was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the de jure capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1869. However, Heian-kyà  was never explicitly abandoned as the capital. Today, it is said that Tokyo has effectively replaced Kyoto as the capital, but there is a viewpoint that, in theory, Kyoto still holds the position of the capital. Emperor Saga also declared that Heian-kyà  would remain the capital forever.
Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, moving the Imperial Court there from nearby Nagaoka-kyà  at the recommendation of his advisor Wake no Kiyomaro and marking the beginning of the Heian period of Japanese history. According to modern scholarship, the city is thought to have been modelled after the urban planning for the Tang dynasty Chinese capital of Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an). It remained the chief political center until 1185, when the samurai Minamoto clan defeated the Taira clan in the Genpei War, moving administration of national affairs to Kamakura and establishing the Kamakura shogunate.
Though political power would be wielded by the samurai class over the course of three different shogunates, Heian-kyà  remained the site of the Imperial Court and seat of Imperial power, and was thus the official capital.
Heian-kyà  was built in what is now the central part of Kyoto city, covering an area spanning the and of Yamashiro Province. The city boundaries formed a rectangle measuring 4.5 km from east to west and 5.2 km from north to south. The city layout followed Heijà Â-kyà  (Japan's capital during the Nara period) with the Imperial palace, Daidairi, placed in the center of the northern city limits and the Suzaku Avenue (Suzaku-à Âji), the main thoroughfare extending from the palace down through the center of the city, dividing it into the Right (Ukyà Â) and Left Capitals (Sakyà Â) (the eastern side being the Left and the western side being the Right from the emperor's viewpoint.) The design followed Sui and Tang dynasty Chang'an, with the exception that Heian-kyà  had no city walls. It is thought that the site for the city was selected according to the principles of based on Chinese Feng shui and relating to the Four Symbols of Chinese astrology.
The boundaries of Heian-kyà  were smaller than those of modern Kyoto, with at the northern limit corresponding to present-day , between and , Kyà «jà Â-à Âji in the south corresponding to , slightly to the south of the present-day JR Kyà Âto Station, and Higashi-kyà Âgoku-à Âji in the east corresponding to present-day Teramachi Street (Teramachi-dà Âri). The location of Nishi-kyà Âgoku-à Âji at the western limit is estimated as a line running north to south from Hanazono Station on the JR San'in Main Line to Nishi-Kyà Âgoku Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Line.
The layout of Heian-kyà  was plotted in accordance with the principles of geomancy as a square city. was the basic unit of measurement. 40 square jà  made a . The city was further divided by major streets called and minor streets called . Four lines of chà  running east to west (excepting the first 2 rows in the north) were together called a and four lines of chà  running from north to south were called a . The chà  which shared the same jà  and bà  were each given a number from 1 to 16. In this way addresses could be identified with the following arrangement: "Right Capital, jà  Five, bà  Two, chà  Fourteen" .
The width of even the minor streets was 4 jà  , and for the major streets, over 8 jà  . Almost all of the streets in present-day Kyoto have become considerably narrower. Suzaku-à Âji, for example, was 28 jà  wide. In addition, a river ran alongside and .
In 784 AD, Emperor Kammu constructed Nagaoka-kyà Â, moving the capital from Heijà Â-kyà Â. It is thought that he wished to build a new, Emperor Tenji faction capital far from Yamato Province, which was the power base for the temples and aristocrats who supported the Emperor Tenmu faction. However, only 9 years later in January 793 AD, Emperor Kammu assembled his retainers and announced another relocation of the capital to address outstanding issues experienced in Nagaoka-kyà Â. The location for the new capital was to be in Kadono, located between two rivers in the north of Yamashiro, ten kilometers to the northeast of Nagaoka-kyà Â. It is said that Emperor Kammu had previously looked out on Kadono from the Shà Âgun Tsuka in Higashiyama Ward of Kyoto City, deciding then that it was a suitable location for the capital. Emperor Kammu's words are recorded in the Nihon Kiryaku as follows: "Kadono has beautiful mountains and rivers as well as good transport links by sea and land making it convenient for people to assemble there from all four corners of the country."
It is thought that the construction of Heian-kyà  began from the palace, with the construction of the remainder of the city following afterwards. As a display of the emperor's authority, the Daigokuden (main building of the palace) was constructed at the far north of the central thoroughfare, Suzaku-oji, making the building visible from anywhere in the city.
Ports such as Yodonotsu and were set up along the river next to the city. These ports acted as a transit base for collecting goods from all over the country and forwarding them on to the city. The goods which arrived in Heian-kyà  reached the people by way of one of the two large markets: the East Market and the West Market. This arrangement provided a stable supply of food and goods which encouraged population growth. Measures were also taken to guard against the flooding which had plagued the residents of Nagaoka-kyà Â. Although there was no natural river in the center of Heian-kyà Â, two artificial canals (the present day Horikawa and Nishi Horikawa) were dug, boasting adjustable water levels, simultaneously securing a supply of water and guarding against flooding.
Similar to the previous capital of Nagaoka-kyà Â, the construction of Buddhist temples in Heian-kyà  was formally forbidden, the only exceptions being the East (Tà Â-ji) and West (Sai-ji) temples, with the thought that their power might protect the city from natural disaster and disease, and priests such as Kà «kai were welcomed, being able men, well versed in Buddhist scripture, and with no interest in political power.
On 22 October 794 AD, Emperor Kammu arrived at the new city and on 8 November proclaimed, "I hereby name this city Heian-kyà Â." On 8 November, he changed the second kanji character of Yamashiro from ("back") to ("castle") because the capital looked like a naturally formed "mountain castle" surrounded by the Eastern (Higashiyama), Northern (Kitayama), and Western (Nishiyama) mountains.
A movement in favor of returning the capital to Heijà Â-kyà  arose in 810 AD, during a standoff over the emperor's succession. However, Emperor Saga thought that keeping the capital in Heian-kyà  would be best for the stability of the country and resisted this movement, declaring Heian-kyà  .
The land of the Right Capital overlapped the wetlands formed by the Katsura River and, even by the 9th century, little progress had been made in developing the area. By the 10th century, when the Ritsuryà  system was almost at an end, the district had become so dilapidated that it began to be used as farmland, something which had previously been forbidden within the city limits. With the exception of an area in the north of the Right Capital near the palace, the residential areas which housed the aristocracy were all situated in the Left Capital, with the highest echelon of aristocrats such as the Fujiwara clan gathering in the northernmost part of the district.
The poor of Heian-kyà  began to set up home by the Kamo River, beyond the eastern limits of the city, and on the eastern banks of the river, temples and country homes sprang up. So started a tendency for the city to extend out to the east. In 980 AD, at the southern tip of Suzaku-oji, the Rajà Âmon (the grandest of the two city gates) collapsed, never to be rebuilt. In this way, the original borders of Heian-kyà  extended out to the east, forming the streets of first medieval and then modern-day Kyoto.
With the advent of the Kanto-centered Kamakura and Edo shogunates, Heian-kyà  began to lose its significance as a seat of power. The greatest decline was during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods, when almost half the city was burnt to the ground during the à Ânin war. After this, Heian-kyà  separated into upper (Kamigyà Â) and lower (Shimogyà Â) cities, each becoming places of little note. However, the two were to be reunited into one city during the AzuchiâÂÂMomoyama period following the ascension of Oda Nobunaga.
During the Meiji Revolution, Edo was re-christened Tokyo (becoming the new capital of Japan). Although Heian-kyà  lost its status as capital city, it became a backup capital while the emperor was away in Tokyo. Since that time, the emperor has not returned to Kyoto. However, at the direction of Emperor Meiji, the imperial residences have been preserved and the âÂÂa special throne whose location traditionally marked the seat of the emperorâÂÂremains at the palace in Kyoto.
The green areas in the diagram are markets, temples, and a garden. There were two large markets, West Market and East Market , facing the seventh street, Shichijà Â-à Âji . Tà Â-ji and Sai-ji were Buddhist temples built on the southern edge of the capital. An imperial garden called Shinsenen was adjacent to the Daidairi.
Note that there were more paths cut short by residences straddling multiple blocks.
In English (major streets and palace only):
The gates of the Daidairi are marked in Japanese Kanji in the above grid; below are the romanization of said gate names alongside the kanji: