Heian period

are syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. In current usage, kana most commonly refers to hiragana and katakana. It can also refer to their ancestor , which were Chinese characters used phonetically to transcribe Japanese (e.g. ''man'yōgana); and hentaigana'', which are historical variants of the now-standard hiragana.

last major division of classical Japanese history (794 to 1185), named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto

stage of the Japanese language during the Heian period (794–1185)

the most powerful and important noble clan in the Japanese history

thumb|Scale model of Heian-kyō thumb|Daidairi (, palace in the center) and the cityscape of Heian-kyō (miniature model at the Kyoto City Life-long Learning Center) was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the de jure capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1869. However, Heian-kyō was never explicitly abandoned as the capital. Today, it is said that Tokyo has effectively replaced Kyoto as the capital, but there is a viewpoint that, in theory, Kyoto still holds the position of the capital. Emperor Saga also declared that Heian-kyō would remain t

thumb|A game of kemari at Tanzan Shrine is an athletic football game that was popular during the Heian (794–1185) and Kamakura (1185–1333) periods of Japan. It resembles a game of keepie uppie or hacky sack.

thumb|300 px|Model of the Higashi Sanjo-dono|Higashi Sanjō-dono (ja), a typical shinden-zukuri architectural complex (no longer extant). ---- 1. Shinden (寝殿), 2. Kita-no-tai (北対), 3. Hosodono (細殿), 4. Higashi-no-tai 東対, 5. Higashi-kita-no-tai (東北対) 6. Samurai-dokoro (侍所), 7. Watadono (渡殿), 8. Chūmon-rō (中門廊), 9. Tsuridono (釣殿)

or , meaning, "moon-viewing", are Japanese festivals honoring the autumn moon, a variant of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The celebration of the full moon typically takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Japanese calendar, known as ; the waxing moon is celebrated on the 13th day of the ninth month, known as . These days normally fall in September and October of the modern solar calendar.

war

is a general term for Japan's Six National Histories chronicling the mythology and history of Japan from the earliest times to 887. The six histories were written at the imperial court during the 8th and 9th centuries, under order of the Emperors. The basic sources were the court records kept by the Ministry of Central Imperial Affairs, and the biographies of meritorious officials composed in the Ministry of Ceremonial Affairs.

literary form of the Japanese language, standard until WW2, based on Heian-period Early Middle Japanese with later influences

Japanese samurai dinasty

is a garden with Buddhist temple located in the approximate center of the modern city of Kyoto, Japan. The temple belongs to the Tō-ji-branch of Shingon-shū and its honzon is a statue of Sho-Kannon. The pond and garden are the last surviving remnant of the original Heian Palace and is the oldest existing garden in Kyoto. It 1935, Shinsen-en was designated a National Historic Site.

right|thumb|280px|Miniature Model of Saiji, Heiankyo (Kyoto City Heiankyo Sosei-Kan Museum) or the West Temple was a Buddhist temple located in the Karahashi neighborhood of the Minami ward of the city of Kyoto, Japan. The temple no longer exists, and its ruins were designated a National Historic Site in 1921, with the area under protection expanded in 1966.

type of Shinto shrine where the kami of a region are grouped together into a single sanctuary

11th century Japanese historical text

thumb|A mural of women in Goguryeo-style clothing on the western wall of the [[Takamatsuzuka Tomb (Kofun), believed to be depicting Toraijins from Goguryeo during the Asuka period.]] Toraijin () refers to the people who migrated to the Japan archipelago from the continent in ancient times, as well as their descendants. Up until the 1960s, these people were commonly called the "Kikajin ()", meaning "naturalized people", but beginning in the 1970s, the term was replaced by "Toraijin", meaning "people who have crossed over" as not all those who came to Japan became naturalized.

type of blue-gray pottery from Japan and Korea

Japanese pottery

historical text

emakimono painted in the second half of the 12th century