Nara is the Oldest and Developed as Japan’s Leading Cultural Center - A series of surveys and researches of tour and travel by following its business

Everywhere you go in this ancient city, the smell of sandalwood incense, or the wood of the temple buildings, or something less definable seems to make the air itself redolent with history. The oldest of the old is here in Nara, and even as millions come sightseeing every year, and the city slowly grows, the holy places of Nara stand peaceful and timeless. Nara developed as Japan’s leading cultural center in the sixth and seventh centuries, and served as the country’s first permanent capital from 710 to 784. This period saw the creation of the first codified government, writing of the first records, and construction of Japan’s first Buddhist temples. It is noteworthy that the form of the first government survives even today in the court ranking system. It is impressive that many of the early records have come down to the present too. But it is nothing short of miraculous that so many of the city’s temples have survived, as they were all built of wood.

The earliest of them is Horyu-ji Temple, located in Ikaruga about 10 kilometers from the center of town. The gate, pagoda and Kondo (Golden Hall) in the western compound at Horyu-ji are believed to date from the seventh century, making them the oldest wooden structures in the world. The temple was established in 607, and functioned as the center of Buddhist study and devotion under Prince Shotoku Taishi, the youthful genius credited with the dissemination of Buddhism in Japan and the drafting of a constitution on Buddhist principles. Many of the most celebrated works of ancient Asian art are preserved here.

The heart of the city of Nara is Nara Park, a grand 5.25 sq. kilometer arcadia encompassing the spectacular grounds of Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji temples and Kasuga Shrine. A day is easily passed in wandering about these sights, picnicking and visiting the fish in Sarusawa or Araike pond. For company you will have over a thousand docile deer, who have made their home in the park for longer than the temples have, but magnanimously share their living room. They may exact a commission from your lunch if you aren’t careful. The temple of Todai-ji occupies the northern third of the park. Beginning at the Nandaimon (Great South Gate), built in 1199, you pass under the watchful gaze of two traditional guardian deities standing 8.5 meters tall. From great to greater, as you enter the main precinct and stand before the Daibutsuden, the largest wooden structure in the world, which enshrines the Daibutsu, a 452 ton bronze statue of Vairocana Buddha, itself world’s largest.

A few minutes walk east of the Daibutsuden leads to the Nigatsu-do and Sangatsu-do (February and March Halls). Sangatsu-do is the sole building surviving from the time of Todai-ji’s founding in the eighth century. It is filled with sculpture of that period, and an aura of mystery. A spectacular festival called Omizutori takes place at the Nigatsu-do every year from March 12 to March 14, when the temple monks wave blazing pine torches from the building’s porch to exorcise worshippers’ sins.

Kasuga Shrine, in the southeast corner of the park, is the site of another great festival, this one twice a year to mark the first day of spring on the old calendar (in February) and mid-summer (in August). The entrance to the shrine is lined with 1,800 stone lanterns, and the eaves hung with 1,000 more of bronze. These, are all lit on the festival nights, and elaborate costume dances dating from the Nara Period are performed within the shrine precincts early in the evening.