![\"Areal](\"https:\/\/thetokyotourist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Tokyo-named-after-Kyoto-large.jpg\")
What\u2019s in a\nname? When it comes to Tokyo, the capital of Japan, everything. Kyoto and Tokyo\nmay be two different parts of the country, but do they share a history in terms\nof their name?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tokyo and Kyoto have similar names because Kyoto was\nonce the country\u2019s capital, which Tokyo later became. When writing the two\ncities\u2019 respective names in Japanese, you\u2019d write Kyoto as <\/strong>\u4eac\u90fd<\/strong> and Tokyo as<\/strong> <\/strong>\u6771\u4eac\u90fd<\/strong>.<\/strong> The only\ndifference is the <\/strong>\u6771<\/strong>,<\/strong> which stands for \u201ceast.\u201d The name for Kyoto translates to \u201cimperial\ncapital\u201d and Tokyo \u201ceast imperial capital.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t quite understand? That\u2019s\nokay. I implore you to keep reading, because we\u2019re about to go through a\nfascinating history lesson. In this article, I\u2019ll cover the history of Kyoto\nand its name as well as the lengthy backstory of Tokyo, including what it\u2019s\nlike today. I\u2019ll even talk about some historic locales in both cities to visit.\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s begin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before Tokyo\nexisted, Kyoto was officially recognized as Japan\u2019s imperial capital. That\nreign lasted for more than one thousand years. Today, it\u2019s referred to as Kyoto\nCity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kyoto could have\nexisted back in the Paleolithic days, a time ahead of even the sixth century.\nThe Shimogamo Shrine, which you can still find in the Sayo ward in Kyoto today,\nmay have gone up around that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n During those\nearly centuries, Kyoto didn\u2019t have the name it does now. It was called\nHeian-kyo in the eight century and located in Uda. Before then, it had its home\nin Nara but had to move due to Imperial government affairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This began\nwhat\u2019s known as Japan\u2019s Heian period. The name Heian-kyo translates to\n\u201ctranquility and peace capital.\u201d Indeed, at that time, Heian-kyo was the\ncapital of Japan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Onin War,\nwhich began in 1467 and lasted until 1477, caused massive destruction to\nHeian-kyo. It would take centuries before the city could completely rebuild.\nToyotomi Hideyoshi was one such man responsible for the 16th<\/sup>-century\nrebuild. Hideyoshi, a politician and samurai, pushed for using odoi<\/em>, a type of earthwork, as well as\nrectangle blocks for the reconstruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Towards the end\nof that century, Edo, Osaka, and Heian-kyo all succeeded economically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It would take\nuntil the late 1890s for Heian-kyo to get a new name, Kyoto. It happened during\nthe year 1899, on the first day of April. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Years before\nthat, in 1864, about 28,000 properties and homes were destroyed by fire during\nthe Hamaguri rebellion. In a reaction to this rebellion, Emperor Meiji (more on\nhim in the next section), in 1869, decided to move to Tokyo, making it the new\ncapital of Japan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s part of\nwhat inspired the name change for Kyoto, along with the urge to rebuild the\ncity better than ever before. To that end, in 1890, Kyoto added the Lake Biwa\nCanal. By 1932, more than a million people lived here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s no wonder\nthen that the United States contemplated planting an atomic bomb in Kyoto\ninstead of Nagasaki. This war-ending measure in the World War II days would\nhave destroyed a city once again freshly rebuilt. The US believed they could\ninspire Japan\u2019s empire to give up through the bombings. In the end, Kyoto\nwasn\u2019t bombed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That means it\u2019s\nstill possible to see buildings from even before World War II around Kyoto. Machiya<\/em>, or townhouses from the war\ndays, certainly stand out in their architecture. They\u2019re one of the few\nremaining structures left. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Found in the\nTamba highlands, a region of mountains, Kyoto sits along the Yamashiro Basin in\na valley. All around you, you\u2019ll find the Nishiyama, Kitayama, and Higashiyama\nmountains. With its location and the fact that it\u2019s several thousand feet over\nsea level, the winters get downright frigid and the summers very warm in Kyoto.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where the\nImperial Palace once was to the south, you can now visit the city\u2019s business\ndistrict. To the north, there\u2019s more nature. The city has many Shinto shrines\n(400) and Buddhist temples (1,600) scattered about. The Ryoan-ji temple features\na must-see rock garden. Ginkaku-ji has a nickname of the Temple of the Silver Pavilion,\nwhile Kinkaku-ji also goes by the name the Temple of the Golden Pavilion.\nKiyomizu-dera is built right into Kyoto\u2019s mountains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re learning\nthe Japanese language, then you might notice residents here speak a somewhat\ndifferent dialect than what you\u2019ve heard in other parts of the country. Indeed,\nthe dialect, Kyoto-ben <\/em>or Kyo-kotoba<\/em>, comes from Kansai. In fact,\nthe Tokyo dialect garners its inspiration from the Kyoto dialect, which was\nonce the preferable dialect of the two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kyoto Station\nwill take you almost anywhere you want to go in Japan. It runs through a\nmunicipal subway line, the Kintetsu line, several JR West lines (up to five), and\nits Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also\nride the Hankyu or Keihan lines to get to the Kinki region and local suburbs\naround Kyoto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With Kyoto and\nTokyo inextricably linked, it only makes sense that we cover the history of\nJapan\u2019s current capital now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like Kyoto,\nTokyo always didn\u2019t have its name. It was once named after an estuary, which\ntranslates to Edo in Japanese. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Edo period,\nalso referred to as the Tokugawa period, began in 1603 and lasted until 1868.\nTokugawa Ieyasu, a prominent military leader in the 1590s, moved his military\nquarters to Edo, located around Edojuku. With bridges and castles in Edojuku\nand Tokugawa\u2019s craftsmen and warriors, he soon had his own town. Thus began the\nEdo period or Edo jidai<\/em>, with\nTokugawa\u2019s move to shogun also another prominent event of this time (it\noccurred in 1603).<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a shogun,\nTokugawa ruled for a while. Edo succeeded as well, enough to the point where it\nbecame Japan\u2019s national capital. That said, Kyoto was still the actual capital then.\nEdo even had its own castle by 1606. Unfortunately, floods, earthquakes, and\nfires marred what could have been a very prosperous time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Emperor Meiji\nsettled into Edo by 1869, an event which heralded the new name of Tokyo. As we\ncovered in the intro, the name translates to \u201ceastern capital.\u201d There were two\nparts of Tokyo at the time, Shitamachi and Yamanote. Another significant change\nhappening then? The Imperial Palace took over Edo Castle. By 1889, Tokyo went\ndown in the record books as a legitimate, official city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It became the\ncapital under Emperor Meiji, who decided to switch the capital of Japan to\nTokyo instead of Kyoto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n World War II\ngreatly affected Tokyo, and it had quite a negative impact at that. In 1942,\nduring the Doolittle Raid, Tokyo suffered massive bombings. This happened again\nin late 1944 and again in 1945. That 1945 bombing or Operation Meetinghouse Raid\nis very significant because the U.S. Army Forces used B-29s. These had\ngasoline, coconut oil, lye, and rubber in the bombs. Japan did not defend\nitself from the impact, and thus 100,000 people died. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another\nunfortunate event that occurred before World War II was the Kanto earthquake in\n1923. This had a Richter scale rating of 8.3 and led to the deaths of 140,000\npeople. At the time, that accounted for a decent amount of Tokyo\u2019s population,\nup to three percent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Two years before\nWorld War II ended, Tokyo\u2019s prefecture and the city itself came together,\nrenaming the merger to the Metropolitan Prefecture of Tokyo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tokyo was better\nthan ever in time for the Summer Olympics in 1964, which the city hosted.\nRoughly 11 million people called the city home by the 1970s. Tokyo\u2019s commuter\nrails and subways became super cramped as a result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A debt bubble\nformed by the \u201880s as more people flooded the city and the prices of real\nestate went up. A decade later, the real estate boon went bust, leading to a recession.\nIt\u2019s no wonder that the 1990s got branded the Lost Decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Newer Tokyo\nestablishments include Shinkansen Station in Shinagawa, Roppongi Hills,\nShiodome, Tennozu Isle, and Ebisu Garden Place. The city still gets\nearthquakes, with a major one occurring in 2011. A tsunami that accompanied the\nstorm could have been very bad, but the city had prepared ahead of time. Their\nnewer infrastructure, designed to prevent damage from earthquakes, kept damage\nto a minimum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, Tokyo has\neight villages, five towns, 26 cities, and 23 wards under the Tokyo\nMetropolitan Government. Next year, it will host to the summer Olympic games\nagain. For that milestone, it earns a special distinction, as no other Asian\ncity has ever played host to the Olympics more than once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, now that I\u2019ve\ncovered extensive retellings of the histories of both Kyoto and Tokyo, it\u2019s\ntime to talk about the names of these cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kyoto existed\nfirst, as you now know. Its also went by names like Kyo no Miyako, Miyako, or\nKyo before anyone settled on calling it Kyoto. As I talked about in the intro,\nthe name Kyoto means \u201ccapital city\u201d or \u201cimperial capital.\u201d The name comes from\na calligraphic from Middle China that looks like this: \u4eac\u90fd. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When Tokyo, then\ncalled Edo, came into existence, Kyoto was already the capital of Japan. That\nlasted until 1869. The year prior, the Meiji Restoration occurred. This event,\nalso called the Meiji Renewal or Meiji Reform, signaled the end of the Tokugawa\ngovernment. Meiji and his forces took over Edo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Emperor Meiji\nalso made Tokyo the capital. Remember, Tokyo or Edo was considered the national\ncapital before becoming the official Japanese capital. That\u2019s why there was a\nneed to differentiate between an imperial capital (Kyoto) and an imperial\ncapital east (Tokyo). <\/p>\n\n\n\n If the lengthy\nbackground of Japan as covered above has inspired you, then you might feel like\nbooking a trip with a historical bent. Can you see the kinds of places in Tokyo\nand Kyoto that carved and shaped what Japan has become today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I mentioned\nin the earlier sections, yes, some of them. Others were destroyed by war or\nnatural disasters. Here is what\u2019s left that you should put on your itinerary\nstat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fushimi Castle was\nalso once called Fushimi Momoyama Castle or just Momoyama Castle. Toyotomi\nHideyoshi, whose name came up already, used the space to retire once his\nsamurai days ended. The original existed in 1592, but the one you can see today\nwas built in 1964 as a replica. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kyoto has its\nfair share of Buddhist temples as well, such as the Nanzen-ji Temple. It has an\naqueduct that\u2019s been around since the Meiji Period, sometime after 1868. Today,\nyou can just look at the aqueduct, but at the time, it served a major purpose.\nIt allowed Kyoto residents to get to Shiga Prefecture via Lake Biwa, passing\nitems and even water along the aqueduct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Kyoto to the\nwest, you\u2019ll spot the Ninna-ji Temple. Emperor Uda founded this five-story\nwonder, which will leave your jaw on the floor. Today, the temple has\nrecognition as a World Heritage Site through UNESCO. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite its name\nas a temple, Enrakyu-ji Temple actually operates as a monastery. It\u2019s stood the\ntest of time quite literally, as the Heians built it sometime in 788. No,\nthat\u2019s not a typo and I didn\u2019t forget a 1 in there somewhere. That\u2019s 788. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another temple\nthat gives the Enryaku-ji a run for its money is To-ji Temple. Built more than\n1,200 years back, it has five stories as well. In its early days, it was used\nas a guardian temple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Away from the\nhustle and bustle of Tokyo, the Kagurazaka District promises excitement for\nthose looking for a real-life history lesson. This district became a standout\nduring the Edo period, offering entertainment to residents of the area. Today,\nyou can see geisha houses from that same period. Yes, they\u2019re still\noperational. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re\npassing through Harajuku Station, then make it a point to stop and drink in the\nhistory of the Meiji Jingu Shrine. Built in 1920, Empress Dowager and Emperor\nMeiji both get honored here. The forest that surrounds the shrine makes for a\nnice reprieve from all the city streets of Tokyo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of\ngreenery, as you get near Ginza, you\u2019ll come across the Hamarikyu Garden. Back\nin the 17th<\/sup> century, this was a villa belonging to the Tokugawa\nempire. These days, it\u2019s a pretty garden and a public park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A short walk\nfrom Tokyo Tower, Zoji-ji Temple has been around since 1393. As you pay your\nrespects at the temple, you can see the tower lingering in the background. If\nyou keep on your way, you\u2019ll soon arrive at Shiba Park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To truly immerse\nyourself in Japanese history, spend a few hours or an afternoon in Asakusa.\nThis older part of Tokyo houses the Senso-ji Temple. Around for roughly 1,400\nyears, the temple remains a stark reminder of older days despite its proximity\nto Tokyo Skytree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For a thousand\nyears, Tokyo wasn\u2019t Japan\u2019s capital, but Kyoto was. Through major changes\nthroughout Japan, Tokyo eventually became the capital and remains such to this\nday. Before that, it was referred to as a national capital. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why Kyoto\nand Tokyo have similar names. One was the country\u2019s capital and the other a\nnational capital at the same time. Both major cities have long and storied\nhistories, including former names, invasions, and even wars and natural\ndisasters. You can take in some of that history yourself by checking out the\nshrines, temples, and landmarks I featured in this article. I sincerely hope\nyou do! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What\u2019s in a name? When it comes to Tokyo, the capital of Japan, everything. Kyoto and Tokyo may be two different parts of the country, but do they share a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetokyotourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2136"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetokyotourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetokyotourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetokyotourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetokyotourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2136"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/thetokyotourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2143,"href":"https:\/\/thetokyotourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2136\/revisions\/2143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetokyotourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetokyotourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetokyotourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetokyotourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What Is the History of Kyoto and Its Name?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Early Days<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Name Change to Kyoto<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Kyoto Today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Is the History of Tokyo and Its Name? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Edo Period <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Renaming the City<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Postwar <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tokyo Today <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Breaking Down the Link Between the Names Kyoto and Tokyo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Where Can You See This History for Yourself?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In Kyoto<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1. Fushimi Castle <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
2. Nanzen-ji Temple<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
3. Ninna-ji Temple<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
4. Enryaku-ji Temple<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
5. To-ji Temple<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
In Tokyo \u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1. Kagurazaka District<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
2. Meiji Jingu Shrine<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
3. Hamarikyu Garden<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
4. Zoji-ji Temple<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
5. Senso-ji Temple<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Conclusion <\/h2>\n\n\n\n