Read Kyoto,
building by building.

A city can be seen as a stage on which powerful actors perform their might and influence. In Kyoto, Japan's most powerful lineages — the emperors and warlord shogunal governments — have done so through ritual, military might and architecture.

On this tour we will visit the two most prominent landmarks visible on any map of Kyoto — the official seats of the Tokugawa Shoguns at the 17th century Nijo Castle, and the Imperial Palace, where Japan's emperors resided for much of the last millenium. What do these spaces tell us about their beliefs, fears and desires, and what messages were they sending each other and the city at large?

This tour includes a 5 min. bus ride between sites.

Let's step through the torii gate and the bell tower and understand how temples and shrines have evolved, influenced one another and other sites across the city.

We will visit two very important Buddhist and Shinto sites. Chion-in Temple is the head of the Jodo Sect, comprising seventeen halls and five gates (including the largest in Japan) — it is a masterpiece of 17th century Buddhist architecture and landscaping. Yasaka Shrine predates Kyoto (although most of its current buildings are from the seventeenth century) and continues to be one of the city's most important religious sites.

As Japan began to modernise during the 19th century, Japan's ancient city was confronted with the world. The question of how to be modern yet Japanese emerged for architects and home-builders.

On this tour we will visit three stunning homes in Eastern Kyoto, now open to the public, each with a different approach to this question. Whereas Namikawa and Kawai, both artists, aspired to a Japanese vernacular sensibility, the politician Aritomo strove to combine Japanese and Western aesthetic under one roof.

This tour includes a 10 min. bus ride between sites.