Mukō — Mukō Map Poster

המפה

Mukō Map Poster

Mukō lies just southwest of Kyoto city, on the western side of the Kyoto basin. It is compact, among the smallest municipalities in Japan by area, and its map is correspondingly dense: narrow residential lanes, small blocks and very little empty space. The effect from above is a fine texture, almost like woven fabric, bounded by larger neighbours on every side.

Two rail lines, the JR Kyoto Line and the Hankyu Kyoto Line, run roughly parallel through the city, their straight tracks cutting through the intricate street pattern. To the west the ground rises towards bamboo-covered hills, and the streets there loosen into curving paths. The contrast between the flat, crowded east and the gentler western slopes gives the plan a clear structure.

Mukō is closely associated with Nagaoka-kyō, the imperial capital that briefly preceded Heian-kyō in the late eighth century, and remains of its palace have been excavated within the city. A Mukō map poster frames this small, layered place in precise black lines, from the rail corridors to the quiet residential grain that fills almost every corner.