Taira no Kiyomori moves the imperial capital from Kyoto to Fukuhara in 1180

In 1180, near the end of the Heian period, Taira no Kiyomori, head of the powerful Taira clan, ordered the imperial court to leave Kyoto, the capital since 794. Emperor Antoku, his young grandson, and the retired emperor Takakura were moved to Fukuhara, a port area on the coast of present-day Kobe.

Kiyomori had long favoured the area. He had developed the harbour there to expand trade with Song-dynasty China, and he owned a residence nearby. Moving the court placed the throne close to his power base and away from the influence of Kyoto's powerful Buddhist monasteries and rival nobles.

The move was unpopular with many courtiers, who complained that the new site was unprepared and lacked proper palaces and streets. Armed opposition from the Minamoto clan was also growing that year. Within about six months, the court returned to Kyoto, so Fukuhara served as capital only briefly. The episode remains a notable moment in the Genpei War era, which ended with the fall of the Taira in 1185, and it is why archaeologists still search Kobe for traces of the short-lived capital.