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.