Construction on the site of Fujiwara-kyo had…

Construction on the site of Fujiwara-kyo had begun as early as 682, near the end of the reign of Emperor Temmu, as revealed by ongoing excavations from 2006.

With a brief halt upon Emperor Temmu's death, construction had resumed under Empress Jitō, who officially moved Japan's capital from Asuka to Fujiwara-kyo in 694.

Fujiwara is Japan's first capital built in a grid pattern on the Chinese model; recent investigation has revealed that the city covered an area of roughly five kilometers, much larger than previously thought.

The palace occupies a plot measuring about one square kilometer, and is surrounded by walls roughly five meters high.

Each of the four walls has three gates; Suzakumon, the main gate, stands at the center of the south wall.

The Daigokuden and other palace buildings are the first palace structures in Japan to have a tile roof in the Chinese style.

The area had previously been the domain of the Nakatomi clan, who oversee the observation of Shintō rituals and ceremonies on behalf of the Imperial court.