NARA PERIODBy Connor Vlahos and Sam Reading-Thompson

NARA PERIOD

+ The Nara period covers the years from AD 710 to 794.

+ Nara was modeled after Tang China’s capital (Chang’an).

+ Japanese followed the Chinese by using Chinese fashion and characters, and Buddhism.

NARA LITERATURE

+ A large amount of effort was made by the imperial court to record and document its history, from this came the first works of literature in the Nara period.

+ Literature such as the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki that were among the first.

TWO POINTS

+ Nara was Japans first urban centre, which accounted for 4% of the population (200,000 people).

+ Buddhism was taking over as the monasteries gained more and more land and powerful influence. In an effort to get away from the Buddhist influence the capital was moved to Nagaoka in 784.