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Kuni-kyō (恭仁京, or ''Kuni no miyako''), was the capital city of Japan between 740 and 744, whose imperial palace (恭仁宮 ''Kuni-kyū'' or ''Kuni no miya'') was built in the present-day city of
Kuni-kyō (恭仁京, or ''Kuni no miyako''), was the capital city of Japan between 740 and 744, whose imperial palace (恭仁宮 ''Kuni-kyū'' or ''Kuni no miya'') was built in the present-day city of Kizugawa
is a city located in southern Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is the southernmost city in the prefecture and it is named after the Kizu River, a tributary of the Yodo River, which runs through the city. Kizugawa City is a part of the Kansai Scienc ...
in Kyoto Prefecture by the order of Emperor Shōmu
was the 45th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 聖武天皇 (45)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749, during the Nara period.
Traditional narrative ...
.
History
The city of Kuni-kyō was never completed, as the capital was moved once again to the present-day city of Kōka,Shiga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the north ...
, more specifically the in 744, only four years later. In 745 Emperor Shōmu moved the capital yet again to Naniwa-kyō (Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
), and before the year was out, reverted the capital back to Heijō-kyō
was the Capital of Japan during most of the Nara period, from 710 to 740 and again from 745 to 784. The imperial palace is a listed UNESCO World Heritage together with other places in the city of Nara (cf. Historic Monuments of Ancient ...
in Nara
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...
.
The Kuni area was a power base for Tachibana no Moroe, who was then the minister with de facto power over the cabinet, known as the " dajō-kan" or "Great Council". The later preference of Shigaraki as the capital possibly points to the rival Fujiwara clan
was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...
mounting a comeback, since their influence extended around the Shigaraki area in Ōmi Province
was a province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. Its nickname is . Under the '' Engishiki'' classification system, Ōmi was ranked as one of the 13 "great countr ...
. The subsequent move to Naniwa may have been a compromise.
Emperor Shōmu moved the capital yet again Naniwa-kyō (Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
) in 745, which may have been a spot the two factions could compromise on, but that same year reverted the capital back to Heijō-kyō in Nara.
Archaeological finds
Excavations so far (as of 2006) have revealed key buildings, laid out following the Chinese pattern, as the ''Daigokuden'' (大極殿) and ''Dairi'' (内裏). The area of palace is estimated to have been 560 meters wide east to west and 750 meters long, north to south.See also
*Shoku Nihongi
The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the '' Six National Histories'', coming directly after the '' Nihon Shoki'' and followed by '' Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Ma ...
References