Architecture of Kyoto Audio Guide

Deconstruct the events that transformed an ancient town into a modern city

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Audio Guide Details

Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
Product Type: Audio Guide

Preview Architecture of Kyoto Audio Guide

Tatsuno Kingo

Along Sanjo-dori

Impact of the war

Photos & Highlights

Audio Guide Description

Japan's transformation from a feudal society to a modern empire can be traced in Kyoto's architecture. On this walking tour with historian and Context Travel expert, Gavin James Campbell, you'll find out how the Kyoto of traditional wooden structures transformed into a city of concrete and steel, and and hear the stories behind its architecture.

Starting on the corner of Karasuma and Sanjo Streets, where shogun-era and modern Japan intersect, you'll learn about Kyoto's transition from an ancient town to a modern city. You'll see the country's eagerness to become a modern state reflected in the stern government buildings that imported Western decorative motifs and construction methods.

Along the way, you'll see a number of important buildings that represent Japan's transformation, including Pontocho Kaburenjo and Minamiza theaters. You'll hear how Kyoto residents traded in their drafty, wooden houses for modern concrete homes as the postwar economy gained strength. You'll also uncover testaments to a society eagerly embracing global modernity, while also still trying to figure out what it meant to be Japanese, and learn about the growing interest in blending elements of Western and Japanese design. You'll get a grasp on how architecture was at the center of a larger exploration about what it meant to be Japanese and what it meant to be modern.

As you stroll through Pontocho District to Kikusui restaurant where our tour ends, you'll discover how the city embraced the Queen Anne, Secessionist and Art Deco movements, while still honoring Japanese design elements.

On this 75-minute Kyoto walking tour, you'll have a chance to:

Marvel at the Great Gatsby-style Kikusui restaurant, which drew inspiration from popular European expressionist architecture
Learn how private businesses found it easier than the state to show a little contemporary flair by embracing new architectural trends
Get to know about Tatsuno Kingo, Japan's preeminent architect and one of its first professionally-trained architects, schooled in the principles of European design
Find out how newspapers led to the creation of 1928 Building, the vibrant structure with a modern design
Discover how rebels and criminals were decapitated by the shogun's men as you cross over Kamogawa River
Dive into the life of William Merrell Vories, the architect whose legacy includes working on over 1,000 buildings in different styles
Take in Pontocho Kaburenjo, a theater that may seem slightly out of place in a Geisha district dominated by low wooden buildings
Take in the view from the Sanjō Ōhashi Bridge
Pass Yabetoku Clock Store and learn how businesses used Western-style buildings to advertise their modernness
Compare the Pontocho Theatre, clearly modeled on Western designs and a growing interest in finding a middle road, with the Minamiza Theater, which uses more recognizably Japanese aesthetics and preserves many aspects of traditional design
Learn of Sacra Building, made with a more dependable, welcoming and relaxed than the former Bank of Japan due to its purpose to serve ordinary Kyoto citizens rather than titans of finance

By the end of this tour, you'll have a better understanding of both Kyoto and Japan's evolution, and a greater appreciation for its architecture.

Meet Your Expert

Gavin

Gavin received a Ph.D. in history from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and came to Kyoto in 2001 to take his current position as a tenured university professor of history, religious studies, and American Studies. Since 2016, he is also a Fellow at Harvard's Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies. Much of his teaching and research center on Japan's encounters with the West, particularly during the Edo, Meiji, Taisho and early Showa periods (1600-1940), and he has published on the history of foreign tourism, Protestant missionaries in Japan, and the history of Japanese fashion. He is also an expert on Kyoto geisha culture, not only as an historian, but also as a patron of the geisha world. His most recent publication is “Modern Kyoto, Modern Geisha: Geisha Entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s,” which is an open access resource that includes many rare images from his personal collection of prewar geisha memorabilia. Interested readers can find it here: https://www.modernkyotoresearch.org/modern-geisha-1918-1941 or by searching online with the title “Modern Kyoto, Modern Geisha.” He enjoys reading, loves attending geisha parties, always makes time to spend with his family, and is happy exploring with clients Kyoto's endlessly fascinating culture and history.

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Is closed captioning (i.e. subtitles) available?

Yes! All of our audio guides have the option to turn on closed captioning should you have difficulty hearing the expert.

How long does each event last?

Our recorded audio guides typically run for 75 minutes.

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Absolutely! Gift cards can be purchased here. Gift cards are good for 365 days from the date of purchase.