Asuka, Yamato - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

was one of the Imperial capitals of Japan during the Asuka period

Asuka period

The , was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 , although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period...

(538

538

Year 538 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iohannes without colleague...

– 710

710

Year 710 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 710 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* The Asuka period, the second and last part...

AD), which takes its name from this place. It is located in the present-day village of Asuka

Asuka, Nara

is a village located in Takaichi District, Nara, Japan.As of September 1, 2007, the village has an estimated population of 6,146 and a density of 255.23 persons per km². The total area is 24.08 km².Asuka is the land where ancient palaces were located...

, Nara Prefecture

Nara Prefecture

is a prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshū Island, Japan. The capital is the city of Nara.-History:The present-day Nara Prefecture was created in 1887, making it independent of Osaka Prefecture....

.

Some of the many theories of what the place was named after include the bird Common Crossbill

Common Crossbill

The Common Crossbill is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It breeds in the spruce forests of North America, where it is known as Red Crossbill, as well as Europe and Asia; some populations breed in pine forests in certain areas of all three continents, and in North...

, or isuka in Japanese, or local geological features, e.g. 洲処 (suka, meaning sandbar, sandbank or delta) or 崩地 (asu) + 処 (ka).