Kamigamo, Kitayama, Daitokuji area, Kyoto sightseeing route, Japan

Visit Kamigamo area, the oldest shrine in Kyoto, Kamo Betsurai Shrine, and feel the atmosphere of the town where the priests live. Go north on the Kamo Highway that runs along the Kamo River, and cross the Misono Bridge to reach the world heritage Kamo Betsurai Shrine (Kamigamo Shrine). It is the oldest shrine in Kyoto that was enshrined by Mr. Kamo, who prospered in the vicinity. If you take a walk around the shrine, you will come across various famous places and specialties. Daejeon Shrine where you can admire the wild community of Japanese iris designated as a natural monument in early May. The area has developed as a town where the residences and farmers of the priests who serve Kamigamo Shrine coexist, and is currently designated as the “Kamigamo Township Landscape Improvement District”. During the walk, you can also buy pickles made from suguki, which have been cultivated in this area for a long time, and sweets such as “Yakimochi”.

In the Kitayama area, walk along the half-tree road along the Kamo River where the citizens can relax, go to the botanical garden with abundant nature, and experience art and culture at the Kyoto Concert Hall and the History Museum. Under the cherry blossoms in full bloom in spring, Nakaragi Path is a relaxing spot for citizens to enjoy a walk. If you walk north on this road built on the Kamogawa riverbed, you will see the Kyoto Botanical Garden, which has a vast site on the right side, in front of Kitayama-dori. It is easily accessible from Kitayama Subway Station, and opened in 1924 (Taisho 13), making it the oldest public botanical garden in Japan. The area around Kitayama Station is also attractive because you can experience culture and art. There are also spots such as the Kyoto Concert Hall, which is also the home of the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, and the Kyoto Prefectural Kyoto Institute, Library and Archives, which has a wealth of materials related to Kyoto.

The Daitokuji area, Kitaoji Station, which is easily accessible by subway or city bus, and “Shino” are sung by many songs and are also used as Utamakura. Kitakami Subway Station is located north of Karasuma Dori from the city center. It has a bus terminal and is a transportation hub in the northern part of Kyoto City. The station is connected to commercial facilities, and there are many shops nearby, which are crowded with shoppers. If you go west on Kitaoji Dori from the station, you will find Daitokuji Temple, which was founded in the Kamakura period. The area called Shino from Funaokayama to Daitokuji is a quiet residential area. Imamiya Shrine, where aburi mochi is popular, is also in this area. Originally, Murasakino was also a vast hunting ground and villa for the imperial family and aristocrats in the early Heian period.

Shigeru Kamiga
Kamigamo is the name of the area extending to the left bank of the Kamo River (Kamo River) in Kita-ku, Kyoto City, north of Kitayama Dori, Kamiyama and south of Jusangokuyama on the right bank of the Kamo River. This section also describes its predecessor, Kamigamomura, Atago-gun. Incorporated into Kyoto City in 1931. Before that, it was Kamo Village, Atago-gun. It has long been regarded as the territory of Kamigamo Shrine (Kamigamo Shrine). Kamigamo Shrine is a shrine located in Kita Ward, Kyoto City.

One of Shikinaisha (Meishin Taisha), Yamashiro Kuniichinomiya, and Nijunisha (upper seven companies). The old shrine was a large shrine, and now it is a separate shrine of the Association of Shinto Shrines. Daejeon Shrine is said to have existed since ancient times than Kamigamo Shrine. The Japanese iris of Daejeon Sawa is designated as a national natural monument. Kitaoji Rosanjin’s birthplace has a stone monument on the south side of Daejeon Shrine (Kamigamo Kitaoji Town). March 22, 2009 An unveiling ceremony was held on the 22nd, the day before his birthday, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rosanjin’s death. Daejeon’s Path is a walking path that walks along the mountain ridge on the north side of Daejeon Shrine.

The Kamo Kitaka monument is located on the north side of the Daejeon Shrine south intersection on the south side and on the first road to the west (Kamigamo Takegahana Town). A song about Mt. Yoshino in spring is written on the monument, and a song about autumn leaves is also written below. Kamo Kitaka is a poet in the late Edo period at the Kamigamo shrine. After being instructed by King Arisugawa-no-miya, Kitaka became a priest at Kamigamo Shrine after returning to Kyoto, and presided over a cultural salon named “Unnishitei.” The Kyoto City Traditional Buildings Preservation District is an area where the characteristic historic townscape of Kyoto is maintained. The Sanneizaka district, Gion Shinbashi district, Saga Toriimoto district and Kamigamo district are designated. These four districts have been selected as important traditional buildings preservation districts of the country.

Kitayama
Kitayama is a name that refers to the mountainous area that connects to the Tamba Highlands in the northwest of Kita-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, and is derived from the fact that it is located in the north direction when viewed from Heiankyo. As a mountain mass, it spreads to Ukyo Ward, which is adjacent to Kita Ward, but during the Muromachi period, Yoshimitsu Ashikaga built Kitayama Sanso (Kitayama Daiichi, Kinkakuji Temple) at the foot of the southeastern end of Kitayama (Takamine Plateau), and is the center of Kitayama culture. Since it became a land, even in the current administrative division, the area within the category of Kita Ward is mainly called Kitayama. Located behind Kinkakuji Temple, Mt. Okayama is known as the mountain where one of the Gozan no Okuribi, “Left Capital”, is lit, and the address division is Mt. Daikita, which borders the city.

If you go north along Kyoto Prefectural Road No. 31 Nishijin Sugisaka Line (Takamine Kaido) along the Tenjin River, you will be able to divide into the mountains from around the Omiya district in the Shakayatsusan area. After crossing the Kyomi Pass on Prefectural Road 31, it becomes the Nishigamo district in the Shiroyama area, the Sugisaka district, and then the Nakagawa district. At Sugisaka, it branches off from Kyoto Prefectural Road 107, Kumogahata Sugisaka Line, and at Nakagawa, it joins National Route 162 (Shuzan Kaido), which is also the middle reaches of the Kiyotaki River. The end of National Route 162 is the Ono district, and the national highway moves to Ukyo Ward, but when you go up the Kiyotaki River, it becomes the Omori district of the headwaters, and it borders Keihoku Town, Ukyo Ward across Mt. Sajikigatake.

On the other hand, the end of Prefectural Road 107 is the Mayumi / Kumogahata district across the carry-over pass, which borders Keihokucho and Kurama in Sakyo Ward. In addition, the Nishigamo and Kitagamo districts on the right bank, which went north along the Kamogawa on the Kyoto Prefectural Road No. 61 Kyoto Keihoku Line and Kyoto Prefectural Road No. 38 Kyoto Hirokawara Miyama Line (Kamo Kaido), also belong to Kitayama, but Kamigamo on the left bank of the Kamogawa River. Hiragino etc.) is not included in Kitayama. These areas correspond to Kitayama, and the three districts of Nakagawa, Kumogahata, and Ono are described as “Kitayama Sanmura,” and the legend of Koretaka-shinno’s retreat is transmitted to Kumogahata and Omori.

The Tokai Nature Trail extends from Oiwa on the Kyoto Prefectural Road No. 61 Kyoto Keihoku Line, which is located on the border with Sakyo Ward. Go down along the Kamo River, proceed along the edge of the foot of Kitayama, pass through Shakuhachiike and Koetsuji Temple, enter Ichinosaka, pass through Bodai-taki-Bodai-taki-Ikenoya, which is the boundary with Ukyo-ku, and reach Ukyo-ku. Kitayama-dori and Kitayama Station on the Karasuma Subway Line are located at the foot of Kitayama, in the plains on the edge of the Kyoto Basin, and are not in the mountains.

Daitokuji Temple
Daitokuji is a temple located in Murasakino Daitokuji-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, and is the main temple of the Rinzai sect Daitokuji school. The mountain number is Ryuhozan. The principal image is Shaka Nyorai. Kaisan (founder) is Myocho Somine, a master of Daito Kokushi, and was officially founded in the second year of the middle (1325). It is one of the largest Zen Buddhist temples in Kyoto, and the precincts are lined with central temples such as Buddhist temples and temples, as well as more than 20 temples, leaving the atmosphere of a modern temple. Daitoku-ji is a temple that has produced many famous monks and has a deep connection with the tea ceremony culture, and has continued to have a great influence on Japanese culture. Many cultural assets such as buildings, gardens, barrier paintings, tea utensils, and Chinese calligraphy are left in the Honbo and Tatchu temples. In addition, Daitokuji Honbo is not open to the public, and many of the towers are also private.

The founder of Daitokuji Temple, Myocho Somine, was born in Koan 5 (1282) in Harima Province (Hyogo Prefecture) as a child of Uragami, a vassal of Akamatsu, the guardian of the country. At the age of 11, he entered Shoshazan Engyo-ji Temple, a large local temple, and studied the Tendai sect. As Nanpo Shomyō moved to Kenchoji Temple in Kamakura, Soho also entered Kamakura, and in 1307, he received a seal from his teacher.

Myocho Somine, who had been practicing in Higashiyama, Kyoto for several years after that, received the devotion of Akamatsu Enshin from his hometown in the 4th year of Masakazu (1315) or the 1st year of the original era (1319), and was small in the land of Rakuhoku Shino. The temple was erected. This is the origin of Daitokuji Temple. Emperor Hanazono devoted himself to Soho, and in the second year of the middle of the year (1325), he issued a decree with Daitokuji as a prayer place. It is thought that the form of the temple was completed around this time.

Tourist attractions

Garden of Fine Arts Kyoto Prefectural Ceramics
The world’s first painting garden displaying eight porcelain panel paintings that faithfully reproduce the beauty of masterpieces and can be preserved for a long time. (Facility design: Mr. Tadao Ando) The garden has a unique corridor-style structure that is dug down to the second basement floor with a gentle slope, and is combined with the waterside by large and small waterfalls and ponds in the daylight. It provides a new space that enables you to appreciate paintings. (Exhibited Porcelain Panel Painting) “The Last Supper”, “The Last Judgment”, “Along the River During Qingming”, “Choju-jingai”, “Water Lilies / Morning”, “Road with Cypress and Stars”, “At the Terrace”, ” “Sunday afternoon on La Grand Jat Island”

Kyoto Concert Hall
The Kyoto Concert Hall is a music hall built by the city of Kyoto to commemorate the 1200th anniversary of the Heian period, based on the philosophy of the “World Culture Free City Declaration.” It opened in October 1995. The designer is Arata Isozaki, who won the Pritzker Prize, also known as the Nobel Prize in the architectural world, in 2019. The Kyoto Concert Hall is also the home of the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, which was founded in 1956 as Japan’s only orchestra directly managed by the local government.

With one of the largest pipe organs in western Japan with the sounds of traditional Japanese instruments such as sho and shinobue, a large hall with 1,833 seats that can be played by a large orchestra and a large chorus, and a small organization such as chamber music. There is a small hall (ensemble hall Murata) with 510 seats, which is ideal for concerts. Adjacent to Kyoto Municipal Subway Hokudai Station, it is easily accessible, and is one of the Kitayama Cultural Zones such as the Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden, the Garden of Fine Arts Kyoto, Kyoto Prefectural Kyoto Gaku / History Museum, and Kyoto Prefectural University. Located in the picture.

Kyoto City Kita Cultural Hall
As a base for cultural activities in the northern region, it is a facility that can be used for performances such as music, drama, dance, and other cultural events, as well as classes, training, conferences, etc. The Kita Cultural Hall is the fourth regional cultural hall in Kyoto City. Opened in April 1995. The hall can also accommodate seats for sports.

Kyoto Botanical Garden
Opened in 1924, it has the oldest history in Japan as a public comprehensive botanical garden. The total area is about 240,000 m2, and there are about 12,000 kinds of plants to be planted and exhibited. Many flowers decorate the park throughout the four seasons, such as cherry blossoms and tulips in spring, hydrangea and iris in early summer, water lilies and sunflowers in summer, cosmos in autumn, and sasanqua and plum blossoms in winter. In particular, about 160 varieties and 450 cherry trees are popular, and many cherry blossom viewing visitors come when they reach full bloom. At the same time as the autumn leaves, the Japanese maple, fu, ranshinboku, and ginkgo that are dyed vividly in the park attract people. In addition to the vast lawn, rose garden, and plant ecology garden, you can enjoy tropical plants all year round in Japan’s largest strolling garden. It is useful as a place of relaxation and culture through the viewing of plants, and also contributes to the conservation of endangered plants.

Omiya Traffic Park
Omiya Kotsu Park was opened in 1969 and has been used by many people, but the disaster prevention function will be strengthened due to the deterioration of the facility and the relocation of the North Fire Department to a part of the park. At the same time, it was decided to redevelop it as a new traffic learning facility centered on bicycle safety education in line with the current traffic problems.

Kyoto Sangyo University Kamiyama Observatory
At the Kamiyama Astronomical Observatory of Kyoto Sangyo University, there is the largest 1.3m Araki telescope in Japan, which conducts research and observations, as well as facility tours and astronomical observations for the general public.

Famous places and historic sites

Jisso-in Garden
The pond-style garden with the back mountain in the background and the stone garden on the front are completely different. The appearance of the maple of the passage connecting the two reflected in the room is called “floor maple” or “floor green”.

Hudarakuji Temple (Komachiji Temple) Komachi Sugatami no I
The temple is said to have inherited the name of Fudarakuji Temple, which was built by Kiyohara no Fukayo, and Ono no Komachi calls himself “Ono, a mother-in-law who lives in the wilderness of Ichihara.” It came to be called Komachiji based on “Tsukomachi” and the statue of Komachi enshrined in this temple. Currently, the full-length well is thirsty. In the southeastern corner of the precincts, there are also “Aname no Utsu” and Empress Dowager Tower. The memorial tower for General Fukakusa and the memorial tower for Ono no Komachi are located on the opposite side of the northwest. Tendai sect.

Nishimura Family Garden
The Nishimura family owned the garden of successive shrines at Kamigamo Shrine in the 20s of the Meiji era. The garden was built in the late Heian period and has an area of ​​1300 square meters (a scenic spot designated by the city). From the nearby Myojin River, water is introduced, the river in the garden, and the pond are visited, and together with the old trees, the taste of the old company garden is preserved. In the past, a “winding stream party” was also held. Published March 15th-December 8th. An advent stone in the shape of Kamiyama, a well of miso that was purified before the Shinto ritual.

Kamigamo Traditional Buildings Preservation District
Kamigamo Shrine, which is the landlord of Heiankyo, has been developed as a priest’s mansion town since the Muromachi period, with priests (priests and priests) and farmers forming a village in front of the gate. Along the Myojin River that flows out of the shrine’s precincts, there are shrine houses (priest’s residences) with a unique wife decoration called “Inokosasu”, which are integrated with the earthen bridge, earthen wall, gate, and trees in the front yard. It conveys the historical landscape of the shrine town to this day.

Kamo Betsurai Shrine’s Aphananthe aspera is an elmaceae mukunoki located in the southeastern corner of the precincts of Kamigamo Shrine. It is located on an almost circular plateau, and the surrounding area is protected by masonry with a height of 70 cm. An old giant tree that lived for a long time as a coastal vegetation around the Kamo River. It is one of the largest healthy trees of Aphananthe aspera that survives the Muroto typhoon and remains in Kyoto today. Kamo’s weeping cherry tree is a weeping cherry tree of the Rosaceae family in the precincts of Kamigamo Shrine. It grows up in a wide open area, from the first torii gate to the second torii gate, and approaches the approach to some extent. A protective fence is provided around it.

It is said that they dedicated what was in the Kyoto Imperial Palace in the olden days, and it has the name of Gosho Sakura. The best of Kamigamo Shrine (Kamigamo Shrine) is the Quercus gilva of the family Fagaceae in the precincts of Kamigamo Shrine. It is divided into two trunks from 1.5m above the ground, and some root systems are exposed. The crest of Kamo Shrine is the beech family in the eastern part of Kamigamo Shrine. The vicinity is a flat land in the precincts, and the main trunk tilts slightly in the northwest direction and branches into 5 thick branches at a height of about 5 m above the ground, and a meandering uplift pattern is remarkably formed on the slanted trunk surface. Is.

Kitaoji Station (Kitaoji Bus Terminal)
A transportation hub in the northern part of Kyoto City, with the municipal subway “Kitaoji Station” and the bus terminal of the Kyoto City Bus. Bus routes comparable to Kyoto Station are concentrated, and it is the starting point when moving to various directions. It is also connected to the commercial facility “Kitaoji Vivre” and is convenient for shopping and dining. Beyond the Takano River, which runs to the east, there is a prefectural botanical garden with abundant nature.

Haradani Garden (Aoyamaso)
Haratanien is a famous place for cherry blossoms in Haratani, a mountain northwest of Kinkakuji Temple, and is open to the public from early April to late April and from late November to early December during the fall foliage season. There are more than 400 types of cherry blossoms in the garden, with more than 400 red weeping cherry blossoms, light ink cherry blossoms, Yoshino cherry blossoms, main double red weeping cherry blossoms, yellow cherry blossoms, green cherry blossoms, chrysanthemum cherry blossoms, and town cherry blossoms in sequence until the end of April. It keeps blooming.

Sakaki of Dofu Shrine
Theaceae Sakaki in the precincts of Dofu Shrine. It is located on the flat ground in the shrine precincts on the shore of the mountain at the foot of the mountain on the outskirts of the town. Dofu Shrine is a village shrine whose deity is Ono no Michikaze.

Daitokuji Temple
In the Daitokuji Hojo Garden, the front yard of Daitokuji Hojo is covered with wide white sand and stones and trees are placed along the earthen wall. In the center is the Teshimon Gate. In the eastern garden, large and small stones are used along the two-tiered mowing, and in the old days, Kamogawa and Mt. Hiei were used as borrowed scenery. Teshimonen is an important cultural property building of the Momoyama period architecture in Daitokuji Temple. It is built almost in the center of the precincts that entered the eastern main gate. It is said that the south gate of the Imperial Palace built by Keicho was relocated. Kashiwa Maki of Daitokuji Temple is always open to the public. Juniperus chinensis (Juniperus chinensis) of the Juniperus family in the south garden of the Buddhist temple of Daitokuji. It is located in a large flat area in the south garden of the Buddhist temple in the precincts. City designated natural monument

Zuihoin Garden
Zuiho-in’s garden is a modern garden created by Mirei Shigemori. The dojo garden in front of Hojo is a dry landscape garden using the method of the Muromachi period. The Hojo backyard is a quiet garden with a stream of seven stones arranged on a cross based on a Christian lantern.

Shodenji Garden
The garden of Enryakuji Temple is a dry landscape garden that expresses Shichigosan by cutting Satsuki, which is not a stone, on white sand with Mt. Hiei as the backdrop. It is also commonly used as a lion’s child-passing garden. Hojo was originally the Shoin of Konchi-in Temple.

Shozan Garden
Spring of flower-scented round dance. A pure summer like a flowing stream. Colorful, gorgeous autumn. White cosmetics Beautiful majestic winter. “Rakuhoku” at the end of Sanshi Suimei. Please enjoy the nature of the four seasons. The northern garden, which uses Kitayama Daisugi and Kishu Aoishi luxuriously and skillfully arranges plums and maples, is a varied structure where nature and man-made are in perfect harmony, and you can walk through the Daisugi forest. It is a strolling garden where you can do it. The garden is dotted with buildings such as Minetama-tei, Kyomatsu-an, and Tam-an, where you can enjoy the plum blossoms in March, the irises in June, the autumn leaves in November, the snowy scenery in winter, and the scenery of the four seasons. Every year in the middle of March, we hold the “Umemi no Utage” and in the beginning of June, we hold the “Hanashobu no Kai”.

Shinjuan Garden
The garden of Shinju-an is a dry landscape garden with a combination of 753 small stones against a hedge. Stepping stones at the entrance are also arranged in 753. There is a square lantern from the Muromachi period in the open field.

Ryogen-in Garden
The stonework scattered in the green moss is impressive in the Hojo north garden of Ryogen-in. Hojo South Garden is a dry landscape garden with white sand and stonework. To the east of Hojo, there is a simple pot garden “Higashi Drop Pot” consisting of only five stones.

Koetsuji Garden
Koetsuji is the residence of Hon’ami Koetsu in his later years. The unique bamboo fence that surrounds the tea room Daikokuan is called “Koetsuji”. From the garden, you can see Takagamine and Washigamine nearby, and the mountains of Higashiyama 36 peaks in the distance.

Kotoin Garden
The garden of Kotoin is Kaede’s garden. You can enjoy the varied atmosphere of the four seasons, but the autumn leaves are especially beautiful. Matsumukaiken is a tea room related to Tadaoki Hosokawa (Sansai). In 1998, the Shoin “Ikitaken” and “Matsumukaiken” have been recreated from the time they were built and retain the traditions and methods of the past, so you can see them.

Genko-an Garden
At Genko-an, there is a Kara-style gate with Kitayama cedar. There are “windows of hesitation” and “windows of enlightenment” in the main hall of the Irimoya style. Cut out the landscape with square windows and round windows. The garden behind the main hall has a view of Kitayama, and has a taste throughout the four seasons.

Entsuji Garden
The garden of Entsuji is a magnificent garden with a view of Mt. Hiei from between the cedar and cypress. Forty stones, hedges, bamboo bushes and pillars of square length, and vertical and horizontal lines woven by trees are in perfect harmony.

Tomomi Iwakura ghost old house
Tomomi Iwakura (Bunsei 8-Meiji 16, 1825-1883), a representative politician from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji era, was regarded as a samurai sect and temporarily lost his position due to the rise of the jōi movement and retired to Iwakura village. Was a residence for three years from the first year of the Meiji era (1864) to the third year of Keio (1867), and was designated as a national historic site in 1932. In addition, the Taidake Bunko was built in 1928 as an exhibition and storage facility, and still exhibits Iwakura Tomomi-related items. The building became a national registered tangible cultural property in 2007.

Events / festivals

Autumn leaves and autumn leaves lit up
Poinsettia Exhibition
Satsuki Exhibition
Sakura and Sakura Illumination
Morning glory exhibition
Chrysanthemum Flower Exhibition
Musa Shinto ritual
Exposure
Kamo Winding Stream Party
Kaede Natsukoshi
Tea ceremony
Oharae ceremony
Yasurai Festival
Annual festival
Shigeru Uega Festival
Kamo Horse Racing
Burning light festival
Event outline
Burning light festival
Gotanakai Shinto ritual
Fire festival at Ishiza Shrine
Tayu Yoshino flower memorial service
Autumn leaves ondo
Umemi no Utage
Exhibit
Saihoji Rokusai Nenbutsu
Hakuba Kanran Shinto ritual
Haradani Garden open to the public
Daisenin Zen Temple Experience Class (Spring / Summer)
Shimeiin Grand Festival
Crow sumo
Kamo Moon Festival
Mita planting festival
Imamiya Festival
Dokai Festival
Old-fashioned
Needle memorial service
#School Trip Passport
Kamo Mito Noh
Regular festival
Kamigamo Yasurai Festival
Kasagake Shinto ritual
Era festival
Kamogawa teahouse