Nara period

The Nara period (奈良時代, Nara jidai) is a time in the history of Japan which lasted from 710 to 794.^[1] This grouping of years is named after city of Nara.^[2]

History

In 710, Empress Gemmei established the capital of Japan at Heijō-kyō, which is present-day Nara.^[3] Gemmei's palace was named Nara-no-miya.^[4] Except for two brief times, the reigns of the next seven monarchs were centered in the palace which was built by Gemmei.

The capital at Nara was modeled after Chang'an, the capital city of Tang China.^[5] The Nara period was marked by the introduction of Tang systems and culture.

Timeline

• 710 (Wadō 3): Japan's capital city was established in Nara (Heijō-kyō).^[6]
• 712 (Wadō 5): The Kojiki was finished.^[7]
• 720 (Yōrō 4): Nihon Shoki completed.^[8]
• 749-752 (Tenpyō-shōhō 1-4): Emperor Shōmu orders the creation of a large statue of Buddha (Daibutsu) at Tōdai-ji^[9]
• 760 (Tenpyō-hōji 4): Man'yōshū completed.^[10]
• 784 (Enryaku 3): The emperor moves the capital to Nagaoka^[11]
• 788 (Enryaku 7): The Buddhist monk Saichō^[12] establishes a monastery on Mt Hiei
• December 17, 794 (Enryaku 13, 21st day of the 10th month): The Emperor moves by carriage in a grand procession from Nara to Heian-kyō.^[13]

Related pages

• List of Japanese eras

References

1. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. pp. 698–699. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
2. Library of Congress Country Studies, Japan,"Nara and Heian Periods"; retrieved 2011-11-22.
3. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 56.
4. Jien; Delmer Myers Brown, Ichirō Ishida (1979). 愚管抄: A Translation and Study of the Gukansho, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219. University of California Press. p. 271. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0.
5. Ellington, Lucien. (2009). Japan, p. 28.
6. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 698. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
7. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 545. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
8. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 710. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
9. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. pp. 136–137. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
10. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 608. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
11. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 682. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
12. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 805. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
13. Jien; Delmer Myers Brown, Ichirō Ishida (1979). 愚管抄: A Translation and Study of the Gukansho, an Interpretative History of Japan Written in 1219. University of California Press. p. 279. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0.

Other websites

Media related to Nara period at Wikimedia Commons

• Metropolitan Museum of Art, Asuka and Nara Periods (538–794)
• British Museum, Nara period (AD 710-794) Archived 2012-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
• Japan-guide.com, Nara and Heian Periods (710 - 1185)