Kyoto State Guest House

Did You Know?

• The Japanese garden consists of a 'true garden' (真の庭) in front of the entrance, a central 'row garden' (行の庭) in the hall, and a 'grass garden' (草の庭) facing the guest room.
• The garden was created by Kyoto gardeners with Sano Tōemon as a masterpiece under the supervision of Hiromasa Amagasaki.

History

During the Edo period (1603–1868) a Garden House and multiple mansions of aristocrats stood in the northeastern part, including those of the Yanagihara family and Kushige family. The Kyoto Imperial Palace, constructed in 1331, is in the northern part of Kyōto-Gyoen National Garden, and the Emperors lived there until 1869. Sentō Imperial Palace gardens are also located there. In 1994, to commemorate the twelve-hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the ancient capital of Heian-kyō, momentum grew toward building a Japanese-style guest house in Kyoto.

In October 1994, Cabinet approval was obtained for the construction of a guest house facility. The government decided to build the state guest house within the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden. Construction of the main structure started in March 2002, completed in February 2005, and the guest house opened on 17 April 2005. Since July 2016 the Kyoto State Guest House has been open to the public year-round. The Western-style Akasaka State Guest House contrasts with the Japanese-style buildings of the Kyoto State Guest House.