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History of Kyoto

On October 22, 794 (Enryaku 13), Emperor Kanmu left Nagaokakyo, where he had lived for 10 years (currently Muko City, Nagaokakyo City, Kyoto Prefecture, etc.), and moved to a new capital under construction in the center of the basin to the northeast. It has entered. Rectangular, measuring about 4.5 kilometers from east to west and about 5.2 kilometers from north to south, it housed government offices (Daidairi), and the emperor's residence (Dairi) in the center. From there, Suzaku-oji (now Senbon-dori) ran straight through to Rajomon, the gateway to the south. was designated as "Heiankyo". Until then, the capital had only lived for ten to several decades at most, but Heian-kyo and its successor, Kyoto, continued to be the capital of Japan for over a thousand years. A city that has maintained its position as the center of a single civilization for such a long period of time is rare in the world. It must be said that Kyoto is Japan's "eternal capital".

The city was built in a planned manner, like Gobanme, but Ukyo was very wet and difficult for people to live in, so people moved to Sakyo. Therefore, the development of the eastern part of Kyoto progressed.

During the Heian period, the aristocrats known as the Fujiwara clan wielded great power. They married their daughters to the emperor and became relatives of the emperor. The Fujiwara clan rose to the position of 'regent' or 'chief adviser' to help the emperor in the administration of politics, and expanded their power.

At the end of the Heian period, samurai became more powerful than nobles, and the Taira clan grew in power. It had the greatest power in the era of Taira no Kiyomori, but after Kiyomori died, the Taira clan was defeated by the Genji clan, and Minamoto no Yoritomo opened the Kamakura shogunate. After surviving the Jisho-Juei Civil War, commonly known as the "Genpei War", we will enter the era of a full-fledged samurai government. Even though the Kamakura shogunate was established in the eastern part of Japan, the Kyoto Imperial Court still held power, and Kyoto was the largest mega-city in Japan. Even in the Kamakura period, Kyoto never lost its importance.

After the Kamakura shogunate was destroyed by Takauji Ashikaga, the Muromachi shogunate was established and the shogun established the shogunate in Kyoto.

The Kinkaku-ji temple, which was built in this period, represents the gorgeous Kitayama culture, while the Ginkaku-ji temple represents the simple and tasteful Higashiyama culture. Kyoto regained its position as Japan's sole political center. Purely Japanese culture flourished in Kyoto, such as the Kitayama culture led by the 3rd shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and the Higashiyama culture led by the 8th shogun Yoshimasa. Yoshimitsu's residence, Kitayamaden, and Yoshimasa's villa, Higashiyamaden, were later converted into temples. This is Rokuonji and Jishoji, commonly known as "Kinkakuji" or "Ginkakuji".

In addition, the city of Kyoto was divided into Kamigyo and Shimogyo. In Kamigyo, there was the Imperial Palace (the residence of the emperor) and the shogunate, and in Shimogyo, the city was built mainly by commerce and industry (people who do business and make things).

In the first year of Onin (1467), the Onin War broke out as a result of the battle between the Shoguns of the Muromachi Shogunate. This was a big battle that turned most of Kyoto into a burnt wasteland and lasted for 11 years.

As the power of the Muromachi shogunate weakened, Japan entered the turbulent times of the long Sengoku period. Politically, the Sengoku daimyo (feudal lords of the Sengoku period) were in power in various places during this period, but the culture of Kyoto was still the object of their admiration. The fact that Takeda Shingen, who was based in Kai and was a prominent figure in the eastern part of Japan, took the trouble to invite only his wife from an aristocratic family in Kyoto, which is the most obvious example of this. Nobunaga Oda, who aimed to unify the world, first aimed at Kyoto because he ruled Kyoto, which led to the rule of the world.

After Nobunaga Oda committed suicide after being betrayed by Mitsuhide Akechi, Hideyoshi Toyotomi unified the world.

Hideyoshi built Fushimi Castle and a magnificent building called 'Jurakudai' covered with gold leaf.

With the establishment of the Edo Shogunate by Ieyasu Tokugawa, Kyoto lost its position as the center of politics. But even so, Kyoto remained the cultural and industrial center of the nation. In particular, high-class products such as Nishijin textiles were produced one after another from Kyoto's industries, and were shipped all over the country. Along with Edo, the political capital, and Osaka, the commercial capital, Kyoto was known as one of the “Three Capitals” and continued to prosper. At that time, it is said that Edo grew into a metropolis with a population of 1 million, Osaka with a population of 500,000, and Kyoto with a population of 400,000. The next largest cities were Nagoya and Kanazawa, where over 100,000 people lived, and even the castle towns of large feudal domains had populations of tens of thousands. I was doing it.

However, at the end of the Edo period (the end of the Edo Shogunate), the Sabaku faction (those who wanted to protect the Shogunate) and the Sonno faction (those who aimed for emperor-centered politics) were in conflict. For a long period of 300 years, early-modern Japan was peacefully governed, but the system of the Edo shogunate collapsed due to pressure from the Western powers. National opinion is completely divided into two over whether to open the country or to expel foreigners (the idea of ​​​​excluding foreigners). In the midst of this, the great foreign domains such as Choshu and Satsuma, which had increased their degree of independence, and the shogunate itself, whose foundations were beginning to wobble, increased their power by assuming the traditional authority of the emperor of Kyoto. You will be able to maintain it. As a result, Kyoto was once again reinstated as a political city. In the last few years of the Tokugawa shogunate, the shogun often stayed in Kyoto, and the Tokugawa government even took on the appearance of the 'Kyoto shogunate'. The feudal domains that were in conflict with the shogunate also used Kyoto as the stage for various political maneuvers. Ryoma Sakamoto of Tosa, Kogoro Katsura (later Takayoshi Kido) of Choshu, Takamori Saigo of Satsuma, and the Shinsengumi, who were determined to protect the shogunate, were active around this time.

In 1867, the shogunate returned the right to govern the country to the Imperial Court (this is called Taisei Hokan).

The new government army and the former shogunate army fought fiercely in Toba and Fushimi, Kyoto, and the new government army won, and in 1869, the capital of Japan was moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. People worried that the city of Kyoto would become lonely proceeded with modernization one after another in order to restore vitality.

One example is the construction of a canal to draw water from Lake Biwa to Kyoto. 21-year-old Sakuro Tanabe overcame many difficulties to make it a reality. Thanks to this, abundant water was brought in, hydroelectric power generation became possible, and Japan's first streetcar was realized. Before long, the Edo Shogunate was overthrown, and the Meiji Restoration government, centered on the emperor, was born. It seemed that Kyoto would return to being the “capital” again. However, Emperor Meiji changed Edo to "Tokyo" and moved there. In effect, the transfer of the capital to Tokyo took place. Kyoto was hit hard by this, and it is said that the population, which numbered over 300,000, dropped to over 200,000.

However, Kyoto repelled this crisis admirably. Under strong leaders such as Masanao Makimura, the second governor, and Kunimichi Kitagaki, the third governor, Japan's first elementary school was established, the Kyoto Exposition was held, and Lake Biwa was established. Kyoto was one of the first cities in Japan to carry out new attempts one after another, such as the construction of the canal, the accompanying hydroelectric power generation, the operation of streetcars, and the construction of modern buildings made of red bricks. As a result, Kyoto has been reborn as a splendid modern city, giving off a new brilliance as one of Japan's leading cities.

During the Pacific War (World War II), Kyoto hardly survived the air raids, and as a result, many of the precious cultural assets were left unharmed at the end of the war. Kyoto currently has a population of approximately 1.47 million. It is the 8th largest city in Japan (2015 population census), and is a city that symbolizes traditional Japanese culture.

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In 1534, Nobunaga Oda was born in what is now Aichi Prefecture, the son of Nobuhide Oda.

Nobunaga in his youth was said to be a ``fake’’, but he destroyed his head family and unified Owari Province.

In 1560, he defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto’s large army (25,000 men) with a small army (3,000 men) and distinguished himself.

He created a foothold for the unification of the world with a rational idea that was not bound by conventional wisdom. Furthermore, Nobunaga, who had excellent economic sense, implemented the policy of Rakuichi Rakuza and abolished checkpoints.

Simply put, Rakuichi Rakuza is a system that allows anyone to do business freely without being bound by old rules. It succeeds in taking away the vested rights that had been held by some people until then.

Also, by eliminating checkpoints, there was no need to pay transportation fees, which was necessary until then, and it became possible for people and goods to come and go freely. In addition, he says, “It has become easier to gather information.”

If there were people who opposed Nobunaga’s methods, even if they were temples and shrines, he would stand up mercilessly. In the famous burning of Enryaku-ji Temple, it is said that not only monks but also women and children were killed. However, this did not suppress religion, and Nobunaga did not intervene in religions that did not cause war.

In this way, Nobunaga did many new things.

However, in 1582, he was forced to commit suicide by his vassal, Akechi Mitsuhide, perhaps because his arbitrariness and decisiveness backfired.

Nobunaga ended his turbulent life at the age of 49. The death of the innovator who dominated the central part of Japan and was about to unify Japan is truly regrettable. Nobunaga’s sudden death delayed Japan’s modernization by 300 years.