Old Kyoto is Gone
While Kyoto is an ancient city almost none of the buildings are. During the Onin war around 1400-1550 Kyoto was destroyed several times. The population was reduced to about 7%. Most of the land that wasn't burnt rubble was used for farming. So while a lot of people came back later and many businesses in Kyoto are, technically, family run businesses from all the way back in the Heian period (around 1100) the buildings, are not. It is said that around 1450 even the imperial palace in Kyoto was surrounded by farms. Because Kyoto had been pretty much abandoned.













