Kyoto (Heian-kyō) was Japan's capital for more than 1,000 years — from 794 until the emperor moved to Tokyo after the Meiji Restoration.

794 · 1868 · apart: 1074 years

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The events

• Founding of Heian-kyō794 · Heian-kyō. Emperor Kammu moved Japan's capital to the newly built city of Heian-kyō, today's Kyoto. It remained the imperial seat for over a thousand years and gave its name to the Heian period, the flowering of Japanese court culture.
• Meiji Restoration1868 · Kyoto. In 1868 the Tokugawa shogunate was abolished and power formally returned to Emperor Meiji. Japan, until recently closed to the outside world, carried out Western-style reforms and within decades became an industrial and military power.

8th century · 19th century

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