As of 2015, Fukuoka is Japan’s fifth largest city, having passed the population of Kobe. As of July 2011, Fukuoka is having passed the population of Kyoto. Since the founding of Kyoto in 794, this marks the first time that a city west of the Kinki region has a larger population than Kyoto. In ancient times, however, the area near Fukuoka, the Chikushi region, was thought by some historians to have possibly been even more influential than the Yamato region.