Kanmu Era, from

A print depicting a scene from the Kanmu era (781–806) — one of the earliest and most transformative reigns in Japanese imperial history, during which Emperor Kanmu moved the capital from Nara to Nagaoka and then to Kyoto (Heiankyō), establishing the imperial city that would remain Japan's capital until the Meiji Restoration. Chikanobu's historical series depicting the customs and dress of successive imperial eras required extensive research into historical sources, and the Kanmu era scenes would draw on the sparse visual record of the late eighth century.