Crossword Clue: Ancient Japanese capital
Here's the answer to the Ancient Japanese capital crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: KYOTO
The answer to "Ancient Japanese capital" is KYOTO. Kyoto runs 5 letters — 2 vowels and 3 consonants — opening with K and closing on O. In a grid it fills a 5-square slot whose letters are each shared with a crossing word, so the intersections do a lot of the heavy lifting when the clue itself is tough.
Origin & meaning
Kyoto was Japan's imperial capital for over a thousand years before Tokyo. It boasts more than 1,600 Buddhist temples and hundreds of Shinto shrines. The city was spared atomic bombing in WWII partly for its cultural value.
Common usage
You'll see KYOTO in grids regularly — its 5-letter, 2 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the K or O, KYOTO tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like KYOTO are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet KYOTO again and again, and recognizing it instantly is one of the quiet skills that separates fast solvers from slow ones.
Stuck on this clue?
The fastest way past a stubborn clue like this one is the grid itself: pencil in the easy crossing answers first, and KYOTO will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue KYOTO — sometimes with a straight dictionary definition, sometimes with wordplay, a pun, or a fill-in-the-blank — but the answer itself stays the same. Learning to spot the answer behind the disguise is a core crossword skill.
Example sentences
- "Once the K was confirmed by the crossing word, KYOTO was the only entry that fit."
- "A 5-letter slot and a clue like 'Ancient Japanese capital'? That's KYOTO nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed KYOTO was right."