VOLUME 26
KYOTO
Fushimi Inari Gates, Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion & Arashiyama Bamboo
Before the buses begin, a thrush turns over the gravel of a Daitokuji subtemple and the bell at Chion-in carries down to the Kamogawa. The river herons are already at work. In a Nishijin workshop the warp threads are tightened on a wooden loom older than any visitor walking past. On a hill in Fushimi, the first foxes of the climb sit on either side of a vermillion gate that has not yet caught the sun. The pages that follow gather these small, exact things. A whisk turned slowly through matcha. A wooden bracket beneath the veranda of Kiyomizu-dera. The pleated underside of a Yatsuhashi mochi folded into a triangle. The pine spit of Amanohashidate reaching across Miyazu Bay, and the boathouses of Ine where the tide comes in beneath the floorboards. Some pages stay close, inside the surface texture of a single object. Others step back to the ridgelines of Higashiyama, or out across the rice fields above Uji. The intent is not narration. It is to set one Kyoto thing in front of you at a time, drawn in line, with room around it, so that you may sit with it and colour it slowly.
“One Kyoto thing in front of you at a time.”
- 40 original Kyoto Prefecture illustrations
- Single-sided pages to prevent bleed-through
- 8.5 x 8.5 inch square format
- A mix of detailed and breathable compositions
- Brief editorial introduction to Kyoto
- Anyone with an interest in Japan, its temples, gardens, and traditional crafts
- Adults who use coloring for relaxation and quiet focus
- A considered gift for friends and family with a love of Japan
The Kyoto coloring book is Volume 26 of Sora Mikami's Prefectures of Japan series, a 47-volume collection that explores Japan one prefecture at a time. It gathers 40 original black-line illustrations of Kyoto. It draws on Fushimi Inari Gates, Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion, and Arashiyama Bamboo, alongside the everyday scenes Kyoto considers its own.
You will find Fushimi Inari Gates, Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion, and Arashiyama Bamboo, together with the landmarks, food, and quiet corners that give Kyoto its character. The compositions move between detailed, intricate pages and calmer, more breathable ones, so there is something for every mood.
Yes. The book mixes detailed illustrations with more open, breathable designs, so beginners and experienced colorists alike can settle in. The large 8.5 x 8.5 inch square pages give you plenty of room to work, and every page is printed single-sided.
Colored pencils, markers, and gel pens all work beautifully. Because every illustration is printed single-sided on white paper, you can use heavier media without bleed-through onto another design. Slip a sheet of card behind the page if you want to be sure.
It is Volume 26 of a planned 47, one book for every Japanese prefecture. The volumes can be coloured in any order, and together they sketch the whole country one place at a time. Kyoto sits in the Kansai region of Japan.
