was the capital of Japan between 740 and 744, with its imperial palace (æÂÂä»Âå®® Kuni-kyà « or Kuni no miya) built in 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.
After the Fujiwara no Hirotsugu rebellion, the capital was moved from Heijà Â-kyà  by decree of Emperor Shà Âmu 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 it was the stronghold of the Udaijin Tachibana no Moroe, who had de facto power over the "dajà Â-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 Heijà Â-kyà Â, the à Âmiya 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 the 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-kyà  to an area smaller than Heijà Â-kyà Â.
For reasons which remain unclear, Kuni-kyà  was not completed. Emperor Shà Âmu moved the capital to the present-day city of Kà Âka, Shiga Prefecture, more specifically the in 744, only four years later. Emperor Shà Âmu moved the capital yet again to Naniwa-kyà  (Osaka), and before the year was out, reverted the capital back to Heijà Â-kyà  in Nara. The preference of Shigaraki as the capital over Kuni-kyà  possibly points to the rival Fujiwara clan mounting a comeback, since their influence extended around the Shigaraki area in à Âmi Province. The subsequent move to Naniwa may have been a compromise.
In 748, after the capital was moved, the Daigokuden of Kuni-kyà  was donated to the Yamashiro Kokubun-ji.
Archaeological excavations have so far (as of 2006) revealed key buildings, laid out following the Chinese pattern, such as the Daigokuden (大極殿) and Dairi (å è£Â). However, no remains of the grid system of streets have been confirmed
The Shoku Nihongi records that in 741, as the country recovered from a major smallpox epidemic, Emperor Shà Âmu 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 Ritsuryà  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 of the capital from Heijà Â-kyà Â. Currently, a long earthen platform stretching east-to-west remains to the north of Kuni Elementary School, and this is believed to be the foundation for the Kokubun-ji Kondà  Hall, or in other words, the re-purposed Kuni-kyà  Daigokuden. There are also 15 large foundation stones to the east of the school at a place called Tà Â-no-moto-moto, which is said to be the site of the eastern pagoda of the temple. The base is 17 square meters, and supported a seven-story pagoda, with the first floor measuring 9.8 square meters.
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 Byà Âdà Â-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)