Description: This is the first work of modern scholarship to treat the whole of Kyotos premodern urban history, from the 8th century to about 1600. As an imperial city planned according to Chinese geomantic models and embedded with status specific architectural codes, the author takes the position that the cityscape itself can be read as a text rich in information on politics, religion, and daily life.
Brief description: Ronald G. Knapp, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus, State University of New York, New Paltz, where he taught from 1968 to 2001, has been carrying out research on the cultural and historical geography of China since 1965. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books concerning the vernacular architecture of China and Southeast Asia.
Review Quotes: The book has many fine qualities. The writing is exceptionally clear, and the maps and color image reproductions are of the high quality one might expect of an art history volume. Through both his text and the accompanying illustrations, Stavros provides a thorough account of the decline of the city's western half and its reconfiguration over time. His detailed descriptions of retired emperors' compounds, the shift from an imperial palace to aristocratic sato-dairi (temporary palaces), and the initially restrained roles played by warriors are quite engaging. Perhaps most compelling is how he shows residents struggling to maintain the city's sanctity and functional purity, even though "there was no such thing as a golden age for Kyoto. . . . Kyoto: An Urban History does much to help make the development of premodern Japan's most important city more understandable. It presents a compelling narrative that will be of great interest not only to Japan studies scholars but also to those who investigate architecture and urban design around the world. The volume provides thorough explanations to account for the capital's many changes over time and is a welcome addition to the literature.-- "Journal of Japanese Studies"