Fujiwara-kyō

Fujiwara-kyō (藤原京^?) was the Imperial capital of Japan for sixteen years, between 694 and 710. It was located in Yamato Province (present-day Kashihara in Nara Prefecture), having been moved from nearby Asuka. However, the name Fujiwara-kyō was never used in the Nihon Shoki. During those times it was recorded as Aramashi-kyō (新益京).

As of 2006, ongoing excavations have revealed construction on the site of Fujiwara-kyō as early as 682, near the end of the reign of Emperor Temmu. With a brief halt upon Emperor Temmu's death, construction resumed under Empress Jitō, who officially moved the capital in 694. Fujiwara-kyō remained the capital for the reigns of Emperor Mommu and Empress Gemmei, but in 710 the Imperial court moved to the Heijō Palace in Nara, beginning the Nara period.

Fujiwara was Japan's first capital built in a grid pattern on the Chinese model (条坊制 jōbō-sei); recent investigation has revealed that the city covered an area of roughly 5 km, much larger than previously thought. The palace occupied a plot measuring about 1 km², and was surrounded by walls roughly 5 m high. Each of the four walls had three gates; Suzakumon, the main gate, stood at the center of the south wall. The Daigokuden (大極殿) and other palace buildings were the first palace structures in Japan to have a tile roof in the Chinese style.

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