Ruins believed to be part of the Goshominami-oji avenue laid out for the Fukuhara capital built by Taira no Kiyomori have been found at the Gion site in Shimo-Sanjo-cho, Hyogo Ward, Kobe, the city announced on Friday. It is the first time clear ruins of the capital, often called a "phantom capital," have been confirmed.
Kobe showed the find to reporters. The excavation took place on the site of a former house next to the old Hirano Elementary School, ahead of construction of housing and commercial facilities.
The structure runs about 52 meters long and 12 to 13 meters wide, laid out in a straight line from northeast to southwest and raised a step above the surrounding ground, with stones lining both sides of the road. It is thought to date to around the late Heian period.
A capital built and quickly left behind
Kiyomori left Kyoto for Fukuhara in 1180 and built a palace and roads there. A nobleman's diary describing the move of Emperor Antoku records that the emperor set out from the Yukimi Palace and first headed east along Goshominami-oji. No buildings or other structures had been confirmed before, leaving the capital's actual state a mystery.
A curator at the city's cultural properties division said the discovery means the site's position can now be estimated concretely rather than being treated as a phantom.
The city will hold an on-site briefing on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free and visitors may come and go as they please. The event will go ahead in light rain, and details are on the website Odekake KOBE.