Katsura Imperial Villa
Encyclopedia
The , or Katsura Detached Palace, is a villa
with associated gardens and outbuildings in the western suburbs of Kyoto
, Japan
(in Nishikyō-ku
, separate from the Kyoto Imperial Palace). It is one of Japan's most important large-scale cultural treasures.
Its gardens are a masterpiece of Japanese garden
ing, and the buildings are even more important, one of the greatest achievements of Japanese architecture
. The palace includes a shoin
("drawing room"), tea house
s, and a strolling garden. It provides an invaluable window into the villas of princes of the Edo period
.
The palace formerly belonged to the princes of the Hachijō-no-miya (八条宮) family. The Imperial Household Agency
administers it, and accepts visitors by appointment.
, Fujiwara no Michinaga
had a villa there. The members of the Heian court found it an elegant location for viewing the moon.
Prince Hachijō Toshihito (智仁; 1579–1629), the first of the Hachijō-no-miya line, established the villa at Katsura. The prince was a descendant of Emperor Ogimachi, and younger brother of Emperor Go-Yozei. Once adopted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, he cancelled the adoption when Hideyoshi had a son, and founded the Hachijō-no-miya house.
The shoin of Katsura Imperial Villa is divided into three parts: the Old Shoin, the Middle Shoin, and the New Palace. The Old Shoin was built in around 1616. The construction of the shoin, teahouse and garden continued in the time of the second prince, Toshitada (智忠; 1619–1662), and reached completion after some decades.
The Hachijō-no-miya house changed its name to Tokiwai-no-miya (常磐井宮), Kyōgoku-no-miya (京極宮), and finally Katsura-no-miya
(桂宮), before the line died out in 1881. The Imperial Household Ministry took control of the Katsura Detached Palace in 1883, and since World War II
, the Imperial Household Agency has been in control.
kokerabuki (柿葺) roofs. The Old Shoin shows elements of the sukiya style in places like the veranda. A space called the moon-viewing platform protrudes even farther from the veranda, and shows that the main theme of Katsura Detached Palace was moon-viewing. The walls of the Middle Shoin and New Palace have ink-paintings by the school of Kanō Tan'yū (狩野 探幽). The shelving in the upper room of the New Palace is considered especially noteworthy.
The strolling garden takes water from the Katsura River for the central pond, around which are the Shōkintei (松琴亭), Shōkatei (賞花亭), Shōiken (笑意軒), and Gepparō (月波楼); tea houses, hill, sand, bridge, and lanterns. There is also a Buddhist hall, Onrindō (園林堂).
. Le Corbusier
and especially Walter Gropius
, who visited in 1953, found inspiration in the minimal and orthogonal design. Subsequently, Katsura become well known to a second wave of architects from Australia such as Philip Cox
, Peter Muller and Neville Gruzman
who visited in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
with associated gardens and outbuildings in the western suburbs of Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(in Nishikyō-ku
Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto
is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Its name means "west capital ward" and it is situated on the western edge of the city, to the south of center. The ward was established on October 1, 1976 separating from Ukyō-ku...
, separate from the Kyoto Imperial Palace). It is one of Japan's most important large-scale cultural treasures.
Its gardens are a masterpiece of Japanese garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
ing, and the buildings are even more important, one of the greatest achievements of Japanese architecture
Japanese architecture
' originated in prehistoric times with simple pit-houses and stores that were adapted to a hunter-gatherer population. Influence from Han Dynasty China via Korea saw the introduction of more complex grain stores and ceremonial burial chambers....
. The palace includes a shoin
Shoin
' is a type of audience hall in Japanese architecture that was developed during the Muromachi period. The term originally meant a study and a place for lectures on the sūtra within a temple, but later it came to mean just a drawing room or study. From this room takes its name the shoin-zukuri style...
("drawing room"), tea house
Tea house
A tea house or tearoom is a venue centered on drinking tea. Its function varies widely depending on the culture, and some cultures have a variety of distinct tea-centered houses or parlors that all qualify under the English language term "tea house" or "tea room."-Asia:In Central Asia this term...
s, and a strolling garden. It provides an invaluable window into the villas of princes of the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
.
The palace formerly belonged to the princes of the Hachijō-no-miya (八条宮) family. The Imperial Household Agency
Imperial Household Agency
The is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japan's imperial family and also keeping the Privy Seal and the State Seal...
administers it, and accepts visitors by appointment.
History
The Katsura district of Kyoto has long been favored for villas, and in the Heian periodHeian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
, Fujiwara no Michinaga
Fujiwara no Michinaga
represents the highpoint of the Fujiwara regents' control over the government of Japan.-Early life:He was the fourth or fifth son of Fujiwara no Kaneie by his wife Tokihime, daughter of Fujiwara no Nakamasa...
had a villa there. The members of the Heian court found it an elegant location for viewing the moon.
Prince Hachijō Toshihito (智仁; 1579–1629), the first of the Hachijō-no-miya line, established the villa at Katsura. The prince was a descendant of Emperor Ogimachi, and younger brother of Emperor Go-Yozei. Once adopted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
, he cancelled the adoption when Hideyoshi had a son, and founded the Hachijō-no-miya house.
The shoin of Katsura Imperial Villa is divided into three parts: the Old Shoin, the Middle Shoin, and the New Palace. The Old Shoin was built in around 1616. The construction of the shoin, teahouse and garden continued in the time of the second prince, Toshitada (智忠; 1619–1662), and reached completion after some decades.
The Hachijō-no-miya house changed its name to Tokiwai-no-miya (常磐井宮), Kyōgoku-no-miya (京極宮), and finally Katsura-no-miya
Katsura-no-miya
The ' was the one of the four shinnōke, branches of the Imperial Family of Japan which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne in the event that the main line should die out. It was founded by Prince Toshihito, a grandson of Emperor Ōgimachi and brother of Emperor Go-Yōzei...
(桂宮), before the line died out in 1881. The Imperial Household Ministry took control of the Katsura Detached Palace in 1883, and since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Imperial Household Agency has been in control.
Buildings and gardens
The Old Shoin, Middle Shoin and New Palace are each in the shoin style, with irimoyaIrimoya
A xieshan style or roof in Japanese architecture is a hip roof integrated on two opposing sides with a gable. It can be also described in English as a hip-and-gable, gablet, or Dutch gable roof...
kokerabuki (柿葺) roofs. The Old Shoin shows elements of the sukiya style in places like the veranda. A space called the moon-viewing platform protrudes even farther from the veranda, and shows that the main theme of Katsura Detached Palace was moon-viewing. The walls of the Middle Shoin and New Palace have ink-paintings by the school of Kanō Tan'yū (狩野 探幽). The shelving in the upper room of the New Palace is considered especially noteworthy.
The strolling garden takes water from the Katsura River for the central pond, around which are the Shōkintei (松琴亭), Shōkatei (賞花亭), Shōiken (笑意軒), and Gepparō (月波楼); tea houses, hill, sand, bridge, and lanterns. There is also a Buddhist hall, Onrindō (園林堂).
Influence outside Japan
The buildings, and to a lesser extent the gardens, of Katsura became influential to a number of well known modernist architects in the 20th century via a book produced by Bruno TautBruno Taut
Bruno Julius Florian Taut , was a prolific German architect, urban planner and author active during the Weimar period....
. Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
and especially Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
, who visited in 1953, found inspiration in the minimal and orthogonal design. Subsequently, Katsura become well known to a second wave of architects from Australia such as Philip Cox
Philip Cox
Professor Philip Sutton Cox AO is an Australian architect.Professor Cox is the founding partner of COX Architects & Planners, one of the largest architectural practices in Australia....
, Peter Muller and Neville Gruzman
Neville Gruzman
Neville Gruzman, AM was an Australian architect, mayor of Woollahra, writer and architectural activist...
who visited in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Further reading
There are numerous works on Katsura; the following are the main ones recommended as sources for further information:- Akira Naito, Takeshi Nishikawa (photographs), (translated Charles S. Terry), Katsura: A Princely Retreat (Kodansha, New York, 1977) is a magnificent book, the definitive work on Katsura in English
- Teiji Itoh, Tadashi Yokoyama, Eiji Musha, Makato Suzuki, and Masao Arai and Taisuke Ogawa (photographs), Katsura: A Quintessential Representative of the Sukiya Style of Architecture ( Shinkenchiku-Sha, Tokyo, 1983) gives much internal detail, learned during the refurbishment of 1976-1982
- Walter Gropius, Kenzo Tange, Yasuhiro Ishimoto (photographs), Katsura: Tradition and Creation in Japanese Architecture (Yale University Press, New Haven, Zokeisha Publications, Tokyo, 1960) is a good (although early) work
- Teiji Itoh, Takeji Iwamiya, Imperial Gardens of Japan (Weatherill, New York, 1970) covers the gardens in great detail