Kyōto summary

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purification shrinePurification shrine in Kiyomizu Temple, Kyōto.

Kyōto, City (pop., 2020: 1,463,723), west-central Honshu, Japan. It is situated northeast of Ōsaka, and together with Kōbe it is part of a major urban-industrial region. The centre of Japanese culture and Japanese Buddhism, Kyōto (“Capital City”) was the capital of Japan and the site of the imperial family residence for more than 1,000 years (794–1868). The modern city has venues that present Nōh theatre and Kabuki. It is a manufacturing centre, and many small workshops produce textiles and porcelain; tourism is also important. Buddhist temples, Shintō shrines, and other historic buildings are found throughout the city and surrounding area; 17 of these were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994. Its educational institutions include Kyōto University (founded 1897) and Dōshisha University (1875).

World Heritage site Summary

World Heritage site, any of various areas or objects inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. The sites are designated as having “outstanding universal value” under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural

A map of the continent of Asia, including its countries, boundaries, and capital cities, as well as parts of Europe, Africa, and surrounding oceans.

Asia Summary

Asia, the world’s largest and most diverse continent. It occupies the eastern four-fifths of the giant Eurasian landmass. Asia is more a geographic term than a homogeneous continent, and the use of the term to describe such a vast area always carries the potential of obscuring the enormous

Japan Summary

Japan, island country lying off the east coast of Asia. It consists of a great string of islands in a northeast-southwest arc that stretches for approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 km) through the western North Pacific Ocean. Nearly the entire land area is taken up by the country’s four main islands;