Asuka Palace Site

Historic Site World Heritage

Prefecture

Nara

Type

Historic Site · World Heritage: Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara

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About This Destination

The spot in the middle of Asuka where several 7th-century rulers built their palaces one on top of another, from Emperor Jomei's to the Kiyomihara palace of Tenmu and Jito. Here Soga no Iruka was assassinated in 645. Today it is a small field with a restored stone pavement and a large stone-lined well. Free and open at all times. One of the 19 parts of the Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara World Heritage property.

There is not much here, and it helps to know that before you arrive. The Asuka Palace Site is a small grassy plot among rice fields and houses in the middle of Asuka, with a stretch of stone paving and a big stone-lined well laid out where excavators found them. No buildings stand. You can see it all in ten minutes. What makes the stop worthwhile is knowing what happened under your feet.

Before the 7th century the court tended to move whenever a new ruler took the throne. Here, for the first time, it stayed put. Emperor Jomei built his Okamoto palace on this spot, Empress Kogyoku her Itabuki palace, Empress Saimei the Later Okamoto palace, and finally Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jito the Kiyomihara palace, used until the court moved to Fujiwara-kyo in 694. The layers lie stacked in the ground. The paving and well you see belong to the top one, Tenmu's.

The best-known day in its history came in 645, at Kogyoku's Itabuki palace. Prince Naka no Oe, later Emperor Tenji, and his allies killed Soga no Iruka in front of the empress, ending the Soga clan's grip on power and leading to the reforms Japanese schoolchildren learn as the Taika Reform. For a long time the site was known only by tradition as the Itabuki palace; in 2016, after decades of digging had shown several palaces, its official name became simply Asuka Palace Site.

It is one of the 19 parts of the Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara, added to the World Heritage list on 26 July 2026, alongside the palace garden pond a little to the north-west, which is a separate part.

Practical notes: entry is free and the site is always open, but there is little shade, no cafe and nothing to read beyond the signboards. Treat it as a stop between other places. Asuka-dera is about 10 minutes' walk north, and Ishibutai Kofun about 15 minutes south-east. Tachibana-dera is a short ride south-west.

Location

Prefecture: Nara

Address: Asuka, Nara, Japan

Nearest Station: Oka Tenrikyo-mae bus stop (Asuka loop bus)

Best time to visit: Spring and autumn, as a stop on a bicycle loop round Asuka; there is little shade, so avoid midday in summer

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Visitor Information

Credit Cards: Unknown

Official Website

Frequently Asked Questions

What is there to see at the Asuka Palace Site?

A restored stone pavement and a large stone-lined well from Emperor Tenmu's Kiyomihara palace, set in a small grassy plot with signboards. No buildings survive, and ten minutes is enough. The point is the history: palaces of several 7th-century rulers stood on this spot.

Is this where Soga no Iruka was killed?

Yes, according to the Nara Prefecture tourism site: the 645 assassination took place at Empress Kogyoku's Itabuki palace, which lies in the layers here. What you see on the surface, though, is from the later Kiyomihara palace of Tenmu and Jito.