The Interactive Map of 12th Century Kyoto

Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over one thousand years. It was the capital city during the Heian period, when it was the center of the Japanese imperial court.

You can now explore Kyoto as it was in the 12th Century, during the Heian period, on a new interactive map. The Heiankyo Overlay Map portrays a map of Kyoto during the Heian years overlaid on top of Google Maps. The map includes a slider control that allows you to adjust the opacity of the historical map to view the modern Google Map of the city underneath.

The historical map of Kyoto is obviously a modern rendering of how the city looked from 794 to 1185, during the Heian period. It shows that there have been a lot of changes in Kyoto since the Heian period, however it is clear that much of the modern grid pattern of Kyoto dates back at least a thousand years.