Japan — The Imperial House and the Moving Capital — 7th–20th centuries

Historical focus: 7th–20th centuries. Dates describe the main subject, not the publication date; later afterlives may also appear.

Japan presents a palace history unlike Egypt or the Ottoman Empire. The central dynastic institution is one Imperial House, while the location and political meaning of the court repeatedly changed. Fujiwara → Heijō/Nara → Heian/Kyoto → Tokyo Fujiwara Palace formed the centre of Japan's first large Chinese-style permanent capital. Heijō Palace then became the political and ceremonial centre of Nara from 710 to 784.

In 794 Emperor Kanmu moved the capital to Heian-kyō. Kyoto remained the home of the imperial court for more than a thousand years. The original Heian palace did not survive, and the court moved through temporary residences before the present Kyoto Imperial Palace site became established from 1331. Japanese court culture also created separate residences for retired emperors. Kyoto Sentō Imperial Palace was built for Emperor Emeritus Go-Mizunoo in 1630. Katsura and Shugakuin show another category: imperial villas where dynasty, literature, architecture and landscape became inseparable.

The Meiji Restoration transformed the geography of the court. The former Edo Castle became the Tokyo Imperial Palace in 1868, and the sovereign's everyday residence shifted from Kyoto to Tokyo. The modern Tokyo palace separates residence, official duties and state ceremony across one large complex. The current Kyūden was completed in 1968 and entered use in 1969; the Fukiage Imperial Residence is the living quarters of the Emperor and Empress. Japan therefore adds several important Royal Palaces categories: archaeological capital palace, living imperial palace, retired-emperor palace, imperial villa and cadet-branch princely villa.

The central story is not dynastic replacement. It is continuity through changing capitals.