Heian-jingu was built in 1895 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of Kyoto as the capital of Japan. The main building of the shrine is a copy of the Hall of State of the original Imperial Palace. To the east, north and west, three connected stroll gardens designed by Ogawa Jikei surround buildings of the shrine. Gardens took two decades to create. Ogawa Jikei tried to introduce new ideas to the traditional Japanese gardening inspired by the Occident with the recent opening of the country to the rest of the world. Vast gardens feature a large pond and are planted with cherry trees, maple trees, willow trees and plants described in the literature of the Heian period as the “Tale of Genji”. Thus, the gardens provide lovely colors every season of the year.