平安京が生まれた理由
Mangekyo, Japan through history. On this show, weexplore Japan's famous places through the lens
of history and uncover the stories most peoplenever hear. By the end of each episode, I hope
you'll want to learn more and see these places ina whole new way. I'm your host, Taiki Arai.
I'm currently studying to become a licensed tourguide in Japan, and this show is part of thatjourney.
Today, we are starting our Kyoto series. Have youever looked at the map of Kyoto?
In most Japanese cities, the streets twist andturn along rivers and hills.
But in the center of Kyoto, the streets runstraight north to south and east to west,
crossing at right angles. It looks just like agrid. So, why is Kyoto, of all places, laid out soneatly?
The answer goes back about 1,200 years, to a grandcity plan drawn up by an emperor.
In the year 794, Emperor Kanmu moved the capitalto what is now Kyoto. The new city was called
Heian-kyo, which means the capital of peace andtranquility. Before that, the capital was Heijokyo
in Nara. So, why did the emperor leave Nara? Bythen, the big Buddhist temples in Nara had become
very powerful, and they were even getting involvedin politics. It started with an earlier emperor,
Emperor Shomu. During his reign in the 700s, Japanwas hit by a terrible epidemic, along with
rebellions and disasters. So, Emperor Shomu turnedto Buddhism to protect the country. He ordered
temples to be built in every province, and atTodai-ji in Nara, he had a giant statue of the
Buddha made. That's a great Buddha of Nara,unveiled in a grand ceremony in 752. Many of youmay have
seen it. With that kind of support from the state,the temples grew rich and powerful. Later, a monk
named Dokyo became so close to the ruling empressthat he rose to the center of politics,
and he is even said to have tried to take thethrone himself. That's the world Emperor Kanmu
inherited. He reigned from 781 to 806, about 25years. Emperor Kanmu is said to have wanted to
get away from the powerful temples of Nara andstart a new era. Kyoto also had better access
by river to Osaka Bay. Actually, just 10 yearsearlier, the same emperor had built anothercapital
called Nagaoka-kyo. But construction went slowly,and the area was hit by floods. On top of that,
the official in charge of building it wasassassinated, and the misfortunes that followed
were feared to be a curse. So, he decided to startover from scratch. And for his new capital,
長安をモデルにした碁盤目状の都
he chose a model, Chang'an, the capital of TanDynasty, China. Today, that city is called
Jian. Chang'an was one of the greatest cities inthe world at the time. A wide central avenue ran
from north to south, and the rest of the city wasdivided by straight streets into neat blocks.
At the time, Tan China was the most advancedcountry in East Asia in politics and culture.
Building a capital like Chang'an was a way forJapan to show that it, too, was a well-organized
state on par with its powerful neighbor. Heiyan-kyo was about 4.5 kilometers from east
to west and about 5.3 kilometers from north tosouth, right down the middle round the mainavenue,
Suzaku-oji. It was about 85 meters wide, that'swider than most major roads today.
The east side of the city was called Sakyo, whichmeans left capital, and the west side was called
Ukyo, the right capital. Now, here's a littlequiz. On a map, east is on the right,
so why was the east side called the left capital?The answer is from the emperor's point of view.
The palace was at the northern end of the city,and the emperor looked south over his capital.
Facing south, east is on your left. Inside thecity, the land was divided into nine roads and
eight columns. The roads, called jo, were numberedfrom north to south, first jo, second jo,
all the way to ninth jo. The columns, called bo,were numbered outward from the central avenue,
four on each side, so you could find any block byits row and column, just like coordinates on amap.
That's why Kyoto still has streets named Shijo,which means fourth street, and Gojo,
秀吉の改造と現在の京都
fifth street. The north-south streets, on theother hand, came to be known by other names,
like Karasuma and Kawaramachi. But the city didn'tgrow exactly as planned.
The western half had a lot of marshy land, sopeople gradually moved east. The old central
avenue is roughly where Senbon street is today.But now, the busiest parts of Kyoto,
like Shijo, Kawaramachi, and Gion, are muchfarther east. Then, about 800 years later,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the warlord who unified Japan,rebuilt the city. He added new streets
through the old square blocks, turning them intolong, narrow rectangles. He gathered temples
together into one district, and in 1591, hesurrounded the city with a long earthen wall
called the Odoi, which protected it from enemiesand from floods.
So, the Kyoto grid you see today is the Heianplan, with Hideyoshi's changes layered on top,
just like a kaleidoscope, patterns from differenteras overlap to make the city we see today.
京都の主なエリア
Now, let me give you a simple map of Kyoto, withthe grid in the middle.
First, the Kyoto station area at the southern edgeof the grid. This is the gateway to the city.
Right nearby is Toji, a temple that dates back tothe days of Heian-kyo.
Next, the center of the grid. This is the heart ofthe city, with shopping streets around Shijo,
Kawaramachi, the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and NijoCastle.
Cross the Kamo River to the east, and you'll reachHigashiyama at the foot of the eastern
mountains. This is where you'll find Gion,Kiyomizudera, and Ginkakuji, the silver pavilion.
On the far west side is Arashiyama, famous for itsbamboo grove, the Togetsukyo bridge,
and Tenryu-ji temple. And to the southeast isFushimi, home to Fushimi Inari Taisha,
with its thousands of red gates, and two old sakebreweries.
And up north, you'll find Ginkakuji, the goldenpavilion. Notice something? Higashiyama,Arashiyama,
and Fushimi are all outside the old grid. In thisKyoto series, we'll visit these areas
碁盤目が残る暮らしと道案内
one by one. The grid is still part of daily lifein Kyoto. Kids in Kyoto learn a song to
remember the street names. It goes, Marutake ebisuni oshioike. Each word is the start of a street
name, sung in order from north to south. That onlyworks because the streets are laid out in a
neat grid. Addresses are also unique. Alongsidethe official address, people often describe a
location using the grid. Agaru means go north, andsagaru means go south. So, Kawaramachi-dori
Shijo-agaru means from the corner of KawaramachiStreet and Shijo Street, go north.
A city plan from 1,200 years ago is still used tofind your way today. Isn't that amazing?
Today, we talked about why Kyoto is built like agrid. Here's one more thing. When Heian-kyo was
first built, only two temples were allowed insidethe capital, Toji and Saiji. That's why
many of Kyoto's oldest temples and shrines standoutside the old grid, at the foot of themountains.
Next time, we'll head outside the grid toFushiminari Taisha, famous for its thousands
of red gates. According to tradition, it was thereeven before Heian-kyo was built.
Before I go, a quick note. I also work as a tourguide. If you're planning a trip to Kyoto or Osaka
and would like me to show you around, or if you'djust like to share your thoughts on the show,
please get in touch through the Google form linkedin the episode description.
This show is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,YouTube, and more. If you enjoyed
this episode, please follow the show on yourfavorite app. I'm Taikei Arai, and this has
been Mangekyo. See you next time. Goodbye.
