Nara

I think it would have been nicer if I had written about the places I visited in Japan in the order I visited them and maybe not more than a year after, but there you go. I want to write about one of my favourite places – Nara.

We went to Nara after leaving Osaka, heading for Kyoto, our final destination. We took a train and stopped in Nara. I really liked the train we took and I think that in the two weeks we were in Japan, we took so many trains that I think we covered pretty much all of the types. Of course, the most comfortable is the Shinkansen, way more comfortable than the plane seat, even though we flew Qatar Airways and they really have class. But the train I like the most was the Trans-Kyushu Limited Express that took us to Aso. It was an older type of train and the route it takes is just out a fairy tale. If you have the chance, you should take this train and enjoy the wonderful scenery.

So, coming back to Nara, we only had one day to visit it and Fushimi Inari Taisha wasn’t in the guide’s plan, but some of us really wanted to stop and see as much as we could. About Fushimi Inari Taisha in the next article.

The first permanent capital of Japan was established in the year 710 at Heijo, the city now known as Nara. As the influence and political ambitions of the city’s powerful Buddhist monasteries grew to become a serious threat to the government, the capital was moved to Nagaoka in 784. Nara is located less than one hour from Kyoto and Osaka. Due to its past as the first permanent capital, it remains full of historic treasures, including some of Japan’s oldest and largest temples.

Well, maybe the first thing you notice in Nara are the deers. There are thousands of them. According to local folklore, deer from this area were considered sacred due to a visit from one of the four gods of Kasuga Shrine, Takenomikazuchi-no-mikoto. He was said to have been invited from Kashima, Ibaraki] and appeared on Mt. Mikasa-yama riding a white deer. From that point, the deer were considered divine and sacred by both Kasuga Shrine and Kōfuku-ji.Killing one of these sacred deer was a capital offense punishable by death up until 1637, the last recorded date of a breach of that law. After World War II, the deer were officially stripped of their sacred/divine status, and were instead designated as National Treasures and are protected as such. You can buy special crackers to feed the deers, but they have no problem searching your pockets, your bag, whatever is more handy.

To me, they looked really sad.  But anyway, they really are not scared of humans, after so long and are truly used to the modern ways:

though they can be pretty insistent when asking for food, so it would be better if you don’t annoy them, or else:

First, we went here on our way to Tōdai-ji. It was really really crowded, but the trees were in full bloom and it was one of the rare sunny and warm days we had, so everything was beautiful.

We didn’t go inside the temple, saw only the front yard because as usual, we were “on the run”.

Tōdai-ji - Eastern Great Temple -  is a Buddhist temple complex. Its Great Buddha Hall - Daibutsuden - houses the world’s largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese simply as Daibutsu.  The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon school of Buddhism. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as “Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara”, together with seven other sites including temples, shrines and places in the city of Nara.

The beginning of building a temple where the Tōdai-ji complex sits today can be dated to 728, when Emperor Shōmu established Kinshōsen-ji  as an appeasement for Prince Motoi, his first son with his Fujiwara clan consort Kōmyōshi. Prince Motoi died a year after his birth.

During the Tenpyō era, Japan suffered from a series of disasters and epidemics. It was after experiencing these problems that Emperor Shōmu issued an edict in 741 to promote the construction of provincial temples throughout the nation. Tōdai-ji (still Kinshōsen-ji at the time) was appointed as the Provincial temple of Yamato Province and the head of all the provincial temples. With the alleged coup d’état by Nagaya in 729, an outbreak of smallpox around 735–737, worsened by consecutive years of poor crops, then followed by a rebellion led by Fujiwara no Hirotsugu in 740, the country was in a chaotic position. Emperor Shōmu had been forced to move the capital four times, indicating the level of instability during this period.

In 743, Emperor Shōmu issued a law in which he stated that the people should become directly involved with the establishment of new Buddha temples throughout Japan. His personal belief was that such piety would inspire Buddha to protect his country from further disaster. Gyōki, with his pupils, traveled the provinces asking for donations. According to records kept by Tōdai-ji, more than 2,600,000 people in total helped construct the Great Buddha and its Hall. The 16 m (52 ft) high statue was built through eight castings over three years, the head and neck being cast together as a separate element. The making of the statue was started first in Shigaraki. After enduring multiple fires and earthquakes, the construction was eventually resumed in Nara in 745,[8] and the Buddha was finally completed in 751. A year later, in 752, the eye-opening ceremony was held with an attendance of 10,000 people to celebrate the completion of the Buddha. The Indian priest Bodhisena performed the eye-opening for Emperor Shōmu. The project nearly bankrupted Japan’s economy, consuming most of the available bronze of the time.

The original complex also contained two 100 m pagodas, perhaps second only to the pyramids of Egypt in height at the time. These were destroyed by earthquake. The Shōsōin was its storehouse, and now contains many artifacts from the Tenpyo period of Japanese history.

This is the imposing Nandaimon, the Great Southern Gate, just wanted you to see how small the man in the centre of the picture is compared to it. The existing Nandaimon  is a reconstruction of end-12th century based on Song Dynasty style.

And the flag, so the pack wouldn’t get lost:

Then you have the guardians:

And so you’ll get an idea of how big they are:

The dancing figures of the Nio, the two 28-foot-tall guardians at the Nandaimon, were built at around the same time by Unkei, Kaikei and their workshop members. The Nio are an A-un pair known as Ungyo, which by tradition has a facial expression with a closed mouth, and Agyo, which has an open mouthed expression. The two figures were closely evaluated and extensively restored by a team of art conservators between 1988 and 1993. Until then, these sculptures had never before been moved from the niches in which they were originally installed. This complex preservation project, costing $4.7 million, involved a restoration team of 15 experts from the National Treasure Repairing Institute in Kyoto.

The next gate you have to pass:

And then you see it:

The gardens that surround it:

The Great Buddha Hall (Daibutsuden) has been rebuilt twice after fire. The current building was finished in 1709, and although immense—57 m long and 50 m wide—it is actually 30% smaller than its predecessor. Until 1998, it was the world’s largest wooden building. It has been surpassed by modern structures, such as the Japanese baseball stadium ‘Odate Jukai Dome’, amongst others. The Great Buddha statue has been recast several times for various reasons, including earthquake damage. The current hands of the statue were made in the Momoyama Period (1568–1615), and the head was made in the Edo period (1615–1867).

This left me breathless. It wasn’t just the size of the statue, but also the atmosphere in this place, it was so warm and peaceful even though there was an amazing numer of people. I found a nice bench in a corner and just sat there with my eyes closed, just feeling that incredible space.

Several smaller Buddhist statues and models of the former and current buildings are also on display in the Daibutsuden Hall. Another popular attraction is a pillar with a hole in its base that is the same size as the Daibutsu’s nostril. It is said that those who can squeeze through this opening will be granted enlightenment in their next life.There were more statues in the temple:

 

 By the way, I bought more bells here.  :D  Yes, I know, I’m a maniac, but I just love their sounds. I think I bought 5, but I gave 2 as presents, so I was left with just 3.  :D  (Oh, and I bought more – different models in Beppu and Miyajima. I’ll take a picture of them someday and show them to you.)

I was so sorry we only had half an hour to admire this unique place, next time, I’ll stay at least an hour. And now, on to Kasuga Taisha - Nara’s most celebrated Shinto shrine. It was established at the same time as the capital and is dedicated to the deity responsible for the protection of the city. Kasuga Taisha was also the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara, Japan’s most powerful family clan during most of the Nara and Heian Periods. Like the Ise Shrines, Kasuga Taisha had been periodically rebuilt every 20 years for many centuries. In the case of Kasuga Taisha, however, the custom was discontinued at the end of the Edo Period.

Beyond the shrine’s offering hall, which can be visited free of charge, there is a paid inner area which provides a closer view of the shrine’s inner buildings. Furthest in is the main sanctuary, containing multiple shrine buildings that display the distinctive Kasuga style of shrine architecture, characterized by a sloping roof extending over the front of the building.

Kasuga Taisha is famous for its lanterns, which have been donated by worshipers. Hundreds of bronze lanterns can be found hanging from the buildings, while as many stone lanterns line its approaches. The lanterns are lit twice a year on the occasion of the Lantern Festivals in early February and mid August.

And this is where we separated as a group and we each went our separate ways, settled to meet at a certain hour at the train station. I went with two sisters that were on the same visit as much as possible lenght as me.

And we came across Kōfuku-ji - The Five Storied Pagoda which is a National Treasure. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school and is one of the eight Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 by Kagami-no-Ōkimi, the wife of Fujiwara no Kamatari, wishing for her husband’s recovery from illness. Its original site was in Yamashina, Yamashiro Province (present-day Kyoto). In 672, the temple was moved to Fujiwara-kyō, the first planned Japanese capital to copy the orthogonal grid pattern of Chang’an. In 710 the temple was dismantled for the second time and moved to its present location, on the east side of the newly constructed capital, Heijō-kyō, today’s Nara.

Kōfuku-ji was the Fujiwara’s tutelary temple, and enjoyed as much prosperty, and as long as the family did. The temple was not only an important center for the Buddhist religion, but also retained influence over the imperial government, and even by “aggressive means” in some cases.When many of the Nanto Shichi Daiji such as Tōdai-ji -declined after the move of capital to Heian-kyō (Kyoto), Kōfuku-ji kept its significance because of its connection to the Fujiwara. The temple was damaged and destroyed by civil wars and fires many times, and was rebuilt as many times as well, although finally some of the important buildings, such as two of the three golden halls, the nandaimon, chūmon and the corridor were never reconstructed and are missing today.

And around it, there is this:

And then, there I am, about to east something really good with chestnuts.

And we went walking and also did some shopping. We found the most wonderful store selling antiques. I bought a really nice bowl for my exboyfriend because he loves antiques and for me I found these very cute bowls, I bought three for 100 Yen each which is a real bargain, I practically felt I got them as a gift. And just so you’ll have an idea about the prices, my ex’s bowl cost a few thousand Yen compared to my 100 Yen. The friends I was with bought dolls, beautifully made. I think we browsed that store for more than 40 minutes.

The store had an outside display too and as I was browsing, I saw them and quickly took a photo.

We also stumbled on a Koto concert. The Koto is national instrument of Japan. Koto are about 180 centimetres (71 in) length, and made from kiri wood (Paulownia tomentosa). They have 13 strings that are strung over 13 movable bridges along the width of the instrument. Players can adjust the string pitches by moving these bridges before playing, and use three finger picks (on thumb, index finger, and middle finger) to pluck the strings.

Continuing to the train station

Nara is a city in which you absolutely have to stay for more than a day as we did. There are so many things to see and it’s just a very beautiful place with an air that to me, spoke of the old Japan, a place where you can really feel history unfolding.

This is the train we took to Fushimi Inari Taisha. Till the next article, I leave you with this image.