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The Nara Period (Nara Jidai) of ancient Japan (710-794 CE), so called because for most of that time the capital was located at Nara, then known as Heijokyo, was a short period of transition prior to the significant Heian Period.
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Heian period, in Japanese history, the period between 794 and 1185, named for the location of the imperial capital, which was moved from Nara to Heian-kyō (Kyōto) in 794.
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Kamakura period, in Japanese history, the period from 1192 to 1333 during which the basis of feudalism was firmly established. It was named for the city where Minamoto Yoritomo set up the headquarters of his military government, commonly known as the Kamakura shogunate.
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Muromachi period, also called Ashikaga Period, in Japanese history, period of the Ashikaga Shogunate (1338–1573). It was named for a district in Kyōto, where the first Ashikaga shogun, Takauji, established his administrative headquarters.
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The building of great castles and mansions replaced temple architecture. Indeed, the period is named for two castles, Azuchi, built by Oda on the shore of Lake Biwa, and Momoyama, built by Hideyoshi in Kyōto.
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The Edo period, or Tokugawa period is between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional daimyō.