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To Conserve and Hand Down Beautiful Landscapes Unique to Kyoto

ページ番号305720

2022年11月28日

 Known as a capital of scenic beauty, Kyoto is located in the Kyoto Basin, surrounded by gentle, low mountains in three directions. In addition to its setting, the city is characterized by superb landscapes, such as beautiful waterfronts along the Kamo River and other rivers running through the city, and historic townscapes with many shrines and temples evidencing the over-a-millennium history and culture of the city, including ones inscribed on the World Heritage List, as well as historic sites, places of scenic beauty, and traditional buildings, including Kyo-machiya.

 In these landscapes of Kyoto, splendid, sophisticated and unique culture has been developed throughout the millennium-long history of the city as a capital. Furthermore, the form of Kyoto City as represented by green mountains and rivers has provided a model of urban development for other cities around Japan.

The cityscape with the five-storied Yasaka Pagoda

The cityscape with the five-storied Yasaka Pagoda ©Kyoto Media Support Center

 The largely basinal landscapes of Kyoto bring people a feeling of closeness to nature despite being in a large city and create a tranquil atmosphere, thereby characterizing the city distinctively. These landscapes continue to not only serve as the “spiritual home” of the people of Japan and a symbol of Japanese identity, offering visitors a feeling of healing and peace of mind, but also play an important role as an incubator of new culture from tradition and a source of new discoveries and inspiration for people around the world.

 The Kyoto City government implements various initiatives to conserve these landscapes of Kyoto and hand them down to the next generation. For example, we have imposed height limits on buildings in the downtown area to maintain harmony between that area and the natural environment. We also request that buildings and outdoor advertisements be designed to match the surrounding natural environment and historic townscapes. By imposing these tough regulations, which are unparalleled even from a global perspective, we intend to control urban development that places higher importance on profitability and efficiency. We therefore continue to conserve the beautiful and magnificent urban landscapes of Kyoto together with the spirit of living harmoniously with nature, handing down traditional culture, and maintaining a good balance with the creation of new culture, which Kyoto has long cherished. The Kyoto City government also works to preserve and hand down traditional buildings, such as Kyo-machiya, which have been important components of Kyoto’s landscapes and supported citizens’ lives.

Sannenzaka

Sannenzaka(産寧坂、Located in the historical district of Higashiyama)

 These initiatives to conserve and hand down landscapes demand sustained hard effort. Even amid the decline in the Japanese population and increased importance placed on profitability and efficiency, we hope to hand down the landscapes of Kyoto to future generations after a decade to a century. Achieving this requires support from as many people as possible. We look forward to receiving your warm support for our initiatives to preserve and support townscapes and traditional buildings in Kyoto.

How to donate

Funds from your donations will be used for the following initiatives

Initiatives to conserve and develop the landscapes in harmony with the natural environment and lifestyle culture

 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 the 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 not only defining standards for building design but also conserving mountains, forests and bamboo groves that form the landscapes of Kyoto, improving and maintaining streets in historic areas, and supporting cooperation between citizens and businesses in conserving local landscapes and making them better.

 In popular tourist destinations, for example, the promenade through the bamboo grove in Saga Arashiyama, local residents and the municipal government cooperate in maintaining and managing bamboo groves, mountains and forests to safeguard the historical environment.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Initiatives to maintain and preserve traditional buildings in Kyoto

 The owners of old buildings, such as shrines, temples and Kyo-machiya, sometimes reach the decision to demolish or relinquish their buildings in consideration of renovation costs, lifestyle changes, and other factors, no matter how historically valuable those buildings are. For example, Kyo-machiya, traditional Kyoto-style buildings, symbolize beautiful landscapes of Kyoto and profound lifestyle culture, which have been refined throughout over-a-millennium history. However, a survey conducted in FY2016 showed that about 5,600 Kyo-machiya buildings had disappeared during the past seven years, and that over 14% of remaining Kyo-machiya buildings were vacant. In response to that situation, the Kyo-machiya Ordinance was put into effect in 2017. 

Community Space of Kamanza-cho

Community Space of Kamanza-cho(釜座町町家)©Kyomachiya Architects

 The ordinance not only requires the owners of Kyo-machiya to submit any plans to demolish them in advance but also provides for a subsidy system for Kyo-machiya renovation projects and a system for matching Kyo-machiya owners with those who want to take over and utilize such buildings. The Kyoto City government therefore works to hand down Kyo-machiya to future generations.

How to donate

Solicitation of Donations from Abroad


Create new culture and hand down cultural heritage to future generations


Facilitate the inheritance and development of traditional industries

Questionnaire about donations from overseas Kyoto fans

It will take you 5 minutes to complete. Your opinion matters!

Questionnaire Link

https://sc.city.kyoto.lg.jp/multiform/multiform.php?form_id=6657

Questionnaire about donations from overseas Kyoto fans

Inquiries

Kyoto City General Planning Bureau General Policy Office Kyoto Revitalization Section

mail: [email protected] 

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

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Kyoto City Website - City Promotion


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