Kyoto is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Honshu, Japan. Kyoto was foundded in 794 as the new seat of Japan's imperial court; its original name, Heian-kyo, means "Heian capital," while its modern name Kyoto means "capital city." Kyoto was chosen as capital to distance the imperial court from the powerful Buddhist clerical establishment in Nara, and it was modeled after the Chinese capital of Chang'an. The city would remain Japan's capital until the transfer of the imperial court to Tokyo in 1869 at the time of the Meiji Restoration. Kyoto suffered extensive destruction during the Onin War of 1467-1477 as battles between samurai factions spilled into the streets and came to involve court nobility and religious factions as well. During the late 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi reconstrurted the city by building new streets to double the number of north-south streets in central Kyoto. Hideyoshi also built earthwork walls to encircle the city. During the Edo period, the economy of the city flourished as one of three major cities in Japan alongside Osaka and Edo, but 28,000 houses were burned down during the Hamaguri rebellion of 1864. In 1869, the Emperor's move from Kyoto to Tokyo weakened Kyoto's economy, and the modern city was formed in 1889. The construction of the Lake Biwa Canal in 1890 helped t orevive the city, whose population exceeded one million in 1932. Because the city was spared from American atomic bombs during World War II due to its cultural significance, it retains an abundance of prewar buildings. In 1994, 17 historic monuments in Kyoto were designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. By 2020, Kyoto had 1,463,723 residents, and the city remains the cultural capital of Japan, as well as a center of higher learning.
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