The Nara period takes its name from the site of Heijô-kyô in present day Nara, which served as the imperial capital from 710 until 784.
This period continued to witness the importation and adaptation of Chinese and Korean imperial and religious culture. It saw the expansion of Buddhist influence at the court, and both the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki were completed in the early Nara period. The period saw the rise of the Fujiwara family, as well as military conflict, famine, and disease.
The capital was relocated to Nagaoka-kyô, a short distance north, in 784. The chief impetus for this is typically cited as being a desire to escape the growing political influence of entrenched Buddhist institutions, including Tôdai-ji and Kôfuku-ji.
The capital was moved to Nagaoka-kyô in 784, but since the Imperial Court only remained there for ten years before moving to Heian-kyô (i.e. Kyoto), these ten years are generally included into the Nara Period, prior to the start of the Heian Period in 794.
History
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| Previous Period Asuka Period |
Nara Period | Following Period Heian Period |
References
- Conrad Schirokauer, David Lurie, and Suzanne Gay, A Brief History of Japanese Civilization, Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 30-43.