Changes

===Founding of Heian-kyô===

===Founding of Heian-kyô===

At the end of the [[Nara Period]], in 784, the court moved from its capital at Nara to a newly built capital in Nagaoka, known as [[Nagaoka-kyo|Nagaoka-kyô]].  The move was prompted by the rise in power of the local [[Buddhist temple]]s, which are said to have exerted an undue influence on the politics of this era.  This capital was only to last for about 10 years until it was abandoned, ostensibly because of a curse by the spirit of a vengeful prince.  The court moved again to a new capital, on the same site that would eventually become modern Kyoto.  The site was chosen for its auspicious nature according to Chinese geomantic principles, including mountains on three sides, flowing waters, etc.  It was laid out in an auspicious grid of nine main roads running north-south and east-west.  The [[Kyoto Imperial Palace|Dairi]], or Imperial Residence, was situated in the center of the city to the north.  The city proper was surrounded by gated walls which restricted the flow of traffic to and from the city.

At the end of the [[Nara Period]], in 784, the court moved from its capital at Nara to a newly built capital in Nagaoka, known as [[Nagaoka-kyo|Nagaoka-kyô]].  The move was prompted by the rise in power of the local [[Buddhist temple]]s, which are said to have exerted an undue influence on the politics of this era.  This capital was only to last for about 10 years until it was abandoned, ostensibly because of a curse by the spirit of a vengeful prince.  The court moved again to a new capital, on the same site that would eventually become modern Kyoto.  The site was chosen for its auspicious nature according to Chinese geomantic principles, including mountains on three sides, flowing waters, etc.  It was laid out in an auspicious grid of nine main roads running north-south and east-west.  The [[Kyoto Imperial Palace|Dairi]], or Imperial Residence, was situated in the center of the city to the north.  The city proper was surrounded by gated walls which restricted the flow of traffic to and from the city.

===Fujiwara Regency===

===Fujiwara Regency===

As princes and princesses of the Imperial line grew more numerous, succession disputes would have become extremely complicated without a method of disinheriting offspring.  This was commonly done by assigning them to a non-Imperial house, and granting them a new surname, such as Minamoto or Taira.

As princes and princesses of the Imperial line grew more numerous, succession disputes would have become extremely complicated without a method of disinheriting offspring.  This was commonly done by assigning them to a non-Imperial house, and granting them a new surname, such as Minamoto or Taira.

The samurai class as a whole emerged from a combination of these disinherited lineages turning to military activities, and warriors from the provinces being hired by the Court to provide military service. The Imperial Court had exercised a conscript system during the Nara period, but abandoned this in [[792]] in favor of simply hiring warriors from the provinces. These warriors were freed from tax obligations in exchange for their service, and quickly came to embrace the warrior identity, focusing on warrior training and passing down that identity to their children, forming a new social class of warrior lineages and households; because they served the Court, they came to be known by a noun form of the verb ''saburau'', "to serve": ''samurai''.<ref>[[Albert M. Craig]], ''The Heritage of Japanese Civilization'', Second Edition, Prentice Hall (2011), 20.</ref>

The samurai class as a whole emerged from a combination of these disinherited lineages turning to military activities, and warriors from the provinces being hired by the Court to provide military service. The Imperial Court had exercised a conscript system during the Nara period, but abandoned this in [[792]] in favor of simply hiring warriors from the provinces. These warriors were freed from tax obligations in exchange for their service, and quickly came to embrace the warrior identity, focusing on warrior training and passing down that identity to their children, forming a new social class of warrior lineages and households; because they served the Court, they came to be known by a noun form of the verb ''saburau'', "to serve": ''samurai''.<ref>Craig, 20.</ref>

===Hôgen and Heiji Disturbances===

===Hôgen and Heiji Disturbances===