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Transport > Rail Transport > Railway Station
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Transport > Rail Transport > Railway Station
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Transport > Rail Transport > Railway Station
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kameoka
Transport > Rail Transport > Railway Station
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Food & Beverage > Southeast Asian Food
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Accommodation > Business Hotel
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Food & Beverage > Café/Delicatessen
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Food & Beverage > Café/Delicatessen
Asia > Japan > Kinki Region > Kyoto Prefecture > Kyoto
Introduction
Kyoto Prefecture (京都府, Kyōto-fu) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Kyoto.
History
Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Kyoto Prefecture was known as Yamashiro.
For most of its history, the city of Kyoto was the Imperial capital of Japan. The history of the city itself can be traced back as far as the 6th century. In 544, the Aoi Matsuri was held in Kyoto to pray for good harvest and good weather.
Kyoto did not start out as the capital of Japan. A noteworthy earlier capital was Nara. In 741, Emperor Shōmu moved the capital briefly to a place called Kuni-kyo, between the cities of Nara and Kyoto, in present-day Kyoto Prefecture. In 784, the capital was moved to Nagaokakyō, also in present-day Kyoto Prefecture. In 794, Emperor Kammu moved the capital to Heian-kyo, and this was the beginning of the current-day city of Kyoto. Even today, almost all of the streets, houses, stores, temples and shrines in the city of Kyoto exist where they were placed in this year.
Although in 1192 real political power shifted to Kamakura, where a samurai clan established the shogunate, Kyoto still remained the imperial capital as the powerless emperors and their court continued to be seated in the city. Imperial rule was briefly restored in 1333, but another samurai clan established a new shogunate in Kyoto three years later.
In 1467, a great civil war, the Ōnin no Ran, took place inside Kyoto, and most of the town was burned down. Japan plunged into the age of warring feudal lords. A new strong man, Tokugawa Ieyasu, established the shogunate at Edo (today's Tokyo) in 1603.
In the 15th century A.D., tea-jars were brought by the shoguns to Uji in Kyoto from the Philippines which was used in the Japanese Tea Ceremony.
The Meiji Restoration returned Japan to imperial rule in 1868. Emperor Meiji, who was now the absolute sovereign, went to stay in Tokyo during the next year. The imperial court has not returned to Kyoto since then. The subsequent reorganization of the old provincial system merged the former Tango Province, Yamashiro Province and the eastern part of Tanba Province into today's Kyoto Prefecture.
Although many Japanese major cities were heavily bombed by U.S. bombers during World War II, the old capital escaped such devastating bombing.[citation needed] During the occupation, the U.S. Sixth Army was headquartered in Kyoto.
Culture
Kyoto has been, and still remains to this day, the cultural center of Japan. For over 1000 years it was Japan's capital. When the capital was changed to Tokyo, Kyoto remained Japan's cultural capital. See Culture of Japan.
Geography
Kyoto Prefecture is located almost in the center of Honshū and of Japan. It covers an area of 4,612.71 square kilometres (1,780.98 sq mi), which is 1.2% of Japan. Kyoto is 31st by size. To the north, it faces the Sea of Japan and Fukui Prefecture. To the south, it faces Osaka and Nara Prefectures. To the east, it faces Mie and Shiga Prefectures. To the west, it faces Hyōgo Prefecture. The prefecture is separated in the middle by the Tanba Mountains. This makes its climate very different in the north and south.
As of March 31, 2008, 6% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Sanin Kaigan National Park; Biwako, Tango-Amanohashidate-Ōeyama and Wakasa Wan Quasi-National Parks; and Hozukyō, Kasagiyama, and Rurikei Prefectural Natural Parks.
Cities
Fifteen cities are located in Kyoto Prefecture:
Towns and villages
These are the towns and villages in each district:
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