ArticleKey #21: Son of Heaven - Part 2, Kyoto

Meiji Restoration was a social revolution that brought about a seismic change in Japanese history, as - for the first time in centuries - the Emperor became the real wielder of power in Japan. One would naturally presume that an event of such importance was named after Emperor Meiji who led the revolution or, at least, encouraged it. As a matter of fact, the exact opposite was the case: there was no ruler named Meiji, but a young prince Sachi who received an adult name, Mutsuhito, upon ascending the throne at not even 15 years old. As for "Meiji", the word translates as “enlightened rule”, and it was chosen as the name for a new era. Emperor Mutsuhito became known as “Meiji” only after his death in 1912 - in other words, the ruler was (nick)named after his era rather than vice versa! That occasion started a tradition that has likely been quite unique and almost as revolutionary as the social changes that the truly “enlightened rule” facilitated. Moving the nation's capital happened to be the first of those changes.

Kyoto had been built in the 7th century as a replica of one of Chinese capital cities - so, it was aptly named “Heiakyo”/Heian Capital.  When the court moved there in 794, the "Heian" part became outdated, and it was replaced with simple “to”/city. Likewise, relocating the capital from “Capital City” to Edo resulted in another name change: to tell the new capital apart from the old one, the former was called “Eastern Capital/Tokyo (since both ”eastern" and “city” originated from respective Chinese words, the two completely different meanings happened to share a very similar sound “to”). Upon moving to Tokyo, Emperor Mutsuhito stayed away from his childhood home for eight years but eventually he did pay it a visit - only to find out that the familiar premises looked abandoned and sad. Whether for sentimental reasons or for some less obvious practical ones, the Emperor ordered the palace and adjacent gardens completely renovated, refurbished and “invigorated” - and that's where the modern story of Kyoto Imperial Palace began.  

Unlike the “Palace Town” that belonged to Nara in name only, its counterpart in Kyoto is right in the heart of the city - both geographically and spiritually. Nara Imperial Palace is all about history, and a fascinating place for history buffs to visit, but it's quite unlikely to be chanced upon. The Palace in Kyoto has a potential to create history buffs out of regular nature-lovers, because its park, doubling up as a Japanese garden, is one of the city's most beloved recreation spots - and its attraction is enhanced by the aura of history

The Palace is welcoming, free to visit and - judging by the visitor number issued at about 3 pm on a Tuesday - quite popular, as about 30,000-40,000 people must have made their rendezvous with it every month

Necessarily a reconstruction (as many historical buildings are), the Palace still serves as an invaluable source of first-hand experience of Japanese architecture,

while highlighting some of the most iconic pinnacles of Japanese culture as a whole