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Kyoto: A Cultural History
Kyoto, the ancient former capital of Japan, breathes history and mystery. Its temples, gardens and palaces are testimony to many centuries of aristocratic and religious grandeur. Under the veneer of modernity, the city remains filled with countless reminders of a proud past. John Dougill explores this most venerable of Japanese cities, revealing the spirit of place and the individuals that have shaped its often dramatic history. Courtiers and courtesans, poets and priests, samurai and geisha people the pages of his account. Covering twelve centuries in all, the book not only provides a historical overview but also brings to life the cultural magnificence of the city of "Purple Hills and Crystal Streams."
272 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2005
27 people are currently reading
311 people want to read
About the author
John Dougill
24 books11 followersJohn Dougill grew up in Grimsby and has spent the rest of his life getting as far away as possible. He currently resides in Kyoto, Japan, where he is professor of British Studies at Ryukoku University. His student days took place at Leeds University and Queen's College, Oxford, in the heady days of the early 1970s when the future beckoned with golden arms. He completed his education at the University of Life when he spent a year travelling round the world: Nepal and Bali were his favourites. As a teacher, he spent three years in the Middle East and seven years in Oxford before moving to Japan in 1986. In addition to the books listed here he has produced twelve Japanese college textbooks and 'Gentleman and Hooligan: The British on Film 1921-1971' by Ryukoku Univ. Press. He completed a PhD in English Literature in 1993, and is now consumed in the fascinations of Japanese spirituality. Amongst his hobbies are chess, haiku and visiting Shinto shrines. He has a particular interest in the spirit of place.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 1, 2017
3.75 stars
This eleven-chapter book, I think, should be read enjoyably by those interested in this great former capital itself before or after visiting there since the writer has narrated with concise, interesting and essential information with his knowledge and familiarity as a resident in Kyoto since 1986 and as a professor of British Studies at Ryukoku University, Kyoto (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...).
The following chapters listed below are for you to see how they are entitled and periods notified:
Chapter 1 City of Kammu (Heian)
2 City of Genji (Heian)
3 City of Buddhism (Heian-Kamakura)
4 City of Heike (Heian-Kamakura)
5 City of Zen (Kamakura-Muromachi)
6 City of Noh (Muromachi)
7 City of Unification (Azuchi-Momoyama)
8 City of Tea (Momoyama)
9 City of Tradition (Edo)
10 City of Geisha (Edo)
11 City of Japaneseness (Meiji and after)
In each chapter, its 5-to-11 topics would satisfy those keen on Kyoto’s cultural history since the author’s has obviously narrated by means of his well-planned scopes and aptly-related details; therefore, his narrations are not too academic, rather they’re something that you can follow, enjoy and understand what he wants to say to his readers. One thing I like is that each topic is sufficiently and wisely described.
This eleven-chapter book, I think, should be read enjoyably by those interested in this great former capital itself before or after visiting there since the writer has narrated with concise, interesting and essential information with his knowledge and familiarity as a resident in Kyoto since 1986 and as a professor of British Studies at Ryukoku University, Kyoto (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...).
The following chapters listed below are for you to see how they are entitled and periods notified:
Chapter 1 City of Kammu (Heian)
2 City of Genji (Heian)
3 City of Buddhism (Heian-Kamakura)
4 City of Heike (Heian-Kamakura)
5 City of Zen (Kamakura-Muromachi)
6 City of Noh (Muromachi)
7 City of Unification (Azuchi-Momoyama)
8 City of Tea (Momoyama)
9 City of Tradition (Edo)
10 City of Geisha (Edo)
11 City of Japaneseness (Meiji and after)
In each chapter, its 5-to-11 topics would satisfy those keen on Kyoto’s cultural history since the author’s has obviously narrated by means of his well-planned scopes and aptly-related details; therefore, his narrations are not too academic, rather they’re something that you can follow, enjoy and understand what he wants to say to his readers. One thing I like is that each topic is sufficiently and wisely described.
December 7, 2022
This is an example of the very best the genre of travel writing has to offer: written with love, humility, and also with great attention to the craft of language. The structure of this book introduces you to the many different facets of Kyoto (city of tea, city of noh, city of geishas etc), and the way Dougill breaks up information, it never gets overwhelming. This book enriched my brief stay in Kyoto immeasurably.
April 7, 2018
On my last trip to Kyoto I started reading John Dougill's book, Kyoto: A Cultural History (2005) and it gave a lot of interesting background details about the city and its history. Doughill relates each of the eleven chapters to a specific theme and historical period with several sub sections relating to history and culture. In Chapter One: City of Kammu it is set in the Heian period (794-1185) and he discusses the history of the court that was established in Kyoto at the time. Chapter Two: City of Genji (Heian) discusses the influence of the great novel The Tale of Genji and how it reflected court life in Kyoto. Chapter Three: City of Buddhism (Heian-Kamakura 1185-1333) looks at the influence of Buddhism on the city. Chapter Four: City of Hieke (Heian-Kamakura) looks at the influence of the great Heike War and its impact on the city. Chapter Five: City of Zen (Kamakura-Muromachi 1336-1573) explores the influence of the concept of zen on city and its culture. Chapter Six: City of Noh (Muromachi) shows the impact of the Noh theater on the city. Chapter Seven: City of Unification (Azuichi-Momoyama 1568-1600) looks at the influence of strong leaders like Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi on Kyoto. Chapter Eight: City of Tea (Momoyama) explores the influence of the practice of tea ceremony on the culture of the city. Chapter Nine: City of Tradition (Edo 1603-1868) looks at how several earlier established cultural traditions lived on in that era. Chapter Ten: City of Geisha (Edo) observes how the tradition of geishas was developed and cultivated in Kyoto. And the last Chapter Eleven: City of Japaneseness (Meiji and after 1868-present) was of the most interest to me as he looked at more recent film and literary depictions of the city from artists that I admire like Kenji Mizoguchi, Akira Kurosawa, Kon Ichikawa, Yukio Mishima, Junichiro Tanizaki, and Yasunari Kawabta. It is an informative and fascinating book that tries to capture the history and distinct culture of Japan's other great city.
October 5, 2017
A very good overview of history and culture, though certainly not a Guide Book, so do not open it expecting details of all the sites.
Instead, JD gives us a sample of numerous parts of the city, often connecting history and culture to places.
I bounces a bit between authoritative to personal... but not too much, and the personal touches may allow for more of a connection to anyone not yet familiar with the city.
Recommended for those who have gotten through the Kyoto chapter of their guide book, or have some knowledge of either Kyoto, Japanese Religion, or its history, as this isn't quite for a pure beginner, but works better as a guide to putting things in a straight line in your head. If all this information were new, that might be a big step.
Again, recommended and I hope everyone can read it and experience its topics first hand.
Instead, JD gives us a sample of numerous parts of the city, often connecting history and culture to places.
I bounces a bit between authoritative to personal... but not too much, and the personal touches may allow for more of a connection to anyone not yet familiar with the city.
Recommended for those who have gotten through the Kyoto chapter of their guide book, or have some knowledge of either Kyoto, Japanese Religion, or its history, as this isn't quite for a pure beginner, but works better as a guide to putting things in a straight line in your head. If all this information were new, that might be a big step.
Again, recommended and I hope everyone can read it and experience its topics first hand.
February 1, 2012
A sprawling and often meandering cultural history of the city of Kyoto, this is a nicely personalized (as opposed to scholarly) account of the city's treasures. It's packed with interesting anecdotes about different notable figures and places, and at times serves as a loose guidebook to Kyoto's traditions and attractions. At times Dougill is too generalizing, but as a whole the book is a nice companion to a more in-depth, academic study of the city.
December 18, 2023
This 200+ page book by Ryokoku University Professor John Dougill is a perfect read before a short visit to Kyoto.
It's well-written, and gives clear and insightful background on the city's 1200-year history, including religion, arts, politics and culture.
I read it right before a three-day visit to the city last week (my fourth visit to Kyoto, but my first solo visit). Dougill's book really helped me to understand some of the context behind what I was seeing, and gave me a new appreciation for the beauty of the temples, shrines, gardens and great works of art that I was seeing.
There is so much to see in Kyoto, but it doesn't always leap out to greet you the way the sites of a European city like Florence might. Much of the beauty is to be found in the venerable old temples in the hills surrounding the city. But these are innumerable, and once you start looking, you realize that there is always more to see and experience, and the more you know the more you will appreciate what you are seeing. John Dougill's guidance gave me a new-found appreciation for this complex and sometimes enigmatic city.
It's not a guidebook, but I would recommend it for anyone planning a trip to Kyoto, and even if you're not going there anytime soon it may be worth a read if you are interested in learning more about Japanese culture, history and art.
It's well-written, and gives clear and insightful background on the city's 1200-year history, including religion, arts, politics and culture.
I read it right before a three-day visit to the city last week (my fourth visit to Kyoto, but my first solo visit). Dougill's book really helped me to understand some of the context behind what I was seeing, and gave me a new appreciation for the beauty of the temples, shrines, gardens and great works of art that I was seeing.
There is so much to see in Kyoto, but it doesn't always leap out to greet you the way the sites of a European city like Florence might. Much of the beauty is to be found in the venerable old temples in the hills surrounding the city. But these are innumerable, and once you start looking, you realize that there is always more to see and experience, and the more you know the more you will appreciate what you are seeing. John Dougill's guidance gave me a new-found appreciation for this complex and sometimes enigmatic city.
It's not a guidebook, but I would recommend it for anyone planning a trip to Kyoto, and even if you're not going there anytime soon it may be worth a read if you are interested in learning more about Japanese culture, history and art.
May 25, 2019
I loved this book! It's an essential overview of the city I new reside in, and covers everything one would want to explore, or dig further into (and there's so much). Dougill's style is friendly and beckoning. One can tell it was written by a teacher. I don't know of a better book on Kyoto.
April 13, 2019
Not bad book on the culture and history of Kyoto. If you're traveling to Kyoto, I'd suggest reading it. If not, I'd skip it.
May 3, 2021
tl;dr huge nerd reads old textbook for fun.
December 30, 2022
A very interesting travel guide packed with cultural and social insights (especially if you’re planning a trip). Never gets dull. All the more excited to experience Kyoto !
March 1, 2025
I read this preparatory to going to Japan and it did tell me some of the history but it felt a bit disjointed
February 9, 2008
FINALLY!
I've been here six years and I've been looking all over the place for a book in English about Kyoto's history. It's such a key part of Japanese history and culture that you would think there would be tons of work out there for the Anglophone in Japan. But no. Oh sure, there were plenty of books about walking tours, or the best places to go and see temples, or Kyoto traditional neighborhoods, but I couldn't find a general, comprehensive account of the history of Kyoto.
So finally, this year, John Dougill publishes his book. At 225 pages it's a bit thin, but it's very readable and very relevant, and to be honest, I wish I had read it before I came here.
He tackles the history of the city by way of its culture - art, religion, poetry, tea and so on. By looking at the changes in the arts and the creativity of Japan through the ages, he's able to plot the exciting, beautiful and occasionally tragic times in Kyoto's history.
The fun of reading about the city in which you are living is that you know the places that you're reading about. For instance, I found out that I live nearly dead-bang in the middle of the original site of Heian-Kyo, designed over a thousand years ago. I learned something that had been bugging me for a long while - who was living here, and what was this place called before it was Kyoto? Turns out it was the Hata and the Kamo families on the west and east sides, with a whole lot of nothing in between. And it was called Yamashiro. I found out who the statue of the kneeling samurai on Sanjo street was (Takayama Hikokuro, who struck the very first sparks of what would eventually be the Meiji Restoration).
And so on.
In short, this book made Kyoto new again for me, and that is a fantastic feat. I still want more history, but this will satisfy me for quite some time....
I've been here six years and I've been looking all over the place for a book in English about Kyoto's history. It's such a key part of Japanese history and culture that you would think there would be tons of work out there for the Anglophone in Japan. But no. Oh sure, there were plenty of books about walking tours, or the best places to go and see temples, or Kyoto traditional neighborhoods, but I couldn't find a general, comprehensive account of the history of Kyoto.
So finally, this year, John Dougill publishes his book. At 225 pages it's a bit thin, but it's very readable and very relevant, and to be honest, I wish I had read it before I came here.
He tackles the history of the city by way of its culture - art, religion, poetry, tea and so on. By looking at the changes in the arts and the creativity of Japan through the ages, he's able to plot the exciting, beautiful and occasionally tragic times in Kyoto's history.
The fun of reading about the city in which you are living is that you know the places that you're reading about. For instance, I found out that I live nearly dead-bang in the middle of the original site of Heian-Kyo, designed over a thousand years ago. I learned something that had been bugging me for a long while - who was living here, and what was this place called before it was Kyoto? Turns out it was the Hata and the Kamo families on the west and east sides, with a whole lot of nothing in between. And it was called Yamashiro. I found out who the statue of the kneeling samurai on Sanjo street was (Takayama Hikokuro, who struck the very first sparks of what would eventually be the Meiji Restoration).
And so on.
In short, this book made Kyoto new again for me, and that is a fantastic feat. I still want more history, but this will satisfy me for quite some time....
January 1, 2024
Dougill's 'Kyoto, a cultural history' is a general introduction to Japanese culture. As such, it employs the city of Kyoto as a starting point and a phocus to make a quick review through Japan's history and main traditional arts.
If you're looking for a general introduction, and don't know much about the subject matter, the book will come quite handy. Otherwise, it will just give you basic information (the author isn't a specialist in Japanese culture, and the book's size doesn't allow for much deepening either).
Each chapter is centered in one of the main cultural manifestations we associate with Japan, and at the same times reflects the historical period (jidai) in which the said art was born. So we have a chapter on classic poetry, a chapter on Tea Ceremony, a chapter on Geishas, etc... The main exceptions are the first ('City of Kammu', which works as a general introduction to the geography and the foundation of the city), the sixth (about political unification and its leaders in the sixteenth century) and the last (a mélange of cinema, novels and history in the twentieth century). Being a 'cultural' guide, some chapters center too on religious developments (like Heian aristocratic Buddhism, in chapter three).
If you're looking for a guide, this isn't for you. If you're looking for a 'cultural history of Kyoto', the book will come out to shallow and basic, and most of the time more about Japanese culture as opposed to specific Kyoto evolutions (for art and history of Kyoto alone, try if you can find it Ponsonby-Fane's 'Kyoto'). But as a general introduction of the subject-matter, well written and entertaining, this book will do the trick. I'm giving it only 3 stars because I was expecting a bit more to it (being an Oxford University Press book, and all that) than just a 'beginner's guide to Japan's culture'.
If you're looking for a general introduction, and don't know much about the subject matter, the book will come quite handy. Otherwise, it will just give you basic information (the author isn't a specialist in Japanese culture, and the book's size doesn't allow for much deepening either).
Each chapter is centered in one of the main cultural manifestations we associate with Japan, and at the same times reflects the historical period (jidai) in which the said art was born. So we have a chapter on classic poetry, a chapter on Tea Ceremony, a chapter on Geishas, etc... The main exceptions are the first ('City of Kammu', which works as a general introduction to the geography and the foundation of the city), the sixth (about political unification and its leaders in the sixteenth century) and the last (a mélange of cinema, novels and history in the twentieth century). Being a 'cultural' guide, some chapters center too on religious developments (like Heian aristocratic Buddhism, in chapter three).
If you're looking for a guide, this isn't for you. If you're looking for a 'cultural history of Kyoto', the book will come out to shallow and basic, and most of the time more about Japanese culture as opposed to specific Kyoto evolutions (for art and history of Kyoto alone, try if you can find it Ponsonby-Fane's 'Kyoto'). But as a general introduction of the subject-matter, well written and entertaining, this book will do the trick. I'm giving it only 3 stars because I was expecting a bit more to it (being an Oxford University Press book, and all that) than just a 'beginner's guide to Japan's culture'.
October 25, 2012
A lot of my work this year deals with Kyoto, past and present, so I probably feel a closer connection to this book than I would otherwise. I never felt the need to read it until I took on this project. Now that I have, I regret not getting it earlier. Dougill has categorised the history of Kyoto interestingly. I showed it to a couple of Japanese on the same project team and they thought it original - a style that Japanese may not have considered. You don't need any great knowledge of Japan to read this. Informative and the perfect introduction to Kyoto before travelling there. People living in Japan and visiting Kyoto regularly will definitely learn about the little things they missed while working down some of the streets. It made me want to go back and explore Kyoto even more.
May 27, 2012
The problem with this otherwise nuanced work is that so much of Kyoto is ignored, most especially an exploration of the burakumin population and burakumin areas south of Kyoto Station and in the north between Mototanaka and Chayama. Nor is the battle over destruction of machiya areas and the debate about heritage much discussed. I would have like much more about these matters and about ordinary Kyoto-jin, rather than endless discussion of high culture.
September 6, 2010
excellent book on kyoto! Taking literature and cultural history of the city, this book explains kyoto in very interesting and fun way. It helps to understand the richness of the city. Doughill is excellent for making the book in thematic session, yet loose no sense of timeframe. you are like reading historical book but in alot better way. Highly recommended
March 29, 2007
A pre-travel primer offering a brief overview of Kyoto, Japanese history and culture. Perhaps too brief, unless you are getting ready to go there soon and want some background. Good, but I probably would have gotten more out of reading this if I read before I went.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews