water table that provides the city with ample freshwater wells. Due to large scale urbanization, the amount of rain draining into the table is dwindling and wells across the area are drying at an increasing rate.

Demographics[link]

Historically Kyoto was the largest city in Japan, later surpassed by Osaka and Edo (Tokyo) towards the end of the 16th century. In the prewar years, Kyoto traded places with Kobe and Nagoya ranking as the 4th and 5th largest city. In 1947, it went back to being 3rd, but its population has gradually declined ever since. By 1960 it had fallen to 5th again, and by 1990 it had fallen to 7th, in 2012 it is now 8th. If current trends continue it could fall to 9th after Kawasaki.

Climate[link]

Kyoto has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), featuring a marked seasonal variation in temperature and precipitation. Summers are hot and humid, though contrarily, winters are relatively cold with occasional snowfall. Kyoto's rain season begins around the middle of June and lasts until the end of July, yielding to a hot and sunny latter half of the summer. Kyoto, along with most of the Pacific coast and central areas of Japan is prone to typhoons during September and October.

Politics and government[link]

Kyoto City Hall

The directly elected executive mayor in Kyoto as of 2011 is Daisaku Kadokawa, an independent supported by the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Party of Japan, New Komeito Party and Social Democratic Party. The legislative city assembly has 69 elected members.

Kyoto City Assembly[link]

Elections[link]

• Kyoto mayoral election, 2008

Wards[link]

Wards of Kyoto

Kyoto has eleven wards. They are

• Fushimi-ku (伏見区)
• Higashiyama-ku (東山区)
• Kamigyō-ku (上京区)
• Kita-ku (北区)
• Minami-ku (南区)
• Nakagyō-ku (中京区) - administrative center
• Nishikyō-ku (西京区)
• Sakyo-ku (左京区)
• Shimogyō-ku (下京区)
• Ukyō-ku (右京区)
• Yamashina-ku (山科区)

Together, they comprise the city of Kyoto. Like other cities in Japan, Kyoto has a single mayor and a city council.

Culture[link]

Although ravaged by wars, fires, and earthquakes during its eleven centuries as the imperial capital, Kyoto was spared from much of the destruction of World War II. It was removed from the atomic bomb target list (which it had headed) by the personal intervention of Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, as Stimson wanted to save this cultural center which he knew from his honeymoon and later diplomatic visits.^[6][7]

With its 2000 religious places- 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines, as well as palaces, gardens and architecture intact, it is one of the best preserved cities in Japan. Among the most famous temples in Japan are Kiyomizu-dera, a magnificent wooden temple supported by pillars off the slope of a mountain; Kinkaku-ji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion; Ginkaku-ji, the Temple of the Silver Pavilion; and Ryōan-ji, famous for its rock garden. The Heian Jingū is a Shinto shrine, built in 1895, celebrating the Imperial family and commemorating the first and last emperors to reside in Kyoto. Three special sites have connections to the imperial family: the Kyoto Gyoen area including the Kyoto Imperial Palace and Sento Imperial Palace, homes of the Emperors of Japan for many centuries; Katsura Imperial Villa, one of the nation's finest architectural treasures; and Shugaku-in Imperial Villa, one of its best Japanese gardens.

Other notable sites in Kyoto include Arashiyama, the Gion and Pontochō geisha quarters, the Philosopher's Walk, and the canals which line some of the older streets.

Typical maiko dress, hair ornaments, and nape make-up

A monk by the Katsura River in Arashiyama

The "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto" are listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. These include the Kamo Shrines (Kami and Shimo), Kyō-ō-Gokokuji (Tō-ji), Kiyomizu-dera, Daigo-ji, Ninna-ji, Saihō-ji (Kokedera), Tenryū-ji, Rokuon-ji (Kinkaku-ji), Jishō-ji (Ginkaku-ji), Ryōan-ji, Hongan-ji, Kōzan-ji and the Nijo Castle, primarily built by the Tokugawa shoguns. Other sites outside the city are also on the list.

Kyoto is renowned for its abundance of delicious Japanese foods and cuisine. The special circumstances of Kyoto as a city away from the sea and home to many Buddhist temples resulted in the development of a variety of vegetables peculiar to the Kyoto area (kyōyasai, 京野菜).

Japan's television and film industry has its center in Kyoto. Many jidaigeki, action films featuring samurai, were shot at Toei Uzumasa Eigamura.^[8] A film set and theme park in one, Eigamura features replicas of traditional Japanese buildings which are used for jidaigeki. Among the sets are a replica of the old Nihonbashi (the bridge at the entry to Edo), a traditional courthouse, a Meiji Period police box and part of the former Yoshiwara red-light district. Actual film shooting takes place occasionally, and visitors are welcome to observe the action.

The dialect spoken in Kyoto is known as Kyō-kotoba or Kyōto-ben, a constituent dialect of the Kansai dialect. When Kyoto was the capital of Japan, Kyoto dialect was the de facto standard Japanese and influenced on development of Tokyo dialect, the modern standard Japanese.

Kyoto International Manga Museum is also situated in Kyoto. For an entrance fee visitors are able to view exhibitions and read as much manga as they desire. The museum is making an attempt to acquire every manga ever published and so far houses approximately 200,000 titles.

Economy[link]

The exterior of Nintendo's main headquarters in Kyoto

Tourists at Kiyomizu-dera

The key industry of Kyoto is information technology and electronics: the city is home to the headquarters of Nintendo, Intelligent Systems, TOSE, OMRON, Kyocera, Shimadzu Corp., Rohm, Horiba, Nidec Corporation, Nichicon, GS Yuasa and Murata Machinery and the headquarters of Murata Manufacturing are located in the suburbs of Kyoto in the city of Nagaokakyō.

Tourism also forms a large base of Kyoto's economy. The city's cultural heritages are constantly visited by school groups from across Japan, and many foreign tourists also stop in Kyoto. In 2007, the city government announced that a record number of tourists had visited Kyoto for the sixth year in a row.,^[9] and it was chosen as the second most attractive city in Japan, in a regional brand survey.^[10]

Traditional Japanese crafts are also major industry of Kyoto, most of which are run by artisans in small plants. Kyoto's kimono weavers are particularly renowned, and the city remains the premier center of kimono manufacturing. Such businesses, vibrant in past centuries, have declined in recent years as sales of traditional goods stagnate.

Sake brewing is Kyoto's traditional industry. Gekkeikan and Takara Holdings are major sake brewers headquartered in Kyoto.

Other businesses headquartered in Kyoto include the apparel company Wacoal, the delivery transportation company Sagawa Express and the garage kits maker Volks.

Colleges and universities[link]

Kyoto University

Home to 37 institutions of higher education, Kyoto is one of the academic centers of the country. Kyoto University, one of Japan's national universities, is considered to be one of the top universities in Japan. According to The Times Higher Education Supplement top-ranking university, Kyoto University is ranked the second university in Japan and 25th in the world.^[11] The Kyoto Institute of Technology is also among the most famous universities in Japan and is considered to be one of the best universities for architecture and design in the country. Doshisha University and Ritsumeikan University are popular private universities in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.

Kyoto also has a unique higher education network called the Consortium of Universities in Kyoto, which consists of three national, five public (prefectural and municipal), and 41 private universities, as well as the city and four other organizations. The consortium does not offer a degree, but offers the courses as part of a degree at participating universities.^[12]

As well as more than 30 Japanese universities and colleges, American universities find the city as an important place for education and research. Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies (KCJS) is a consortium of 14 American universities that sponsors a rigorous, two-semester academic program for undergraduates who wish to do advanced work in Japanese language and cultural studies. In addition, Stanford University has its own Japan Center in Kyoto.^[13]

Transportation[link]

Roads seen from Kyoto Tower

Inside Kyoto Station

Rail[link]

Kyoto Station is the center for transportation in the city. The second-largest in Japan, it houses a shopping mall, hotel, movie theater, Isetan department store, and several local government facilities all under one fifteen-story roof. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen Line (see below) as well as all conventional rail lines operated by JR West connect here.

The Keihan, Hankyu, Kintetsu, and other rail networks also offer frequent service to other cities in the Kansai region. JR West and Kintetsu connect at Kyoto Station. Hankyu has a terminal at the intersection of Shijō Kawaramachi, Kyoto's most thriving shopping and amusement district. Keihan has a station at Sanjō Keihan which is not far from Shijō Kawaramachi.

Subway[link]

The Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau operates the Kyoto Municipal Subway consisting of two lines: the Karasuma Line and the Tōzai Line.

Karasuma Line[link]

An express service bound for Kokusaikaikan Station of the Karasuma Line is running on the Kintetsu Nara Line.

The Karasuma Line is colored green, and its stations are given numbers following the letter K.

The line has following stations, from north to south: Kokusaikaikan (terminal) and Matsugasaki in Sakyō-ku; Kitayama and Kitaōji in Kita-ku; Kuramaguchi and Imadegawa in Kamigyō-ku; Marutamachi and Karasuma Oike in Nakagyō-ku; Shijō, Gojō and Kyōto in Shimogyō-ku; Kujō and Jūjō in Minami-ku; and Kuinabashi and Takeda (terminal) in Fushimi-ku.

Between Kitaōji and Jūjō, trains run beneath the north-south Karasuma Street (ja:烏丸通, Karasuma-dori^?), hence the name. They link to the other subway line, the Tozai Line, at Karasuma Oike. They also connect to the JR lines at Kyoto Station and the Hankyu Kyoto Line running cross-town beneath Shijō Street at the intersection of Shijō Karasuma, Kyoto's central business district. At Shijō Karasuma, the subway station is named Shijō, whereas Hankyu's station is called Karasuma.

The Transportation Bureau and Kintetsu Corporation jointly operate through services, which continue to the Kintetsu Kyoto Line to Kintetsu Nara Station in Nara. The Karasuma Line and the Kintetsu Kyoto Line connect at Kyoto and Takeda. All the stations are located in the city proper.

Tozai Line[link]

Platform screen doors at Higashiyama Station of the Tōzai Line

The Tōzai Line is coloured vermilion, and its stations are given numbers following the letter T. This line runs from the southeastern area of the city, then east to west (i.e. tōzai in Japanese) through the Kyoto downtown area where trains run beneath the three east-west streets: Sanjō Street (ja:三条通, Sanjō-dori^?), Oike Street (ja:御池通, Oike-dori^?) and Oshikōji Street (ja:押小路通, Oshikōji-dori^?).

The line has following stations, from east to west: Rokujizō (terminal) in Uji; Ishida and Daigo in Fushimi-ku; Ono, Nagitsuji, Higashino, Yamashina and Misasagi in Yamashina-ku; Keage, Higashiyama and Sanjō Keihan in Higashiyama-ku; Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae, Karasuma Oike, Nijōjō-mae, Nijō and Nishiōji Oike in Nakagyō-ku; and Uzumasa Tenjingawa (terminal) in Ukyō-ku.

The Keihan Keishin Line has been integrated into this line, and thus Keihan provides through services from Hamaōtsu in the neighbouring city of Ōtsu, the capital of Shiga Prefecture.

The Tōzai Line connects to the Keihan lines at Rokujizō, Yamashina, Misasagi and Sanjō Keihan, to the JR lines at Nijō, Yamashina and Rokujizō, and to the Keifuku Electric Railroad at Uzumasa Tenjingawa. All the stations except Rokujizō are located in Kyoto.

High speed rail[link]

Shinkansen at Kyoto Station

The Tōkaidō Shinkansen operated by JR Central provides high-speed rail service linking Kyoto with Nagoya, Yokohama and Tokyo to the east of Kyoto and with nearby Osaka and points west on the San'yo Shinkansen, such as Kobe, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kitakyushu and Fukuoka. The trip from Tokyo takes about two hours and twenty-two minutes. From Hakata in Fukuoka, Nozomi takes you to Kyoto in just over three hours. All trains including Nozomi stop at Kyoto Station, serving as a gateway to not only Kyoto Prefecture but also northeast Osaka, south Shiga and north Nara.

Airport[link]

Kansai Airport express Haruka at Kyoto Station

Although Kyoto does not have its own airport, travelers can get to the city via Kansai International Airport and Itami Airport in Osaka Prefecture. The Haruka Express operated by JR West carries passengers from Kansai Airport to Kyoto Station in 73 minutes.

JR-WEST: Travel Information > Access to Kansai Airport

Osaka Airport Transport buses connect Itami Airport and Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit in an hour and cost 1,280 yen for a one-way trip. Some buses go further, make stops at major hotels and intersections in downtown, and get to Nijō Station or the Westin Miyako Hotel Kyoto near Keage Station of Municipal Subway Tozai Line.

Buses[link]

Kyoto's municipal bus network is extensive. Private carriers also operate within the city. Many tourists join commuters on the public buses, or take tour buses. Kyoto's buses have announcements in English and electronic signs with stops written in the Latin alphabet.

Most city buses have a fixed fare. A one-day bus pass and a combined unlimited train and bus pass are also available. These are especially useful for visiting many different points of interest within Kyoto. The bus information center just outside the central station handles tickets and passes. The municipal transport company publishes a very useful leaflet called "Bus Navi." It contains a route map for the bus lines to most sights and fare information. This too is available at the information center in front of the main station.

Buses operating on routes within the city, the region, and the nation stop at Kyoto Station. In addition to Kyoto Station, bus transfer is available at the intersections of Shijō Kawaramachi and Sanjō Keihan. The intersection of Karasuma Kitaōji to the north of downtown has a major bus terminal serving passengers who take the Karasuma Line running beneath Karasuma Street, Kyoto's main north-south street.

Cycling[link]

Cycling is a very important form of personal transportation in the city. The geography and scale of the city are such that the city may be easily navigated on a bicycle. Bicycle theft is not common, but finding permitted bicycle parking areas can be difficult. Bicycles parked in non-permitted areas are impounded.

Roads[link]

The city is connected with other part of Japan by the Meishin Expressway, which has two interchanges in the city: Kyoto Higashi (Kyoto East) in Yamashina-ku and Kyoto Minami (Kyoto South) in Fushimi-ku. The Kyoto Jūkan Expressway connects the city to northern regions of Kyoto Prefecture. The Daini Keihan Road is a new bypass (completed in 2010) to Osaka.

Unlike other metropolitan cities of Japan, Kyoto has poor network of intra-city expressways. As of 2010, only 8.2 km of the Hanshin Expressway Kyoto Route is in operation.^[14]

There are nine national highways in the city of Kyoto: Route 1, Route 8, Route 9, Route 24, Route 162, Route 171, Route 367, Route 477 and Route 478.

Tourism[link]

Kyoto contains roughly 2,000 temples and shrines, and receives over 30 million tourists annually.^[15]

The UNESCO World Heritage Site[link]

About 20% of Japan's National Treasures and 14% of Important Cultural Properties exist in the city proper. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) includes 17 locations in Kyoto, Uji in Kyoto Prefecture and Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. The site has been designated as World Heritage in 1994.

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  Kamigamo Shrine
  (上賀茂神社)

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  Shimogamo Shrine
  (下鴨神社)

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  Tō-ji (東寺)

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  Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺)

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  Saihō-ji (西芳寺)

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  Tenryū-ji (天龍寺)

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  Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺)

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  Ryōan-ji (龍安寺)

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  Nishi Hongan-ji
  (西本願寺)

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  Nijō Castle (二条城)

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  Daigo-ji (醍醐寺)

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  Ginkaku-ji　(銀閣寺)

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  Ninna-ji (仁和寺)

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  Kōzan-ji (高山寺)

Iwatayama monkey park[link]

The Iwatayama Monkey Park (popularly called "Monkey Mountain") in Nishikyō-ku is a park where monkeys roam freely. The park itself is inhabited by a troupe of over 170 Japanese macaque monkeys. After paying admission, one walks up a steep hill, at the top of which is an enclosure where visitors may go in and safely feed the monkeys. As there are no fences, the monkeys can come and go as they please, but they are especially tempted by food such as apples or peanuts. Even though the animals are wild, they have become accustomed to humans, and so are not afraid to come close to tourists bearing food.

Museums and gardens[link]

Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum

Kyoto International Manga Museum

Kyoto National Museum

Kyoto Botanical Garden

Festivals[link]

Kyoto is well known for its traditional festivals which have been held for over 1000 years and are a major tourist attraction.^[16] The first is the Aoi Matsuri on May 15. Two months later (July 1 to 31) is the Gion Matsuri known as one of the 3 great festivals of Japan, culminating in a massive parade on July 17. Kyoto marks the Bon Festival with the Gozan Okuribi, lighting fires on mountains to guide the spirits home (August 16). The October 22 Jidai Matsuri, Festival of the Ages, celebrates Kyoto's illustrious past.

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  Gion Matsuri (祇園祭)

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  Aoi Matsuri (葵祭)

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  Jidai Matsuri (時代祭)

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  Gozan Okuribi (五山送り火)

Sports[link]

Football[link]