Database: Arashiyama Forest

The Arashiyama site in western Kyoto, located in the Ukyô-ku district, has been a famous scenic site since the Heian period when it became a place of pleasure for emperors and court nobles. It includes the Hozu-gawa valley, which is nestled in a gorge between the Arashiyama and Kameyama mountains. Downstream, the river forms a kind of lake, spanned by the famous Togetsu-kyô [sic] bridge. Poets have praised the beauty of the valley with its cherry blossoms in spring and red leaves in autumn. People have long enjoyed boating on the lake or navigating the river's rapids.

In the 14th century, the Tenryû-ji temple was built near the village of Sagano, one of the great Zen temples in the capital whose income partially came from the exploitation of the Arashiyama forests for timber. Tenryû-ji is best known for its Zen Garden, one of the earliest and most beautiful in the capital. It was created by the Zen monk Musō Soseki, the temple's first abbot, in the 1340s. The temple burned down several times throughout history, although it was rebuilt. Not far from the Tenryû-ji is the famous Nonomiya Shrine (literally, a palace in the countryside), where the future Ise priestess would undergo abstinence and purify themselves before assuming her duties. Today, the site is famous for its remarkable path through the bamboo grove.