Asuka Palace Site (traditionally the Asuka Itabuki Palace Site)

Palaces in three layers

This is the site of palaces from the Asuka period (late 6th to early 8th century). Excavations revealed that palaces from different periods were built here in three layers, one on top of another.

In the Asuka period, a new palace was normally built whenever a new ruler came to the throne. Even so, this one spot was chosen again and again. For several decades, the political centre of Asuka was here.

The individual palaces

The lowest layer is thought to be Emperor Jomei's Asuka Okamoto Palace (630). Above it is Empress Kōgyoku's Asuka Itabuki Palace (643).

The top layer is divided in two: Empress Saimei's Later Asuka Okamoto Palace (656), and the Asuka Kiyomihara Palace of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō, which took it over. It was used until the capital moved to Fujiwara-kyō in 694.

The name Itabuki ("board-roofed") comes from its roof of wooden boards. Earlier palaces had thatched roofs, so a board roof was a novelty.

The Isshi Incident

The Isshi Incident of 645 is said to have taken place in this Itabuki Palace.

During a ceremony at which envoys from the three Korean kingdoms presented tribute, Prince Naka-no-Ōe and Nakatomi no Kamatari killed Soga no Iruka. This began the series of reforms known as the Taika Reforms, and the capital moved to Naniwa.

A scene found in every Japanese history textbook took place here, in what are now rice fields.

What you can see on the surface

What is visible today are the remains of the top layer: a square paved with stones, and in its centre the site of a stone-lined well about 2.4 m on each side.

The white posts dotted around mark the positions where building pillars once stood. Following their lines, you can read the size and orientation of each building, and even how its rooms were divided.

The stone paving is thought to have been laid to create a space for ceremonies.

The Ebinoko Enclosure

In the southeast corner is an area called the Ebinoko Enclosure. Inside a walled compound, the remains of a large building about 29 m east–west and 15 m north–south were found.

It is thought to be the Daigokuden (Great Hall of State) of the Asuka Kiyomihara Palace. It is the first example of the main hall, where the emperor conducted government business and ceremonies, being set within its own separate compound. The form that led to the Daigokuden of Fujiwara-kyō and Heijō-kyō was born here.

Why the name changed

The site was designated a national Historic Site in 1972. Its original name was "Den Asuka Itabuki-no-miya Ato," meaning the site "traditionally said to be" the Itabuki Palace.

Later excavations made it clear that several palaces were layered here, and a name referring only to the Itabuki Palace no longer fitted the facts. So in 2016 it was renamed the "Asuka Palace Site."

Visiting

About 5 minutes on foot from the "Oka-hashimoto" stop on the Asuka loop bus from Kintetsu Kashiharajingu-mae Station. Admission is free and the site is open at all times.

The remains lie low among the fields, and there are no buildings. Still, once you know a palace stood here, the hills and villages behind look different. The site lies midway between Ishibutai Kofun and Asuka-dera Temple.