J.R. Piggott
1 The first stage, the “prototypical capital,” emerged in the mid- seventh century in southeast-
ern Yamato at Asuka.
While Asuka was a palace center (kyūto) for Yamato kings, it did not yet have a space for
the assembly of large groups of officials nor did it have the rectangular cityscape character-
istic of Chinese- style royal centers.^7
2 The second stage, the Fujiwara capital that was Japan’s first Chinese- style royal center (tojō),
was established in 704 in the Asuka vicinity by the monarch Tenmu (r. 672–686) and his
wife- successor, Jitō (r. 690–697). Key developments there included construction of a
Chinese- style rectangular cityscape with a grid of great streets laid out north to south and
east to west, and with its east and west sectors separated by a grand central avenue. The royal
palace—a large complex of buildings for royal residence, ritual assembly, and administra-
tion of the realm by officialdom—was located at its center. There were two official markets
east and west, and multiple official Buddhist temples within the perimeter. House lots in the
vicinity of the royal palace were distributed to officials according to their ranks.^8
3 The third stage, the eighth- century capital at Heijō (Nara), was situated northwest of Fuji-
wara in the Yamato basin. It situated the royal palace at north center, and included official
markets, gridded streets, diplomatic lodges, and multiple official temples.^9 Over the century
the layout of the palace changed, as did the operation of the monarchy, reflecting increasing
influence from Tang China—Furuse Natsuko and others have called the result “Tangifica-
tion (Tōka).”^10 Courtiers and royal relatives received plots of land outside the palace pre-
cincts and enjoyed relatively autonomous economic lives based on taxes collected from
prebendal residence units (fuko) and private holdings outside the capital—their lifestyles
were not yet fully urban. And their special privileges at official markets and production
centers are thought to have obstructed development of a circulating economy. Most lower
ranked nobles resided outside the capital. Researchers estimate the population at 100,000.
Since the royal center at Heijō was provisioned primarily by the ritsuryō command economy
based on taxes in kind, Yamanaka does not consider Heijō a city (toshi) in the Weberian
sense.^11 And unlike Chinese capitals, it had no wall—defense from external enemies was not
a major concern for the young ritsuryō monarchy.
4 The fourth stage, the “middle capital,” was established at Heian- kyō in Yamashiro province,
north of Heijō, in 794.^12 There royal government worked to consolidate its control by
weakening the nobility politically and economically. Urban residents were registered in
capital residence units (kyōko). Noble residences were allotted plots to the east and west of
the palace precincts at north center. Among them were also located official compounds for
production, storage, and housing for royal craftsmen and workers such as weavers, carpen-
ters, guards, and palanquin bearers.^13 These compounds were densely populated—when one
burned in 808, 180 structures were reportedly lost. Lower officials shared cramped
quarters—in one instance each official is said to have had the sleeping space of about one
tatami mat. Moreover as population increased over time, lots for residence units shrank. By
the later ninth century, despite the earlier successes of royal government over the nobility,
its authority over land distribution, streets, markets, and residents waned, for reasons to be
discussed below. Specialist artisans developed their own workshops and communities in this
more open environment.
5 The fifth stage, that of the “late capital” from the tenth century onward, was characterized
by the relative absence of government control. Official distribution of land plots had ceased,
the walls of residential wards that had facilitated control of the populace in earlier times had
crumbled, and government supervision of the marketplace had lapsed. Courtier aristocrats
depended mostly on household economies based on their properties located outside the