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The Nara period takes its name from the site of [[Heijo-kyo|Heijô-kyô]] in present day [[Nara]], which served as the imperial capital from [[710]] until [[784]].
The Nara period takes its name from the site of [[Heijo-kyo|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 also saw the rise of the [[Fujiwara clan|Fujiwara family]], as well as the incorporation of southern [[Kyushu]] into the Japanese state (parts of [[Tohoku|Tôhoku]] would remain outside the Court's control into the 9th century, and beyond).
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 also saw the rise of the [[Fujiwara clan|Fujiwara family]], as well as the incorporation of southern [[Kyushu]] into the Japanese state (parts of [[Tohoku|Tôhoku]] would remain outside the Court's control into the 9th century, and beyond). The land was divided up into sixty-one [[provinces]], the total population of which may have been around five million. The vast majority of these people continued to live in [[pit-dwellings]], and to lead a bare agricultural existence, while the capital city of Heijô stood starkly apart, a microcosm of Chinese elite culture transplanted into a Japan otherwise little changed from earlier periods.<ref name=craig1516>[[Albert M. Craig]], ''The Heritage of Japanese Civilization'', Second Edition, Prentice Hall (2011), 15-16.</ref>
The Imperial bureaucracy swelled to around 6,000 in this period. Roughly two-thirds of these courtiers were engaged in matters related to the Imperial Household, while less than 2,000 of them managed the actual administrative affairs of the state. The administration of the provinces, which had previously been ruled by local clans in a sort of loose confederation, was now delegated to provincial governors appointed from the capital.<ref name=craig1516/>
The capital was relocated to [[Nagaoka-kyo|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 [[Todai-ji|Tôdai-ji]] and [[Kofuku-ji|Kôfuku-ji]].
The capital was relocated to [[Nagaoka-kyo|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 [[Todai-ji|Tôdai-ji]] and [[Kofuku-ji|Kôfuku-ji]].