Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)

The Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto is a collection of monuments declared World Heritage by Unesco in 1994, in the cities of Kyoto, Uji and Otsu, in Japan.

These temples illustrate the development of architecture with wood in Japan, especially religious architecture and the art of Japanese gardens, which influence gardening around the world.

Built in 794 in the image and likeness of the capitals of ancient China, Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan from its foundation until the mid-nineteenth century. A central nucleus of Japanese culture since a thousand years ago, Kyoto is a lively exponent of the development of traditional wooden architecture - especially the religious - as well as the Japanese landscape art that has influenced the design of gardens worldwide.