大和
Yamato is a
plain in central
Japan, around the ancient city of
Nara: while most of Yamato is in Nara
Prefecture, parts of it spill over into
Kyoto Prefecture. The Yamato Plain is where modern Japanese
civilization began in the first few centuries
CE, and was the sociopolitical hub of the country until
Heiankyo (
Kyoto) was chosen as the Emperor's seat in 794. The
Nara Period, centered around Yamato, was one of Japan's
golden ages: the
Kojiki and
Manyoshu, Japan's earliest literary works, were written at this time, and that is how Yamato came to refer to Japan.