Nara -1300
This year Nara celebrates its 1,300 year. Well, to be more precise it is the 1,300th year since Nara was founded as the capital of Yamato (or early Japan). At the time it was called Heijokyo, and it was located a little to the west of where the modern city of Nara stands. I had an opportunity to go to the celebrations for this event. What they did was recreate the buildings that made up the palace within Heijokyo. This included the southern gate, and also the imperial hall at the north of the city. It was pretty amazing because it really took you back in time.
In all appearances, it looked exactly like a Chinese city. This makes sense because it was the outright intention of the Japanese to imitate Chinese city planning. It reinforces the notion that – for some unkown reason – the Japanese have always been a nation of imitators. You must also consider that at the time Japan was merely a fledgling state that paled in power to the great Chinese--it made sense to copy those who were more advanced. And copy they did—the cities, the writing system, the religion (Buddhism), and much more so that by the end of the Nara period Japan had pretty much “caught up.” That was when many of the diplomatic missions petered out and Japan began cultivating its own culture in the Heian period. This pattern would be echoed in later ages (think Meiji era). If you get a chance, pop down to Nara!
Comments