A palace complex at the northern end of the Japanese capital, Heian-kyô, housed the imperial court. The lifestyle cultivated by its members was one of remarkable aesthetic refinement. Court life was based around a strict social hierarchy, and appearances were of great importance.

The imperial family members and other nobles, such as the Fujiwara family, who lived in the capital spent their long hours of leisure engaged in various cultural pursuits. Poetry was an important mode of communication, especially in romantic relations, and knowledge of poetry anthologies was essential for participation in court life. In dress, too, careful aesthetic consideration was given to the combination of colours and fabrics in the multi-layered robes. Aristocrats played the biwa (lute) and the koto (Japanese harp); they blended incense, painted, copied sutras and took part in elaborate ceremonies. Games were played based on skills of sensory discernment, such as incense identification, the shell-matching game, and painting contests.

Elegance was also displayed in aristocratic residences, which usually consisted of several single-storey buildings with verandas, connected by covered walkways and giving onto landscaped gardens containing lakes and streams. The cultural refinement of the capital was copied by powerful families in the regions. Hiraizumi, in Mutsu province (present-day Iwate Prefecture), was known as the 'cultural capital of the north,' in particular for its lavish temple complex, Chûsonji.