A stone monument stands on the corner of a busy intersection, marking the spot where the Omi-ya inn once operated. On a November night in eighteen sixty-seven, Sakamoto Ryoma and his associate Nakaoka Shintaro sat inside discussing the…
Takase River Historic Canal Walk
This walking tour traces the shallow, willow-lined canal that served as Kyoto's vital commercial shipping artery for three centuries, showcasing its fully preserved first boat landing and the dramatic samurai-era monuments that lined its banks.
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1. Site of Sakamoto Ryoma and Nakaoka Shintaro’s Assassination (Site of Omi-ya Inn)
2. Rissei Garden Hulic Kyoto
The Rissei Garden Hulic Kyoto occupies a long, three-story building with a facade of classic red brick and arched windows. This site functioned as the Rissei Elementary School, the first of its kind in Kyoto, established by local residents…
3. Ikedaya Incident Site
The Ikedaya inn marks the site where the course of the Tokugawa shogunate changed in one night. It features a modern stone monument and a plaque indicating where the Ikedaya served as a gathering point for anti-shogunate samurai in…
4. Ikedaya Incident Sword-scarred Giboshi
The bridge railing here features a copper giboshi ornament marked by deep, jagged gashes. These scars date to the night of July eighth, eighteen sixty-four, when the Shinsengumi—a pro-shogunate police force—raided the Ikedaya Inn nearby to…
5. Former site of Choshu clan office
A single stone monument stands at the corner of Ichinofunairicho, marking the site where the Choshu clan once operated a fortified office. During the final, volatile years of the Tokugawa shogunate, this building served as a secret base…
6. Statue of Kogoro Katsura / Site of Choshu Domain Residence
The bronze figure of Kogoro Katsura stands with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, watching over the Takase River. This spot marks the site of the former residence of the Choshu domain, a place where samurai plotted the end of the…
7. Takase River Boat Landing
The Takase River Boat Landing is a small stone-walled basin tucked into the modern streetscape, marked by a lone, reinstalled flat-bottomed boat sitting in the water. For three centuries, this basin served as the primary port for boats…