UNESCO · Cultural · 1998

Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara

古都奈良の文化財ことならのぶんかざいKoto Nara no Bunkazai

The first permanent capital and the cradle of classical Japanese culture

The Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara are eight sites in the city of Nara — five Buddhist temples, the Kasuga Taisha shrine, its sacred primeval forest and the excavated Heijo Palace — that bear witness to Japan's capital of 710–784, when Buddhism, state and culture took their classical form. They were inscribed in 1998.

Inscribed 1998Criteria: ii, iii, iv, viNara

Overview

In 710 the imperial court moved to Heijo-kyo, a new capital laid out on a Chinese-style grid at the northern end of the Nara basin. For most of the following seven decades, the Nara period, it was the political and religious centre of a state modelled on Tang China, and the great temples moved or founded here shaped Japanese Buddhism for centuries. After the court left in 784 the palace returned to fields, but the temples and the shrine on the eastern hills survived and the town of Nara grew around them.

The World Heritage property brings together eight components. On the eastern edge of the city, in and around today's Nara Park, lie Todai-ji with its Great Buddha, Kofuku-ji, the clan temple of the Fujiwara, the Kasuga Taisha shrine and the Kasugayama Primeval Forest behind it, as well as Gango-ji in the old merchant quarter of Naramachi. To the west, in the former capital area, stand Yakushi-ji and Toshodai-ji, and to the north-west the vast excavated site of the Heijo Palace.

Many buildings date from the 8th century, among them the East Pagoda of Yakushi-ji, the Main Hall of Toshodai-ji and the Tegaimon gate of Todai-ji; others, like the Great Buddha Hall, were rebuilt after wars and fires. Nara's tame sika deer, regarded as messengers of the Kasuga deity, roam the park between the monuments.

Why it is World Heritage

UNESCO inscribed the ensemble under four criteria. Its buildings show the cultural exchange between China, Korea and Japan that shaped Japanese architecture and art (criterion ii), and the flowering of Japanese culture while Nara was capital (criterion iii).

The layout of the Heijo Palace and the temples of the period illustrate the architecture and planning of an East Asian capital of the 8th century (criterion iv). The Buddhist temples and the Shinto shrine of Kasuga, with its forest treated as sacred for more than a millennium, show the enduring power of religious belief and the long coexistence of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan (criterion vi).

Component sites

Todai-ji
東大寺Tōdai-ji
Head temple of Emperor Shomu's network of provincial temples. Its bronze Great Buddha was consecrated in 752; the present Great Buddha Hall of 1709 is among the largest wooden buildings in the world. The component includes the Shosoin treasure house, which preserved Shomu's possessions.
Kofuku-ji
興福寺Kōfuku-ji
Clan temple of the Fujiwara, moved to Nara in 710. Its five-storey pagoda of 1426 is a landmark of the city, and the temple's collection includes the celebrated dry-lacquer Ashura statue.
Kasuga Taisha
春日大社Kasuga Taisha
Shrine founded in 768 as the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara, with vermilion halls and some 3,000 stone and bronze lanterns. The Kasuga Wakamiya On-matsuri takes place in mid-December.
Kasugayama Primeval Forest
春日山原始林Kasugayama Genshirin
Broadleaf forest on the sacred mountain behind the shrine, where hunting and logging were banned in 841; a rare near-natural forest at the edge of a city.
Gango-ji
元興寺Gangō-ji
Successor of Asuka-dera, Japan's first full-scale temple, moved to Nara in 718. Some roof tiles on its Gokurakubo hall were made in the late 6th century.
Yakushi-ji
薬師寺Yakushi-ji
Temple moved from Fujiwara-kyo; its East Pagoda of about 730, with three storeys each doubled by a skirt roof, is the only original building of the main compound and was fully restored between 2009 and 2020.
Toshodai-ji
唐招提寺Tōshōdai-ji
Founded in 759 by the Chinese monk Ganjin (Jianzhen), who reached Japan after five failed voyages. Its Main Hall of the late 8th century is the finest surviving Nara-period hall.
Heijo Palace Site
平城宮跡Heijō-kyū-seki
The excavated site of the imperial palace, about 1 km square, where the Suzaku Gate and the Former Audience Hall have been reconstructed; the archaeological remains, not the reconstructions, are the inscribed element.

History

710
The capital moves to Heijo-kyo; Kofuku-ji is established there.
741
Emperor Shomu orders the founding of provincial temples, with Todai-ji at their head.
752
Eye-opening ceremony of the Great Buddha of Todai-ji.
759
Ganjin founds Toshodai-ji.
768
Kasuga Taisha is founded.
784
The capital moves to Nagaoka-kyo and, ten years later, to Heian-kyo (Kyoto).
1180
Taira forces burn Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji; both are rebuilt under the Kamakura shogunate.
1709
Completion of the present Great Buddha Hall.
1998
Inscription on the World Heritage List.

Visiting

Todai-ji, Kofuku-ji, Kasuga Taisha and Gango-ji are within walking distance of Kintetsu Nara Station; Yakushi-ji and Toshodai-ji lie about 1 km apart in Nishinokyo, reached by Kintetsu train, and the Heijo Palace Site lies between the two areas.
The Kasugayama Primeval Forest is crossed by an old mountain road and trails; the forest itself is strictly protected.
The deer of Nara Park are wild animals protected as a Natural Monument; they can bite or butt, especially in the autumn rutting season and when fed.
Shuni-e (Omizutori), a ritual of repentance at Todai-ji's Nigatsu-do hall, is held from 1 to 14 March, with great torches carried along the balcony at night.

Frequently asked questions

Which sites belong to the Nara World Heritage property?

Todai-ji, Kofuku-ji, Kasuga Taisha, the Kasugayama Primeval Forest, Gango-ji, Yakushi-ji, Toshodai-ji and the Heijo Palace Site. Horyu-ji, also in Nara Prefecture, is a separate property.

How big is the Great Buddha of Nara?

The seated bronze Vairocana Buddha of Todai-ji is about 15 m tall. Much of the present statue dates from recastings after fires in 1180 and 1567.

Why are there deer in Nara?

According to legend, the deity of Kasuga Taisha arrived in Nara riding a white deer, so deer have been protected as sacred messengers for centuries.

Is the Heijo Palace original?

No. The palace buildings vanished after 784; the Suzaku Gate and the Former Audience Hall are modern reconstructions based on excavation, while the archaeological site itself is the World Heritage component.

How long does it take to see Nara's World Heritage sites?

The park area with Todai-ji, Kofuku-ji and Kasuga Taisha fills a day; Yakushi-ji, Toshodai-ji and the palace site need at least another half day.

Sources

1.Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (opens in a new tab) — UNESCO World Heritage Centre
2.日本の世界遺産一覧 (opens in a new tab) — 文化庁
3.華厳宗大本山東大寺 (opens in a new tab) — 東大寺
4.奈良市 (opens in a new tab) — 奈良市