All Japanese names are written in the customary Japanese manner, family name followed by given name. Months and days are given according to the lunar calendar, although years are rounded to the closest equivalent in the Western calendar. For example, Enbun 3/8/22 refers to the twenty-second day of the eighth month of 1358. For Japanese imperial years (nengo) between 1336 and 1392, those of the Northern Court are used throughout.
In this study, all of Kyoto’s thoroughfares are called “roads.” Calling them “avenues,” “boulevards,” “lanes,” or anything else based on relative size or location can invite confusion because each of these words can mean something different in different cultural contexts. The only exception is the use of the word “street” in reference to a social phenomenon, as in “the street as the center of daily life.” The names of all roads, locations, and buildings are indicated using the current consensus on their contemporaneous readings. The homes of elite members of Kyoto society are referred to as “palaces.” This is a rough equivalent of the Japanese suffix “dono” customarily attached to the names of such properties. It is not an implication about opulence or grandeur. Indeed, during long stretches of the city’s history, these “palaces” were often not particularly palatial.
“Heian-kyo” is used to refer to the capital during the classical era, up to about the eleventh century. Beyond that, “Kyoto” is used primarily. The reason for this linguistic shift has nothing to do with historical naming practices. In fact, as far as we can tell, the proper noun “Heian-kyo” was almost never used, not even during the Heian period. It appears in an eighth-century poem composed around the time of the city’s establishment and then only sporadically thereafter, and almost always in literary ways. Instead, throughout the premodern era, contemporaries tended to signify their city using one of several common (rather than proper) nouns that meant plainly “the capital.” Written using a variety of ideographs and character combinations, we read the most
Common among these today as “Kyoto" “Miyako" or “Kyo" and use each as a proper noun. How each of these words was read contemporaneously, however, and whether or not they were used as proper nouns is not known and is most likely unknowable. Readings and usages notwithstanding, it is important to note that, contrary to popular understanding, no substantial change in the city’s name, formal or otherwise, occurred during the transition from the classical to medieval eras. The naming distinction made in this study (from Heian-kyo to Kyoto) leverages popular conventions to emphasize the dramatic material and political changes that took place in about the eleventh century. While the conventions are discursive, the changes were most certainly real.
Unless otherwise noted, all figures and photographs in this book have been produced by the author. More are available at Www. kyotohistory. com.
Abbreviations used in notes:
AHK Nicolas Fieve, ed., Atlas historieque de Kyoto
CHJ Cambridge History of Japan
CYK(i) Fujiwara Munetada, Chuyuki (Iwanami shoten)
CYK(r) Fujiwara Munetada, Chuyuki (Rinsen shoten)
DNS Dai Nihon shiryo
GMK Sanjo Kintada, Gogumaiki
GR Gunsho ruiju
KR Kyoto-shi, ed., Kyoto no rekishi
KST Kokushi taikei (shintei zoho)
MMK Nakahara Moromori, Moromoriki
SKR Kyoto-shi, ed., Shiryo Kyoto no rekishi
Conventions and Abbreviations
World History
