How Did Kammu Reject Nagaoka's Capital In Japan?

Nara has been Japan’s capital for less than a century when the new enthroned Emperor Kammu decided to move it to Nagaoka. Less than a decade after the capital has been moved to Nagaoka, the Emperor decided to relocate the capital again. This time Nagaoka was Japan’s capital for less than a decade. The new capital was relocated in Uda village, later called Heian. Throughout the history, scholars had given different reasons explaining these two relocations. Some reasons seem more plausible than others.
The essay will first centre on Kammu’s motivations to abandon Nara for Nagaoka, and will then, wonder why he then relocated his capital in Heian less than a decade after moving to Nagaoka.

Under the Nara state, the Buddhist Church gained more and more political power, especially under the reign of two peculiarly devoted Buddhist emperors. The first one was the Emperor Shomu (724-749), the other one was his daughter who was first enthroned as Empress Koken and then as Empress Shotoku . It is during this period that Buddhist monks started to gain more political influence. They were not anymore following the strict rules that
Water resources were also another issue; it was complicated to provide drinkable water for the ever-growing population. Naniwa, which was a leading port during this period was not easy to access via Nara, however, with the location of the new capital on the same delta as the port, it made the journey easier . Nagaoka was, however, located on the Yodo River, which was exactly the same river as Naniwa was on. The last two reasons seem the most plausible ones, the Emperor wanted a new beginning and to mark the difference between him and the previous Emperors. He also wanted his capital to be in a better-situated place, where trade could be more easily done with the