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*''Japanese'': 船岡山 ''(funaoka-yama)''

Funaoka-yama is a small elegant mountain about 112 meters high, and 25000 ''[[tsubo]]'' in area, located in the north of [[Kyoto]]. It was the ancient reference point for the northern direction in the [[Heian period|Heian]] capital.

The site is also significant as the base of [[Yamana Sozen|Yamana Sôzen's]] "Western Army" during the [[Onin War|Ônin War]], as a result of which the surrounding neighborhood came to be known as [[Nishijin]] (lit. "western camp").

Today, Funaoka is home to a public park, which contains [[Kenkun Shrine]] (a shrine dedicated to [[Oda Nobunaga]]), and one of the few protected natural virgin forests in the city.

==History==
When Kyoto was established as the imperial capital, it was designed in accordance with ancient Chinese concepts of geomancy, incorporating ''[[feng shui]]'', [[yin & yang]], and the [[five elements]]. Funaoka was associated with [[Genbu]], the "Dark Warrior" and guardian of the north; the hill served as the reference point for north within the city, and the [[Daigokuden]] (main central throne room palace building) was placed directly south of it. Suzaku-ôji, the capital's main north-south avenue, located to the south of the palace, similarly lined up with Funaoka-yama.

For people of the Heian court, Funaoka was a place of leisure and recreation. Heian poet [[Sei Shonagon|Sei Shônagon]] mentioned Funaoka in her "''[[Makura no soshi|Makura no sôshi]]''," writing the line "[as for] hills, there is Funaoka...". Many ''[[waka]]'' poems also survive mentioning Funaoka, by poets such as [[Kiyowara Motosuke]] and [[Fujiwara Shunzei]].

Centuries later, at the time of the Ônin War (1467-1477) which started off the [[Sengoku period]] (1467-1600), Funaoka became the base of the Western Army led by Yamana Sôzen, giving the surrounding neighborhood its name, Nishijin.

Following the [[1582]] death of [[Oda Nobunaga]] in the [[Honnoji Incident|Honnôji Incident]], [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], with the permission of [[Emperor Ogimachi|Emperor Ôgimachi]], had a shrine to Nobunaga built at Funaoka. Funaoka thus came to be known as an important place associated with Nobunaga, and in [[1869]], the [[Meiji Emperor]] had [[Kenkun Shrine]] built there. The [[Ministry of Education]] (Monbushô), recognizing Funaokayama as a whole as an important historical site, has officially designated the mountain a "national historical landmark". The land cannot be changed, and there are preservation/conservation efforts to protect it. Furthermore, the prefectural and city governments of Kyoto have designated the mountain as an important site in various other ways.

==References==
*Plaques on-site.

[[Category:Geographic Locations]]
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