Japan · 17th century
The Katsura Imperial Villa or Katsura Detached Palace (桂離宮, Katsura Rikyū; Japanese pronunciation: [ka.tsɯ.ɾa ɾʲiꜜ.kʲɯː]) is an Imperial residence with associated gardens and outbuildings in the western suburbs of Kyoto, Japan. Located on the western bank of the Katsura River in Katsura, Nishikyō-ku, the Villa is 8km distant from the main Kyoto Imperial Palace. The villa and gardens are nationally recognized as an Important Cultural Property of Japan.
The grounds of the villa are regarded as a notable exemplar of traditional Japanese gardening. Tea ceremony houses within the strolling gardens and the main villa itself are all sited to maximize appreciation of varied foliage and changing seasonal vistas.
The palace originally belonged to the prince of the Hachijō-no-miya (八条宮) family. The Imperial Household Agency currently administers the site. Although the Imperial Villa itself is not open to visitors, public tours of the gardens are available by appointment.
Text adapted from “Katsura Imperial Villa” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Katsura Imperial Villa ranks #620 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #31 of the 296 mapped in Japan. Founded 1616, it is older than 30% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 721 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 10,822 times in the last 60 days, more than 94% of the atlas. 13 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Kyoto, 6 km away. It is one of the 69 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Kansai. See how Japan compares in the castle statistics.
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