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Topic 7 - How Was The Nara Period Different From Rest of The Eras
Topic 7 - How Was The Nara Period Different From Rest of The Eras
The Nara period (奈良時代 Nara jidai) of the history of Japan covers the
years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō
(present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was
briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor
Beginning with the establishment of the new imperial capital at Nara in 710,
the Nara Period marked the incipient stage of the classical era of Japanese history.
It was during this period that imperial power was cemented and the dogma of
imperial succession from the sun goddess, Amaterasu, was codified in the Kojiki
and Nihonshoki. The Nara Period was also marked by the development of two
powerful schools of Buddhism, Tendai and the more esoteric Shingon, and the
ascendancy of Buddhism in general. The era came to an end when the Emperor
Kanmu (737 – 806) moved the capital to Heiankyō (Kyōto) shortly after the death
of the Empress Kōken (718 – 770), in an attempt to remove the court from the
Japanese. Most of Japanese society during this period was agricultural in nature
and centered on villages. Most of the villagers followed a religion based on the
The capital at Nara was modeled after Chang'an, the capital city of Tang
China. In many other ways, the Japanese upper classes patterned themselves
after the Chinese, including adopting Chinese written system, fashion, and the
religion of Buddhism.
Nara was built on the Chinese model of Chang-an, the Tang capital and so
had a regular and well-defined grid layout, two symmetrical halves, and buildings
was established, a sprawling royal palace was built and the state bureaucracy was
expanded to some 7,000 civil servants. The total population of Nara may have
that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of
Nara, Japan. Its Great Buddha Hall (大仏殿 Daibutsuden) houses the world's
Daibutsu (大仏). The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the
Kegon school of Buddhism. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site
as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", together with seven other
sites including temples, shrines and places in the city of Nara. Deer, regarded as
messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion, roam the grounds freely.
famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. The temple
was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of
Japan and grew so powerful that the capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka in
Todaiji's main hall, the Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall) is the world's largest
wooden building, despite the fact that the present reconstruction of 1692 is only
two thirds of the original temple hall's size. The massive building houses one of
Japan's largest bronze statues of Buddha (Daibutsu). The 15 meters tall, seated
743 (Tenpyō 15): The Emperor issues a rescript to build the Daibutsu (Great
or
“Taiho Code”
This was the first central law code of Japan which was
http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat16/sub106/item486.html#chapter-1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nara_period
https://www.ancient.eu/Nara_Period/
http://www.japanpitt.pitt.edu/timeline/nara-period-710-794
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Ddai-ji
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4100.html
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