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Nara-Ken
B. Horyuji Temple
The oldest wooden building and the most famous temple in Japan, this Buddhist temple of Horyuji in Ikaruga City, Nara
Prefecture, was founded by the then Emperor's son, Prince Shotoku (574-622), who left his name as an excellent politician
in 607 shortly after Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the mid-sixth century from China by way of the Korean Peninsula.
It is said that the original temple was destroyed by fire in 670, and the existing buildings in the temple's main compound,
Sai-in (West Temple), are those which had been rebuilt and completed by 711. The other compound, To-in ( East Temple), was
built by 739 at the site of Prince Shotoku's Ikaruga Palace in dedication to the Prince. Horyuji Temple is designated a World
Heritage.
Kyoto-Fu
A. Kiyomizu Temple
Kiyomizudera was originally built in 804 by Tamuramaro Sakanoue. The building today was a donation of Iemitsu Tokugawa
in the early 1600s. The platform in front of the temple is 10 meters high and has been for centuries a symbol of volition
and resoluteness, coined with the metaphor " a jump from Kiyomizu". This temple is designated a World Heritage.
B. Kyoto National Garden
C. Nijo Castle
Nijo-jo was built to protect Kyoto from Ieyasu Tokugawa when he installed his feudal government in 1603. The donjon and
revetment were completed by the warlord Iemitsu in 1626. The castle is typical structure of the feudal culture of the times,
and they say it impressed the authority of the shogunate on both the court and the commoner. It was also here at the end of
the Edo Period (mid 1860s) that the warlords returned power to the emperor and restored imperial rule. Nijo Castle is designated
a World Heritage.
D. Hirano Shrine
This is an attached shrine dedicated to the Emperor Nintoku. Now all that remains is a small box-like construction. The
annual festival is on March 1.
E. Kinkakuji Temple
Originally, this temple was the mountain retreat of Yoshimitsu Ashikaga, warlord of the 15th century Muromachi feudal
government. After his demise, it became a Zen temple and was renamed Rokuonji. Since the day it was first built, it
has been externally covered with gold leaf which is why it has also come to be known as Kinkakuji, or the "Golden Pavilion".
Kinkakuji is designated a World Heritage.
F. Heian Shrine
The Heian Shrine was built in 1896 to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of the Heian Government. It was modeled after
the Daidairichodoin-temple of the Heian Palace, but only 5/8 the size.
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