Kyoto as a City of History

 The Kyoto City government is actively committed to fulfilling its mission of conserving the long-developed landscapes, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and traditional industries of this historic city and handing them down to future generations. In addition, as the chair of the League of Historical Cities, Kyoto City has built a network of historical cities around the world to achieve global solutions to the challenges of "conservation and development", which historical cities face in common.

※The League of Historical Cities

 Toward the development of Kyoto as a historic city that can ensure both landscape conservation and urban development, the Kyoto City Government has adopted various measures to conserve and develop landscapes that are in harmony with the natural environment and historic buildings, focusing especially on the historic landscapes of areas near shrines and temples. Those measures include defining standards for building design and supporting cooperation between citizens and businesses in conserving local landscapes and making them better.

 The Kyoto City government also spearheads the preservation and handing down of Kyo-machiya, traditional buildings in Kyoto as a symbol of the beautiful over-a-millennium-old townscapes of the city and the well-developed lifestyle culture of local people. By doing so, the Kyoto City government aims to preserve and foster Kyoto culture embodied by the traditional townscapes and lifestyle and consequently to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society in harmony with the environment.

※About Kyo-machiya

※The preservation of Kyo-machiya (The Kyoto Machiya Machizukuri Fund)

 Approximately 20% of National Treasures of Japan and about 15% of its important cultural properties are concentrated in Kyoto City. The city also embraces 14 sites inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List, including Nijo-jo Castle. In addition, through more than a millennium of history as the capital city of Japan, Kyoto originated various cultural elements that represent Japan as a whole, including tea ceremony, flower arrangement and Japanese cuisine, combining the elegant culture of the aristocracy with samurai culture strongly influenced by Zen Buddhism. 

 Kyoto city has also long fostered various cultural elements supported by citizens and deeply rooted in their lives, including festivals and annual events represented by the Gion Festival. The Kyoto City government works to preserve and utilize these many tangible and intangible cultural heritage items.

※For more details, click here

 Kyoto has developed together with a wide range of local industries, from traditional to state-of-the-art, that integrate human and cultural resources with the superb artisanship that has been developed and highly refined throughout the city’s long history. The city is the home of as many as 74 types of traditional industrial products, including Nishijin textile, as well as Kyo ware and Kiyomizu ware, which are representative types of Japanese pottery. These products have been used in citizens’ daily lives as well as in the practice of traditional culture, such as tea ceremony, flower arrangement and Noh, and consequently handed down, refined and nurtured. 

 The Kyoto City government strives to further stimulate traditional local industries through various measures, including not only exploring new markets, supporting the inheritance of skills, and developing next-generation talent involved in these industries but also assisting in the development of new products using traditional industrial skills and materials.

※Traditional Industries in Kyoto (Kyoto Artisans Concierge website)

Overview of Kyoto City

Kyoto as a Cultural Capital of the World 

Kyoto as a Sustainable City

Kyoto as a Home to Universities and Innovations

Kyoto City General Planning Bureau General Policy Office Kyoto Revitalization Section

mail: [email protected]　

Tel:+81-75-222-3375 ※Only available in Japanese