History of the City of Heijo Kyo

Heijo Kyoto in Nara, Japan was also built in imitation of Chang'an City in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It is approximately 4.2km from east to west (32 towns) and 4.7km from north to south (36 towns). Its area is approximately equivalent to a quarter of Changan City. In this rectangular castle, regardless of east, west, north or south, there are roads connecting every four towns, just like a chessboard. In the middle of the north of the castle, there is the "Ouchi Palace" (Heijo Palace) covering an area of ??8 towns square to the south, where the imperial palace and the government office are located. In addition, there are residences for nobles and servants, large temples, thatched houses and rice fields for common people. There are two markets in the capital, the east and west, where various items are traded using the currency "Wado Kaimi". It is estimated that the city's population at that time was about 100,000 (it was estimated to be 200,000 at its peak). Among them, there are about 100 high-level nobles and about 600 mid-level servants. It can be seen that the vast majority are slaves, craftsmen, farmers and strong men requisitioned from local areas. Buildings such as government offices, noble residences, and temples have red pillars, white walls, and roofs covered with tiles.

In 1959 (Showa 34), the excavation and investigation of the Heijo-gu Shrine ruins revealed the scale of the building, and unearthed many wooden slips with written characters and daily utensils mainly made of earthenware. The ruins of Heijo Palace are protected as a historical park, and through continuous excavation and research, a majestic Heijo Kyo gradually appears before our eyes. Before the capital was moved to Heijo-kyo, Japan's capital was located in Fujiwara-kyo, north of Asuka Village in the south of the Yamato Plain. Fujiwarakyo was the capital planned to be built by Emperor Tenmu during the Asukajo-Ohara Palace period. However, it was not completed until his wife ascended the throne as Empress Jitoten.

Before Emperor Tenmu, the capital system changed from generation to generation according to the location of the emperor. Senior officials who hold political power, especially the powerful wealthy families centered on Yamato, often live around their bases and come to the palace when performing government affairs. In such a system, rather than having a capital city, it is more appropriate to say that the Imperial Palace, the residence of the emperor, is the political center of the country.

Different from this, mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, which are separated from Japan across the sea, established the legal system a long time ago. The large-scale capital city was both a political center and a commercial city, and it was a prosperous scene. Since the "Taika Reform", the legal system established by learning from the advanced continental state system has been completed. Emperor Tenmu has put the construction of the national capital on the central agenda, so he planned to build the new national capital Fujiwara Kyo north of Asuka.

Fujiwara Kyo lived in one city with the imperial palace as the center, the emperor, the servants who served the court, and other families. This was a big change. Because life at that time was based on self-sufficiency, the consumption-based circulation economy was not developed. The reason for imitating the capital of China, a powerful country, is to show Japan's national prestige to foreign envoys on the Korean Peninsula and local citizens.

It should be pointed out that the construction of Fujiwara Kyo was probably not built by the Japanese with reference to the real capital city in China. It is said that it was built by an envoy sent to the Tang Dynasty in the eighth year of Tianzhi (669) with reference to Chinese books such as Zhou Li.

After 30 years, Japan once again sent an envoy to the Tang Dynasty. When they returned to China in the second year of Dabao (702), they described in detail the splendor and magnificence of Chang'an City in China. Fujiwara Kyo, which was once thought to be built with Chang'an as a model, actually seems insignificant in comparison.

In previous excavations and surveys, the ruins of Fujiwara Kyo’s Daigokuden were not found. In Showa 32, the Nara Prefectural Kashihara Archaeological Research Institute claimed to have found a place called Omiya Dotan, and believed that this nearby place was the location of Fujiwara Kyo's Daigokuden. Since most researchers at the time had the preconceived notion that "Fujiwara Kyo was built in imitation of Chang'an City", they believed that the imperial palace should be located in the north of the capital, on a flat surface, facing the south. Therefore, it is speculated that the scope of Fujiwarakyo is bounded by the Yokoohiro Road that leads to Osaka in the west and Ise in the east, the lower road to the east of Mount Amabashi (based on the Misemaruyama tumulus) in the west, and the top of Mount Kōgu in the east. The middle road is the boundary (see attached picture for details). However, after many subsequent excavations and surveys, the remains of the main road in the capital and side ditches were unearthed. Only then did everyone realize that the originally set range was actually twice the actual range. Fujiwara Palace was not located to the north of the capital, but in the middle of the capital. In this way, the full picture of Fujiwara Kyo gradually became clear.

There are differences between Fujiwara Kyo and Chang'an City. First of all, the imperial palace is not located to the north of the capital and extends to the south like Chang'an City, but is located in the center of the capital. This is probably based on the "Emperor Ji Nei Theory" in Zhou Rites, which believes that the emperor's residence should be located in the center, and it was built based on this imagination.

In addition, the overall terrain of Chang'an City gradually changes from high to low from north to south. This was deliberately arranged when laying the foundation due to the Yellow River in the south. The Imperial City is located at the northern end of Chang'an City. Waste water, dirt, etc. will not stay in the palace. However, because Fujiwara Kyo is located in the south of the Yamato Plain, the Asuka River flows northward, and the terrain gradually changes from high to low from south to north. Fujiwara Palace is located in the center of Fujiwara Kyo. It is conceivable that the discharged wastewater, sewage, etc. will flow along the Asuka River and pass through Fujiwara Palace, and the taste will definitely be unpleasant.

Moreover, there is Mingde Gate to the south of the Zhuque Gate in Chang'an City. The broad road makes people feel imposing. However, Fujiwara Kyo's Suzaku-dori was soon blocked by hills. It was actually built across the Asuka River and by cutting down the Hidakayama Mountain. In short, Fujiwara Kyo, as a capital city, lacks reasonable design and space for outward expansion.

Foreign envoys entering Chang'an City first entered the Mingde Gate in the south along the Yellow River, and then followed the road north to the imperial palace. However, Fujiwara Kyo entered from the west via Hengdao Road, and foreign envoys entered the central palace from the west. This could not show the majesty of the emperor sitting north and facing south to contact his ministers, nor could it show the prestige of the country.

Earlier, it was believed that Emperor Genmei decided to move the capital because the government offices (official buildings) became cramped after the implementation of the "Daibao Ryuto" and the population of Fujiwara Kyonaka grew too fast. However, it now seems that it only took two generations to move the capital. The emperor abandoned Fujiwara Kyo. The reason was not just this. The things described above might also be the reasons for moving the capital, and they might be really important reasons. The dignitaries of the imperial court, centered on Emperor Genmei, were eager to expand the capital. To this end, they abandoned Fujiwara Kyo in Asuka and planned to build a new and more magnificent new capital in Nara, in the northern part of Yamato.

The chosen capital address is located in the north of Ohirano, with the Saho Hills to the north. The Saho River flows diagonally from north to south, and the terrain is high in the north and low in the south. The basin surrounded by the Kasuga Mountains to the east and the Ikoma Mountains to the west was indeed an ideal place to build a capital.

After Emperor Yuanming inspected it personally, he decided to build a new capital here. In the edict that decided to move the capital, it was determined that this was a place suitable for the emperor to live under the protection of the four gods. (That is, it is believed that there are East Qinglong, South Suzaku, West White Tiger, and North Xuanwu guarding Pingcheng Palace) in the overall plan. First, the line from the top of Mount Mikasa, regarded as a sacred mountain, to the top of Mount Ikoma was used as the baseline in the east-west direction of the capital. The extension line extending from Fujiwara Kyo to Shimochi became the north-south center line of the capital, Suzaku-dori. And the middle road was used as the boundary line to the east of the capital. The capital as a whole is divided into 8 districts vertically and horizontally to form the inner capital, and another 4 districts are divided between the center line and the east boundary. Based on the distance from district 1, the north and south districts are further divided into 4 districts to form the outer capital. The capital is dotted with elephants. A square road.

Such a plan was naturally realized using surveying technology from the mainland. During the actual construction, the Nishikyochichiji-dori (Nishi-4-dori) was not built on the west side due to the Yada Hills. And another district was added to the north (that is, there are 9 districts in the north-south direction), forming a protruding outer capital to the east of the palace. As for why it needs to be built into an area protruding eastward like the old city street? The jury is still out on this, but it may be that there were Saho-go to the north of Heijo-kyo and Kasuga-go near the center. There were mansions here before the capital was established here, so they were retained and expanded as an outer part of the capital outside Heijo-kyo.

From Fujiwara Kyojijo along the ancient road "Shimodo" you can reach the south of Heijo Kyo. In the middle of Kujo Main Road is the entrance to Heijo Kyo, Rajomon. In order to imitate the shape of Chinese city walls, it seems a bit incongruous to stand a huge gate in the middle of the plain. In front of the gate, the Saho River flows east and west like a Hori, and it looks like there is a wall on the left and right of the gate.

The passage heading north from Nacheng Gate is Suzaku Avenue, which is 74m wide and is about 4km away from Pingcheng Palace Suzaku Gate. Such a huge project is not easy to complete even with modern giant machinery. There are side ditches on the left and right sides of Zhuque Avenue. Willows, locust trees and other trees are planted along the road, forming a tree-lined road. Foreign envoys from the Tang Dynasty and Silla passed here to Pyeongseong Kyung.

The width of the main roads in Pingcheng and Beijing is different. The two main roads running east-west to the south of Heijo Palace are 36m wide, and the other main roads have various widths such as 24m, 16m, 14m, 13m, and 9m. The width and depth of the side ditches on both sides of the road also have various specifications depending on the location. The ditch on the east side of Qitiao Dongyifang Road is 3m wide and 0.25m deep, while the ditch on the west side is 8m wide and 1.6m deep. The ditch on the east side of the central road in Batiao Xiyifang is 1.0m wide and 0.3m deep, while the ditch on the west side is 5.5m~11m wide and 1.5m~1.7m deep. It can be seen that it is adapted to local conditions and there is no unified specification.

The Saho River located in Sakyo Nibo was renovated into the East Hori with a width of more than 10m. The river flows southward, and the Akishino River became the Nishi Hori along Ukyo Nishi Ichibo Avenue. The strange thing is that relatively speaking there are relatively few bridges. There is a bridge 13.4m wide and 3.8m long on the west side of the ditch on the east side of Erjodaero-dori-yibo-daero, and its railings decorated with orbs have also been unearthed. However, the ditch on the east side of the Sakyo Sanjoma North Trail is 4m wide, and the ditch on the west side of the Ukyo Sanjoma South Trail is 3m wide. However, no traces of bridges have been found in either of them. Is this due to security considerations?

When Sakagami Rōna and Fujiwara Maro sang in duet, she mentioned feeling uneasy when crossing the Sabo River. Although there may be literary fiction, this is not consistent with what archeology found in places with major roads. Bridge is consistent with this result. Some forts seem to have built ridges with roof tiles, but it seems that not all of Pingcheng and Kyoto have such ridges. This also shows that it is likely that these areas were built because of poor public security. (Note 2)

In addition, east-west excavated pillars or ridges were unearthed on the north side of the ditch on the east side of the east courtyard of Heijo Palace and the north side of the ditch on the south side of the east courtyard. To the north from here is Fujiwara Fujiwara's residence (later Hokkeji Temple), and due to security concerns, access is prohibited at certain times of the day. The legal decree "Gong Yamen Order Divides Streets" stipulates that from night to dawn (small drums will be beaten to mark the signs), except for legitimate reasons such as official envoys, weddings, funerals and medical treatment, no passage is allowed. The prohibition of traffic at night can also prove that there was indeed a security problem at that time.

The layout of the workshop is that the center lines of the main roads are 533m apart, and are divided into three equal parts of the road. Therefore, the quadrangle surrounded by the road will be divided into sixteen pieces, and each small piece is called a "ping". In this way, the location of the residence can be expressed by the number of square meters, for example, two square meters in the east and one square. However, according to the "Man'yoshu", this statement has not become popular. Old names such as "Sugawara" and "Sakagami-sato" are still used. This shows that at least the residences of officials and officials have not become popular. Call positioning. Go 4km north from Najomon via Suzaku-daero. At the intersection with Nijo-daero stands the Suzakumon Gate, the main entrance of Heijo Palace. From there, the vast area to the north is Heijo Palace. Pingcheng Palace covers an area of ??1.3km from east to west and 1km from north to south. It is surrounded by 5m high gates and has 12 gates including Suzakumon. The main entrance, the Suzakumon Gate, is about 25 meters wide, 10 meters deep, and about 22 meters high including the foundation stone. It is a double door built in the style of a mother house.

The core buildings of Heijo-kyo, Daichiden and Chaotang-in, are located in Heijo Palace. According to the investigation of the ruins, they are located a little east of Suzakumon. However, what is puzzling is that the excavation results show that they are located at Suzakumon. There is also Daegukjeon on the center line. There are two Daichiden and Chaotangyuan in Heijingkyo, which is really incredible. There is a theory that during the reign of Emperor Shomu, the first Daigokuden was built on the center line of the Suzakumon Gate as a transitional building when the capital was moved to Kyohito (740) and Namba-kyo (744). After the capital was moved back to Heijo-kyo in 745, the second Daigokuden was built slightly to the east in order to distinguish it. However, through the excavation of the lower remains of the second Daechi Palace, the remains of upright pillars were found, proving that both Daechi Palaces probably existed before the capital was moved. The first Daji Hall may have been built in the Linggui Year (715), so can it be considered that the first Daji Hall was built first to buy time for the second Daji Hall to be built later? In other words, after the completion of the second Dajidian, it shared some of the functions of the first Dajidian.

But this is still puzzling. Why should we build two Dajidians with the same functions? You know, this is a project that consumes a lot of manpower and financial resources. Just look at the corridors that are 320m long from north to south and 180m long from east to west around the First Daji Hall. You can imagine the hugeness of the project. Daming Palace contains Yuan Hall. This is easy to understand. The first Daikyokuden was used to hold the emperor's enthronement ceremony and foreign envoys' interviews, while the second Daikyokuden was used to handle daily government affairs.

After the first Daigokuden moved its capital to Kyounin-kyo in 740, it became the golden hall of Yamashiro Kokubunji Temple. It was destroyed by war in the Kamakura period, leaving only the main image of Jōrokushakaku, who is now in Kanmanji Temple. Image of Jia Tathagata. After moving back to Heishengkyo in 745, a pavilion was built on the original site of the First Daichiden Hall, imitating the Linde Hall of Daming Palace in Chang'an, to hold banquets. This is considered to be the prototype of the later Heiankyō Fengakuin. In addition, the cornerstone of the Second Daegokuden Hall was renovated and rebuilt so that it could better handle daily government affairs.

The inner courtyard is located in the north of Daigoku-den, and the Chaotou-in is located in the south of Daigoku-den. This layout is the same as that of the earlier Fujiwara Palace, but it is different from the earlier Asuka Jōmikahara Palace. Through the excavation and investigation of Asuka Jomigahara-gu Shrine, we learned that there is a building complex to the southeast of the central building. This building complex has a main hall in the center and buildings extending to the north and south. Does this pattern mean that the north is the inner palace where the emperor lives and holds ceremonies, and the place responsible for handling daily government affairs is the newly discovered building complex in the southeast, which later evolved into the imperial court? Maybe it was because of the complexity of the imperial court that buildings like the court hall were added?

The core buildings of Heijo Palace are the Chaotangyuan, Daigokuden Hall located in the south, and the inner area to the north of the Second Daigokuden Hall. Various government offices are surrounding it. It is worth mentioning that there is a building called "East Garden" at the east end of Heijo Palace. This is the East Palace where the Crown Prince lives. When the Crown Prince is away, it seems to be used as the emperor's inner palace. , after the end of the Nara period, Emperor Mitsuhito transformed it into Yanume Palace.

In addition, the east courtyard garden of the Tenpyo Period was discovered at the east end of the Heijo Palace ruins, which is consistent with the records in "The Chronicles of Japan". This garden made full use of the complex terrain within 80m from east to west and 100m from north to south. It is often used to hold banquets. Because the ruins are buried deep in the earth, they are relatively well preserved. Now the ponds, bridges, ridges and other buildings have been restored, and many flowers, plants and trees have been transplanted. The elegant and noble banquet atmosphere of the aristocrats of the Tianping Period is right in front of us. Officials in the imperial court were entitled to different areas of land as homesteads depending on their rank. It is still unknown how the land in Heijo Kyochu is distributed, but based on Fujiwara Kyo's distribution method, it is estimated that the two were not long apart, so there should not be much change.

According to the "Nihon Shoki" record, the distribution of Fujiwara Kyo's residence in December of the fifth year of Otomi was as follows - "Otomi, the edict said: 'Give the right minister the residence of four towns, Naohiro and more The second town, the lower town of Dacan, and the lower town of Qin, according to their household registration, the first town of the upper household, the fourth town of the lower household, etc. are also allowed.'" In other words, the right minister is allowed. (Two to three digits) 4 towns, Naohiro 2 (from the fourth digit and below) and above 2 towns, Naodaosan (from the fifth digit and above) and below 1 town, Kin (sixth digit and above) and Kamito 1 town , Nakado one-half town, Shimodo one-quarter town.

Referring to the above data, you will feel that it is enviable that people at that time occupied such a wide land (1 town is about 120m square, or 14,400 square meters). The nobles and middle- and lower-level servants cultivated gardens into fields to supplement their living. At that time, there was no running water equipment like today, so wells were dug for irrigation, and excrement was disposed of in the fields. There was excrement in the fields next to the wells, which was a portrayal of life at that time.

If the owner of the distributed homestead rises in rank, he will be able to obtain a homestead that matches his rank. At that time it was not clear whether free buying and selling of homesteads was allowed, but there was no doubt that they would be relocated.

Pingcheng Jingzhong has officially established east and west cities. The market seems to open around noon (11am) and close at sunset. The East and West markets are under the jurisdiction of the city. The shops in the market are called Si. For example, the silk shops and cloth shops recorded in historical materials are shops that specialize in buying and selling silk and cloth. The people who do business in the market are called City people (businessmen).

Because the rewards given to servants were often paid in kind. Those cotton, cloth and the like need to be replaced by food necessary for daily life, so it is necessary to establish a market for exchange.

As the transactions of various items in the market become more frequent, the first thing to consider is the transportation of materials. However, unlike the modern transportation industry, which was all transported by manpower, it seems that oxen and horses were not used to transport materials in the capital. Traders need to pay for transportation and handling fees.

Heijo Kyoto, with the Emperor as the culmination, people from various walks of life such as the royal family, nobles, servants, monks and nuns, merchants, craftsmen (craftsmen), husbands (strong men), farmers, wanderers, etc. live together. This formed the original city in the true sense of the ancient world. At the same time, because the concept of hygiene was not strong at that time, the importance of sewers was not considered, but side ditches were dug along the roadside to discharge sewage. It is not difficult to imagine that such a city would soon be filled with odor.

The temples in Pingcheng Jingzhong include those moved from Asuka and some newly built. Because the middle and late Nara period was the Tenpyo period when ancient Japanese Buddhist culture was at its peak, many new temples were built in Heijo Kyochu.

The ones that migrated from Asuka include Yakushiji Temple, Yuanxingji Temple, Daanji Temple and Kofukuji Temple. Among them, Yakushiji Temple was moved here in the second year of Yoro (718). However, judging from the unearthed wooden slips, it seems that construction started in Heijo-kyo in the second year of Yoro (716). Yuanxing Temple and Daan Temple were moved in the second year of Linggui (716). According to the "Continued Nihon Chronicles", the golden hall of Daan Temple was built in the fourteenth year of Tianping (742), and the buildings other than the pagoda were built in the nineteenth year of Tianping (747). be completed. In addition, Kofukuji Temple in the third year of Wado (710), Hokoji (Asukaji Temple) in the second year of Yoro (718), and the Buddhist temple department (Hokuyuantang or Zhongjindo) of Kofukuji in the fourth year of Yoro (720) also Moved to Pingchengjing.

At the same time, many new temples were built. Among them, in the 17th year of Tenpyei (745), he vowed to build Jinzhongji Temple, the predecessor of Todaiji Temple, and it took Tenpyei Shengho four years to complete it (the Big Buddha opens his eyes). In addition, after the death of Fujiwara Fujiwara, his daughter Mitsuko donated money to build the Hokkeji Temple. In the third year of Tianping Baozi (759), Prince Nittabe built the Tangzhaoti Temple for the eminent monk Jianzhen. Xida Temple and Xilong Temple were built in the first year of the reign of God Protector Jingyun (767). The Saeki-in Temple (Xiangji Temple) built in the seventh year of Hogei's reign (776) and so on.

In this way, in just a few decades, a large number of temples appeared in Pingcheng Jingzhong. Interestingly, the well-known Shinto Kasuga Taisha Shrine was also founded at the end of the Nara period.

Let us take a look at the situation in Heijo Kyo’s morning court. At three o'clock in the morning, the first door-opening drum will sound, and the doors of Heicheng Kyo will be opened. At 6:30 in the morning, the second door-opening drum sounds, and the south gate of Daji Hall and Chaotang Courtyard will open. The servants will go to court before the second door-opening drum sounds and wait for the gate of the court to open. When the sound of drums is heard during retreat around noon, the gate will be closed. Usually the working time is in the morning. According to the "Formal Orders for Beijing Officials to Go Up and Down", all the officials in the capital go to court before opening the door and go down to court after closing the door. Foreign officials go up to court at sunrise and go down to court at noon. Officials who are busy with official duties, have something to discuss, or are on guard duty are not included in this case.

After that, the "Qining Order" was specially formulated to further regulate the foreign officials (housekeepers and guards, etc.). In addition, it seems that it is allowed to engage in farming on the owned land during the busy season (May, August Each has a fifteen-day holiday), which can be seen from the "Man'yoshu", that is to say, this is a holiday recognized by law.

In addition to the slave laborers, Pingcheng Jingzhong also has monks, nuns, industrial and commercial workers, slaves, as well as people who originally lived here, and people who came to live in the capital from other places, etc. The population is estimated to be about 100,000. . Especially the number of people coming to Beijing from other places increased in the later period. Among them were soldiers who had been recruited, strong men serving as corvees, and those responsible for transporting Zu, Yong, and Diao into the capital. In order to entertain these people from various countries who came to transport Zu, Yong, and Diao, a group called Accommodation facilities for various countries. Since they have to pay for their own travel expenses back home, many people are unable to return home due to poverty, and end up wandering around and becoming homeless. In addition, many strong workers who built temples and other buildings settled in Heijo Kyochu.

Through the majestic Heijo Kyo ruins and the unearthed wooden slips, earthenware and other cultural relics, a prosperous Tianping era that eagerly imitated the prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty is right in front of people's eyes.

Note 1: From 740 to 745, the capital was briefly moved to Kyounin-kyo and Namba-kyo, but in 745 it was moved back to Heijo-kyo.

Note 2: At that time, people’s living standards were divided into ten levels, from upper-upper households to lower-lower households and equal households. According to Echizen records in 730, more than 90% were equal households. According to another According to the 750-year housing record, about 80% of the households are waiting households, and more than 15% are living households. The so-called waiting households need immediate relief. The lives of ordinary people were so difficult, and one can only imagine what the public security was like at that time.