Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Illustrations -- Tables -- Explanatory Notes -- List of Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Part One The Founding of a New Capital -- Chapter One Prince Yamabe's Rise to Prominence -- 1.1 Yamabe's Paternal and Maternal Ancestry -- 1.2 From Government Offi cial to Sovereign -- Chapter Two Why Establish a New Capital? -- 2.1 A Flight from Buddhist Infl uence? -- 2.2 The Confi rmation of the Shift toward the Tenji Line -- Chapter Three The Search for a Suitable Site -- 3.1 Better Transportation Facilities -- 3.2 A Transfer Backed by Local Families? -- Part Two The Construction of the Nagaoka Capital -- Chapter Four The First Phase of Construction -- 4.1 The Importance of the Secondary Capital at Naniwa -- 4.2 Wake no Kiyomaro and the Settsu Offi ce -- Chapter Five The Assassination of Fujiwara no Tanetsugu -- Chapter Six The Second Phase of Construction -- Part Three The Layout of the Nagaoka Capital -- Chapter Seven The Basic Plan of a Chinese-style Capital City -- Chaper Eight The Nagaoka Palace Enclosure -- 8.1 The Palace Gates -- 8.2 Government Offi ces and Other Administrative Structures -- 8.3 Kanmu's Residential Quarters -- 8.4 Summary: Innovations at the Nagaoka Palace -- Chapter Nine The Urban Centre at Nagaoka -- 9.1 The Proposed Grid Plans of the Nagaoka Capital -- 9.2 The Role of the Urban Centre -- 9.3 Summary: The Nagaoka City Grid -- Part Four Why Abandon the Nagaoka Capital? -- Chapter Ten Another Transfer of Capitals -- Chapter Eleven Kanmu's Centralised Power -- Chapter Twelve Why Leave the Nagaoka Capital? -- 12.1 The Financial Support of the Hata Family -- 12.2 The Vengeful Ghost of Sawara -- 12.3 The Risk of Flooding -- Chapter Thirteen The Perfect Site for a New Capital City -- Conclusion -- Appendix -- Glossaries -- Bibliography -- Index.