AD 794-1185 Heian

In 794 the capital was moved from Nara in order to escape the increasing political power of the Buddhist institutions there. The new city of Heian-kyô (‘Peaceful and Tranquil Capital’) lay to the north (present-day Kyoto). The Heian period (AD 794-1185) saw the highest degree of refined court culture in Japan, and came to be celebrated in later centuries as the classical era of art and literature. During this period Japanese cultural forms began to develop a style of their own, particularly after the diplomatic break with the Chinese Tang court in 894.

Esoteric Buddhism was introduced by priests who went to study in China. In contrast to the worldly concerns of Nara Buddhism, this concentrated more on the conceptual nature of the deities, and involved meditation focused on spiritual diagrams called mandalas. There was also an increasing belief in rebirth in the western Pure Land of Amida Buddha.

Members of the great Fujiwara family held political power as regents in the middle of the Heian period. From the late 11th century the imperial clan managed to regain control of government, and retired emperors ruled from behind the scenes. However, by now the warrior clans in the provinces had grown in strength, and they stepped into the power vacuum created by a succession dispute in the late 12th century.