Kyoto (
京都市, "Capital City") is a
city in the central part of the island of
Honshū,
Japan with 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. 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. 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. With its 2,000 religious places: 1,600
Buddhist temples and 400
Shinto shrines, as well as palaces, gardens and architecture intact, it is one of the best preserved cities in Japan. 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.
(Wikipedia)