Kuni-kyō

, was the capital of Japan between 740 and 744, whose imperial palace (恭仁宮 ''Kuni-kyū'' or ''Kuni no miya'') was built what is now the Kamo neighborhood of the city of Kizugawa in Kyoto Prefecture. The ruins of the palace overlap with the ruins of , and both were collectively designated as a National Historic Site of Japan in 1957, with the area under protection expanded in 2007.

History

After the Fujiwara no Hirotsugu rebellion, the capital was moved from Heijō-kyō by decree of Emperor Shōmu on December 15, 740. The new site was located in Soraku County, Yamashiro Province; nevertheless, its official name was "Yamato no Kuni no Omiya." The reason for choosing this location may have been because was that it was the stronghold of the ''Udaijin'' Tachibana no Moroe, who had de facto power over the " dajō-kan" or "Great Council".

In September 741, the layout of the new capital was decided, and in November the official name "Daiyotoku Kuninomiya" was decided upon. The Daigokuden was dismantled and relocated from Heijō-kyō, the Ōmiya fence was constructed, and the palace was built. The grid-like land was laid out, and a large bridge was built over the Kizu River. The area of palace is estimated to have been 560 meters wide east-to-west and 750 meters long, north-to-south. The narrow valley to the west and the floodplain of the Kizu River to the east geographically restricted the size of Kuni-kyō to an area smaller than Heijō-kyō. For reasons which remain unclear, Kuni-kyō was not completed. Emperor Shōmu to the present-day city of Kōka, Shiga Prefecture, more specifically the in 744, only four years later. Emperor Shōmu moved the capital yet again to Naniwa-kyō (Osaka), and before the year was out, reverted the capital back to Heijō-kyō in Nara. The preference of Shigaraki as the capital over Kuni-kyō possibly points to the rival Fujiwara clan mounting a comeback, since their influence extended around the Shigaraki area in Ōmi Province. The subsequent move to Naniwa may have been a compromise.

In 748, after the capital was moved, Daigokuden of Kuni-kyō was donated to the Yamashiro Kokubun-ji.

Archaeological 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). However, no remains of the grid system of streets have been confirmed

Miniature Model of Yamashiro Provincial Temple.jpg, Miniature Model of Yamashiro Provincial Temple
Kunikyo-ato, Daigokuden-1.jpg, Site ofKuni-kyō Daigokuden
Kunikyo-ato, Daigokuden-soseki.jpg, Foundation stone for the Yamashiro Kokubun-ji Kondo
Yamashiro Kokubunji-ato, tou-2.jpg, Foundation stone for the Yamashiro Kokubun-ji Pagoda
山城国分寺跡出土 造営時瓦.JPG, Roof tiles from Kuni-kyō site

Yamashiro Kokubun-ji

The ''Shoku Nihongi'' records that in 741, as the country recovered from a major smallpox epidemic, Emperor Shōmu ordered that a monastery and nunnery be established in every province, the . These temples were built to a semi-standardized template, and served both to spread Buddhist orthodoxy to the provinces, and to emphasize the power of the Nara period centralized government under the ''Ritsuryō'' system.

It is uncertain when construction of the Yamashiro Kokubun-ji temples began and was completed, but as it is mentioned in ''Shoku Nihongi'' in an entry dated 741, construction must have begun at about the same time as the move in the capital from Heijō-kyō. Currently, a long earthen platform stretching east-to-west remains to the north of Kuni Elementary School, and this is believed to be foundation for the Kokubun-ji Kondō Hall, or in other words, the re-purposed Kuni-kyō Daigokuden. There are also 15 large foundation stones to the east of the school at a place called Tō-no-moto-moto, which is said to be the site of the eastern pagoda of the temple. The base is 17 meters square, and supported a seven-story pagoda, with the first floor measuring 9.8 meters square.

The temple burned down in 882 and was rebuilt in 898. It is listed in the Engishiki records of 927 as having revenues of 15,000 bundles of rice. In the Kamakura period, a historical document from 1231 indicates that it was a branch temple of Byōdō-in, while another document from 1301 indicates that it was the property of Kasuga Shrine. The temple's subsequent history is unclear, but it appears to have been abandoned sometime in the Muromachi period.

The site is a 30 minute walk from Kamo Station on the JR West Kansai Main Line (Yamatoji Line)

See also

* List of Historic Sites of Japan (Kyoto)

References

External links

Kizugawa city home page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuni-kyo
Former capitals of Japan
Nara period
History of Kyoto Prefecture
Planned capitals
Historic Sites of Japan
Emperor Shōmu
Buddhist archaeological sites in Japan
Kizugawa, Kyoto
Yamashiro Province