Imperial Hotel, Kyoto earns cultural landmark status for the historic Yasaka Kaikan
The Imperial Hotel, Kyoto has retained cultural landmark status for the historic 1936 Yasaka Kaikan, preserving over 16,000 original tiles and the building's iconic façade as part of its adaptive reuse in Gion.
ARTS & CULTURE
8/14/20262 min read
The Imperial Hotel, Kyoto has hit a major preservation milestone for the Yasaka Kaikan, the 1936 building at the heart of the luxury hotel that opened in the Gion district earlier this year. After review by Japan's Council for Cultural Affairs, the structure has kept its status as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property under a new designation, "Former Yasaka Kaikan," recognizing the work done to preserve the landmark while folding it into the hotel.
From theater to hotel
The Imperial Hotel, Kyoto opened in March 2026, built through the careful preservation and adaptive reuse of the Yasaka Kaikan, a longtime local landmark that had grown increasingly fragile with age, deterioration and seismic risk. Rather than tear it down, the Imperial Hotel chose to preserve key architectural elements and build the hotel around them, keeping the building's legacy intact.
"From the beginning, our goal was to honor the architectural and cultural significance of the Yasaka Kaikan while ensuring its relevance for generations to come," said Reiko Sakata, general manager of the Imperial Hotel, Kyoto. "The continuation of its cultural property registration recognizes not only the building's history, but also the importance of preserving meaningful places through thoughtful restoration and reuse."
What was saved
The project's biggest achievement was preserving the building's southwestern façade, long considered a defining piece of Kyoto's historic streetscape. Original exterior tiles and terra-cotta ornamentation were conserved and reinstalled, portions of the original structural framework were retained, and the copper roof and decorative metalwork were reconstructed using traditional techniques.
More than 16,000 original exterior tiles were restored using ikedori, a traditional Japanese conservation method that salvages and reuses historic materials without damaging them. Crews also restored the decorative terra-cotta reliefs featuring traditional floral motifs, along with historic interior details in the entrance vestibule, including original etched glass dating back to the building's construction.
A landmark with history
Completed in 1936 next to the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo, the Yasaka Kaikan spent decades as a theater, cinema, dance hall and gathering place for Kyoto residents, its architecture blending traditional Japanese design with early 20th-century construction methods.
Now that legacy continues through the hotel. The 55-room Imperial Hotel, Kyoto pairs contemporary luxury with architectural preservation, giving guests a chance to stay inside one of Kyoto's most historic buildings while taking part in its upkeep. The hotel joined The Leading Hotels of the World in April 2025.
Images: Obayashi Corporation | Masatomo Moriyama | Imperial Hotel, Kyoto