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The capital is located in Nara, a small town close to Kyoto, and a number of large Buddhist temples are built to protect the emperor. A time of close ties with China.
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A time of rapid cultural change strongly influenced by China, led from modern-day Kyoto.
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Japan is dominated by powerful military families, and the arts are highly decorated in style.
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In the Kamakura Period, Minamoto no Yoritomo creates the first 'warrior government' or shogunate in 1193. The Minamoto family rules from Kamakura, a coastal town of Japan not far from modern-day Tokyo.
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In the Muromachi Period, the Ashikaga clan rules as the shoguns. They move the capital in Kyoto in the Muromachi district.
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The Momoyama period (or Azuchi-Momoyama period) were the final years of the Medieval Period, which ended the "Warring States' and Medieval periods, when 'three great unifiers' united the country by force under a military government.
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In the Tokugawa (Edo) Period, Japan is united under the Tokugawa clan and society is reorganized around four classes: samurai, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants. Life centers on Edo (Tokyo), the new capital Japan.