Nara

Examples of Nara in the following topics:

• The Todaiji

  • The Tōdaiji is the most ambitious Buddhist temple complex of the Nara period in Japan.
  • The Nara period of the 8th century—so named because the seat of Japanese government was located in the city of Nara from 710 until 784—is often portrayed as a golden age in Japanese history.
  • Temple-building in the 8th century was focused around the Tōdaiji in Nara.
  • Discuss the "golden age" of art during the Nara Period, including temple-building such as the Tōdai-ji.

• Japanese Painting and Sculpture in the Kamakura Period

  • Based in Nara, the Kei school was the dominant school in Japanese Buddhist sculpture into the 14th century.
  • These artists studied early Nara period masterpieces and Chinese Song dynasty sculptures and paintings to influence their work.
  • The Kei school was responsible for the restoration of the temples of Nara and Kyoto, which had been destroyed during warfare in 1180-1185.
  • He worked closely with the priest Chōgen (1121–1206) on the reconstruction of the Tōdai-ji temple in Nara.
  • Agyō, one of the two Buddhist Niō guardians at the Nandai-mon in front of the Todai ji in Nara.

• Japanese Buddhism

  • From 711, numerous temples and monasteries were built in the capital city of Nara, including a five-story pagoda, the Golden Hall of the Horyuji, and the Kōfuku-ji temple.
  • The creation of Japanese Buddhist art was especially rich between the 8th and 13th centuries during the periods of Nara, Heian, and Kamakura.

• Art of Esoteric Buddhism

  • In 784 the Emperor Kammu, threatened by the growing secular power of the Buddhist institutions in Nara, moved the capital to Heian-kyō (Kyōto), which remained the imperial capital for the next 1,000 years.
  • The Late Nara period saw the introduction of Esoteric Buddhism to Japan from China, by Kūkai and Saichō, who founded the Shingon and Tendai schools.
  • Early Heian period sculptures inherited and modified late Nara period sculptural forms while developing new images to depict wrathful Esoteric deities.

• Art of Pure Land Buddhism

  • Based in Nara, the Kei School was the dominant style in Buddhist sculpture in Japan beginning c. 1200 and into the 14th century, and it remained influential until the 19th century.
  • However, the sculptures he produced for the Tōdai-ji, a Buddhist temple complex in Nara, show a flair for realism different from anything Japan had seen before.

• Horyuji Temple

  • With its origin dating back to early 7th century, the reconstruction has allowed Hōryū-ji to absorb and feature early Asuka period elements along with distinct elements only seen in Hōryū-ji, which were not found again in the architecture of the following Nara period.
  • These Asuka characteristics are not seen in later Nara period temples.
  • Only the first story has a double roof; this was added later in the Nara period, with extra posts to hold up the original first roof because it extended more than four meters past the building.

• Influence of Buddhism in the Heian Period

  • In 784, the Japanese Emperor Kammu, threatened by the growing secular power of the Buddhist institutions in the city of Nara, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (Kyōto), which remained the imperial capital for the next 1,000 years.
  • The Late Nara period saw the introduction of Esoteric Buddhism to Japan from China by Kūkai and Saichō, who founded the Shingon and Tendai schools.
  • Early Heian period sculptures inherited and modified late Nara period sculptural forms while developing new images to depict wrathful Esoteric deities.

• Grave Goods in the Kofun Period

  • The oldest Japanese kofun is said to be Hokenoyama Kofun located in Sakurai, Nara, which dates to the late 3rd century.