The Temples of Kyoto takes you on a journey through these environs and presents twenty-one of these marvelous structures that are unique creations which, while quintessentially Japanese, somehow speak a universal language readily appreciated by people the world over.

Donald Richie, called by Time magazine, "the dean of art critics in Japan," turns his attention to these twenty-one temples with scholarship and an eye for the dramatic. Drawing off such classic sources as The Tale of Genji and Essays in Idleness, he takes the reader on a tour through the ages, first with a comprehensive history of Japanese Buddhism, and then by highlighting key events in the development of these "celestial-seeming cities."

Brilliant photographs of the temples, taken by the award-winning photographer Alexandre Georges, complement the text and provide a visual overview of the subject matter. His keen eye captures on film the elements that make each temple noteworthy, including their interiors, and objets d'art, in a fresh and thought provoking manner. The result is this book: a testament and meditation on the power and elegance of these world-renowned structures that are both places of worship and examples of the finest art Japan has ever produced.