was the capital of Japan from 784 to 794. Its location was reported as Otokuni District,

Yamashiro Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai. It overlaps the southern part of modern Kyoto Prefecture on Honshū. Aliases include , the rare , and . It is classified as an upper province in the '' Engishiki''. Yamashiro Province included Kyot ...

, and

Nagaokakyō, Kyoto is a city located in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. the city has an estimated population of 80,608 and a population density of 4,205 persons per km². The total area is 19.17 km². History The city was founded on October 1, 1972 replacing the ...

, which took its name from the capital. Parts of the capital were in what is now the city of Nagaokakyō, while other parts were in the present-day

Mukō is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 56,070 in 23748 households and a population density of 2200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Mukō is located in southern Kyoto Prefe ...

and Nishikyō-ku, the latter of which belongs to the city of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

. In 784, the

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the s ...

moved the capital from

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 ...

(then called

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 ...

). According to the

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 ...

, his reason for moving was that the new location had better water transportation routes. Other explanations have been given, including the wish to escape the power of the

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

clergy and courtiers, and the backing of the immigrants from whom his mother was descended. In 785, the administrator in charge of the new capital,

Fujiwara no Tanetsugu was a Japanese noble of the late Nara period. He was the grandson of the '' sangi'' Fujiwara no Umakai, the founder of the Fujiwara Shikike. He reached the court rank of and the position of '' chūnagon''. He was posthumously awarded the ran ...

, was assassinated. The emperor's brother, Prince Sawara, was implicated, exiled to Awaji Province, and died on the way there. In 794, Emperor Kammu moved the capital to Heian (in the center of the present-day city of Kyoto). Reasons cited for this move include frequent flooding of the rivers that had promised better transportation; disease caused by the flooding, affecting the empress and crown prince; and fear of the spirit of the late Prince Sawara. Excavations begun in 1954 revealed the remains of a gate to the imperial residence.

External links

Japan National Historical Museum exhibit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagaoka-Kyo Populated places established in the 8th century 784 establishments 794 disestablishments Former capitals of Japan Nara period Historic Sites of Japan 8th-century establishments in Japan 8th-century disestablishments in Japan Emperor Kanmu Nagaokakyō