Palaces reflected the social relations in the ruling elite. Emperors tended to have multiple consorts, who would live in their natal region for some years after a relationship was formalized, so the emperor would move his residence from time to time, living in one of several relatively modest palaces. Investigations at Asuka in the southern Nara Basin, which begin in 1951, uncovered foundations of what may have been the Itabuki Palace, occupied in 643 C. E. It is difficult without the precise dating evidence supplied by the MOKKAN, wooden slips containing dated records, to be sure which of many palaces mentioned in the NIHONGI correspond to foundations revealed through archaeology. The same problem of ascription applies to the Naniwa site, where two layers have been found. It has been suggested that the earlier represents the remains of the Nagara Toyosaki Palace of Kotoku, who reigned 645-654 C. E. The Nihongi recorded that on the ninth day of December 645 C. E., the emperor “removed the capital to Toyosaki in Nagara at Naniwa.” By autumn 652, the palace was complete. It was clearly an impressive structure, for the Nihongi noted: “The building of the palace was completed. It is impossible to describe the appearance of the palace halls.” Excavations have revealed the layout of this complex. The royal residence, two structures joined by a passageway, the whole covering an area of 113 by 123 meters (373 by 406 ft.), lay at the north. To the south a massive gate opened onto a courtyard containing official administrative buildings, On each side of the gate there stood octagonal towers. This court was walled and could be entered by a further gate on the southern wall. The records note that the palace was destroyed by fire, and this has been confirmed by the quantities of ash encountered during the excavations. With the death of Kotoku, the palace was abandoned and moved, under the emperor tenji (r. 668-671 C. E.), to Otsu north of Nara city. It was occupied for only a few years until the emperor’s death; its location was identified in 1993.
Palaces in Capital Cities
Toward the end of the seventh century a major policy change saw the construction of large and visually impressive capital cities, first at fujiwara and in 710 C. E. at HEIJO-KYO. Each had at its center a palace compound that combined living quarters for the ruler, an audience hall, and administrative offices for the bureaucracy. There can, therefore, be no doubt as to the authenticity of the palace at Fujiwara, the capital between 686 and 707 C. E. built under the orders of the empress JITO (r. 686-97 C. E.). Measuring nearly a kilometer square and located centrally in the new city, it was surrounded by a large stone wall flanked on the inside and on the exterior by moats. The royal residence was placed in the northern part of this precinct, and although largely destroyed, it is known to have covered an area of 305 by 350 meters (1007 by 1155 ft.). To the south lay an impressive audience hall and beyond it the buildings of the state administration. Much energy was expended in the construction of this palace, including the moving of 4,000 wooden posts seven meters high from a distance of 54 kilometers. However, with the death of Emperor Mommu in 707 C. E., this city was abandoned in favor of a new capital at Nara. The choice of the new capital and palace was determined by several factors. First, GEOMANCY and divination decreed the most auspicious site. This happened to be precisely to the north of Fujiwara, the existing capital, and 20 kilometers distant. In more mundane terms, the site provided easy and direct riverine access to the Inland Sea to the west.
The capital at Nara was longer lived than its predecessors, and the energy expended in its construction exceeded that at Fujiwara. Massive tree trunks had to be rafted to the site, stone quarried, and thousands of ceramic tiles fired. Modeled on the Tang capital of Chang’an, then the largest city in the world, the walled palace at Nara covered an area of 1.3 by 1.0 kilometers and was entered by 12 gateways. Archaeologists have identified through the recovery of mokkan the foundations of the war ministry at the southwest corner of the complex and the imperial stables, including barns for the storage of hay. The kitchens were associated with huge wells, and the status of the palace as a virtual city within a city is further to be seen in the presence of processing plants, such as that for the preparation of rice wine. Pleasure gardens were laid out on a grand scale. There were two distinct parts of the royal palace complex, the western and the eastern. These were constructed over a large kofun, or keyhole tomb, that had to be removed. Both parts of the palace were modified over the course of time, leading to the presence of two construction layers. During the earlier phase, the western palace had two compounds. One contained four long halls of unknown function. The northern section probably contained an audience hall. The eastern part was more complex with three precincts, the northern one the living quarters of the emperor. A more complex series of buildings was constructed during the second phase, including an additional compound on the eastern section. The two new halls and those in the compound to the north were designated for administrative officials’ use. These in turn gave way to the audience hall, with the imperial residence beyond that. It has been suggested that the construction of two separate palaces was a deliberate attempt to copy the layout of the Tang palaces of Chang’an in China.
See also confucius.
Rudravarman (c. 514-550 c. e.) Rudravarman (Protege of Siva) is mentioned in Chinese records as being the king of Funan who sent a tribute mission to China in 519 c. e.
He was the younger son of jayavarman of funan and overthrew his older brother to claim the throne. Michael vickery has noted that succession of the younger son is not unusual in Angkorian politics. An inscription from Kdei Ang dated 667 c. e. gives the names of successive members of an elite family and the kings they served. It begins with Brahmadatta, a retainer of King Rudravar-man of Funan, and then proceeds to list those who served early rulers of a chenla kingdom. Not only does this text confirm the existence of a king Rudravarman detailed in the Chinese records, but it also reveals a thread of political continuity between Funan and Chenla.
Rummindei See lumbini.
Rupnagar See ropar.
World History
