<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (October 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (October 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Heian - kyō (平安京, literally "tranquility and peace capital") was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto . It was the official capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180 . </P> <P> Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, moving the Imperial Court there from nearby Nagaoka - kyō at the recommendation of his advisor Wake no Kiyomaro and marking the beginning of the Heian period of Japanese history . The city was modelled after the Tang dynasty Chinese capital of Chang'an (modern - day Xi'an). It remained the chief political center until 1185, when the samurai Minamoto clan defeated the Taira clan in the Genpei War, moving administration of national affairs to Kamakura and establishing the Kamakura shogunate . </P>

When did the japanese emperor move the capital to heian-kyo