Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara
Nara (Japon)
Inscription au Patrimoine Mondial par l'Unesco (Définitif) : 1998
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2 sections and 7 items available
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The majority of the temples in Nara represent a Buddhist architectural style introduced from the Korean peninsula and the Chinese mainland in the 8th century which underwent a unique process of development in Japan. These buildings illustrate the high cultural and artistic levels of the wooden architecture of 8th century Japan and exhibit the close cultural interchanges with Korea and China. In view of the fact that nearly all the wooden buildings from that period in those countries are no longer in existence, the nominated property may be considered to be of special significance from the point of view of world history.
Moreover, these buildings had a profound influence on later architecture of similar type, since it was to them that later builders turned: for example, the reconstruction of Tôdai-ji in the Kamakura period (1192-1333) produced a new architectural style by incorporating details of the Daibutsuyô (Great Buddha style) into the conventional Japanese Wayô style.
The monuments represent the most typical elements of Japan's ancient capital city, Heijô-kyô, among which the Nara Palace site has a special historical value as the archaeological remains of an ancient imperial palace. By comparison with the Heian-kyû (the Kyoto Imperial Palace), which existed from the 9th to the 11th century, the Nara Palace was in use for a very limited period of 74 years (710-84). Moreover, from the medieval period the town of Nara developed to the east of the former imperial capital, far from the site of the 8th century Palace. For this reason, unlike the Kyoto Palace, the Nara Palace site was not subject to urban development, and as a result it survived untouched after being abandoned. Since the buildings were of wooden construction, most of the above-ground structures disappeared, leaving only indirect traces in the form of changes to the topography, but much of what remained underground has survived untouched to the present day. The copious collection of buried material remains, in the form of ceramics, roof tiles, and even records on wooden tablets, provides information on the customs, economy, and culture of the 8th century, which adds greatly to the historical and archaeological value of the site.
The buildings form an architectural ensemble that gives a vivid impression of the commanding appearance that Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines assumed in a socially and politically significant period of Japanese history when the previously unknown Ritsuryô system of legal and penal codes was being formulated under Buddhist influence. At the same time, these buildings are of outstanding value in studying the ancient Japanese forms of temple architecture.
The buildings are outstanding manifestations of the use of religious space which is unique to Shintoism and Buddhism in ancient Japan. Among the natural environments surrounding these man-made constructions, the woodlands behind the Kasuga-Taisha shrine, which have long been revered as sacred areas, are exceptional examples of the cultural landscapes associated with the Shinto religion, which is indigenous to Japan. These sites also continue to be the locations of living traditions, since important religious rites and ceremonies relating to Shintoism and Buddhism continue to be practised at them.
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In 710 the capital of Japan was transferred by Empress Gemmei from Fujiwara to Nara, which prospered as the political, economic, and cultural centre of the country for the next 74 years, during what is known as the Nara Period. The site of Heijô-kyô was carefully selected in accordance with the Chinese geomantic principles governing the location of an imperial palace. A grand city plan, based on Chinese examples such as Chang'an, was laid out, with palaces, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, public buildings, houses, and roads on an orthogonal grid. It covered an area of 2500ha, and its population is estimated to have been around 100,000.
The palace itself, located at the northern end of the central avenue, occupied 120ha. It comprised the official buildings where political and religious ceremonies took place, notably the Daigokuden (imperial audience hall) and Chôdô-in (state halls), and the imperial residence (Dairi), together with various compounds for administrative and other purposes. During this period an integrated imperial policy for the promotion of Buddhism was developed and applied from Nara. Emperor Shômu ordered temples and convents to be built in all the provinces, and built Tôdai-ji in 745 as the central provincial temple in
Japan.
In 784 the imperial capital moved to Nagaoka for a mere nine years, and then to Kyoto (Heian), where it was to remain until 1184. The site of the abandoned Nara capital became paddy fields.. However, most of the temples and shrines survived intact; they maintained their high status and imperial patronage. As a result a new town developed around them which became known as Nanto (South Capital). The temple area around Tôdai-ji, Kôfuku-ji, Gangô-ji, and Kasuga-Taisha was particularly prosperous, and it was here that the modern city of Nara was to develop in the 16th century.
In 1180, however, Tôdai-ji and Kôfuku-ji were burnt to the ground in a period of internal strife. They were to be rebuilt soon afterwards, at the beginning of the Kamakura Shogunate (1185). Whilst Kôfuku-ji adopted the traditional Japanese Wayô style, however, Tôkai-ji was to be rebuilt in the Daibutsuyô (Great Buddha) style, introduced from Sung Dynasty China.
The Nara temples were to lose their prestige in the Muromachi Period (1333-1572). They suffered grievously from damage by fire: at Tôdai-ji, for example, the Tôtô (east pagoda), Kôdô (lecture hall),
Sôbô (priests' living quarters), Kondô (Great Buddha Hall), Chûmon (middle gate), and Kairô (cloister) were all destroyed in different periods of unrest. Some buildings were reconstructed during the early Edo Period (1615-1867), with the assistance of the Shogunate. Although the Kondô was reduced to twothirds
of its original floor area, it is still the largest extant wooden structure in the world.
Description
Heijô-kyô (the Nara capital) lies in a basin, open to the south and enclosed by low mountains on the north,
east, and west. The covers groups of buildings and sites in eight separate locations: five Buddhist temples, one Shinto shrine, one forest, and one archaeological site.
The Buddhist temples
- The Tôdai-ji consists of a group of buildings. The Kondô (Great Buddha Hall), which houses the seated
image of the Vairocana (Great) Buddha, owes its present form to a major restoration campaign that
ended in 1709. It is a monumental seven-bay wooden structure (reduced from an original eleven bays), and the bronze statue is nearly 15m high. Other elements that have survived successive fires are the Nandaimon and Tegaimon (south and west gates), Hokkedô (two earlier buildings merged to form a Buddha hall), Shôshô-in Shôshô (large repository in “log-house” style for documents and treasures raised on tall pillars), Kaisandô (founder's hall, which combines Wayô and Daibutsuyô features), Hombô-Kyôko (sutra repository, also in “log-house” style and raised on pillars), and Shurô (bell house, owing its present form to a 13th century rebuilding).
- The Kôfuku-ji was originally erected in Fujiwara and rebuilt in Nara when the capital moved there in 710. It was the temple of the influential Fujiwara clan, and so was specially protected and embellished up to the Edo Period. In the early Meiji Period it fell into a steep decline following the promulgation of the Shintoism and Buddhism Separation Decree and was saved only in the nick of time. Its main features are the Hokuendô (north octagonal hall, with the earliest evidence of the introduction of the Daibutsuyô style), Sanjunôtô (threestorey pagoda from the late 12th century), Tôkondô (east main hall, a seven-bay structure with hipped roof rebuilt in the 15th century in pure Wayô style), and Gôjunotô (five-storey pagoda), at 50m the second highest pagoda in Japan and a symbolic landmark in Nara.
- The Gangô-ji was the first Buddhist temple in Japan, built by the powerful chieftain Soga-no-Umako in the 6th century and originally known as Asuka-dera. It was transferred from Asuka in 718 when the capital moved to Nara. Much of it was destroyed by fire in 1451 and only a few components survive to give an impression of its striking appearance in its prime. The Zenshitsu and the Hondô were originally a single long building, known as the Sôbô and used as living quarters for the priests.
- The Zenshitsu consists of four of the twelve original components of the Sôbô, whilst the Hondô (main hall) is its Buddha hall remodelled so as to provide an outer chamber for the use of devout Buddhists to pray. Both buildings are in an eclectic style incorporating Daibutsuyô and Wayô features.
- The Yakushi-ji was also relocated from Fujiwara to Nara, where it was considerably enlarged. It has suffered a number of disasters during its long history.
- The Tôtô (east pagoda) remarkably survived all of these and retains its original form, which dates back to the 8th century; it has three storeys, but intermediate pentice roofs give the illusion that it has six storeys.
- The Tôindô (Buddha Hall) owes its present form to a late 13th century reconstruction (although its orientation facing south was changed in 1733 so that it now faces west). Its interior with wooden floors and a ceiling is typical of Kamakura Period architecture.
- The Tôshôdai-ji was originally built by the Chinese high priest Jian Zhen (Ganjin) in 759 for students of Buddhist precepts. It is unusual in having suffered very little from fire or other forms of disaster. Its main features are the Kondô (main hall, the only extant example built in the Nara Period and very important in the study of Japanese temple architecture), Kôdô (lecture hall, originally a state assembly hall in the Nara Palace and the only surviving example of the architecture of the Palace), Korô (sutra repository in the Kamakura Period eclectic style), and Hôzô and Kyôzô (two Nara Period repositories in “log-house” style).
The Kasuga-Taisha
According to legend the Kasuga-Taisha (Kasuga Great Shrine) was founded in 768, but its origins are believed to go back to the beginning of the Nara Period. It is located at the foot of two sacred mountains, Kasugayama and Mikasayama, which have long been revered as sites where the deities descend to earth.
During the later Heian Period it was united with the Kôfuku-ji, as part of the prevailing view that Kami (the
deity of Shintoism) and Buddha existed as a single body.
The buildings of Kasuga-Taisha have been restored and reconstructed on many occasions following decay and destruction. The Honden (main shrine) was demolished and reconstructed in exactly the same form every twenty years, regardless of its condition, in accordance with the principle of Shikinen-zôtai; this policy continued until 1863.
The buildings are all within the shrine precinct and, according to tradition, are roofed with cypress-bark shingles, so as to harmonize with their natural environment. The Honsha Honden consists of the four main shrine buildings in the Kasuga-zukuri style, much favoured for Shinto shrine architecture and thought to have originated in the Nara Period. The buildings have gabled roofs, with the main canopied entrance on the gable end. There are many other buildings within the overall enclosure, all in similar style.
- The Kasugayama Primeval Forest
The natural environment is an integral element of all Shinto shrines. In the case of Kasuga-Taisha this is provided by Kasugayama, which has been preserved as a sacred forest where no hunting or tree-felling has been permitted since 841. There is no form of human intervention beyond the provision of footpaths for the use of worshippers and pilgrims.
- The Nara Palace Site
This vast compound, 1.3km east-west and 1km northsouth, contains all the elements necessary to meet the official and private requirements of the imperial family. These included the Daigokuden (imperial audience hall), Chôdô-in (state halls), Dairi (imperial residence), offices, workshops, stores, stables, etc.
The compound was enclosed by earthen ramparts (Tsuji-ogaki) some 5m high and crossed by twelve gates. The main entrance was the Suzaku Gate in the middle of the south wall, giving access to the Daigokuden and Chôdô-in, the most important buildings in the imperial complex, used for political ceremonies and banquets. The buildings within these compounds were arranged symmetrically on a central north-south axis. Each building was on a podium, with a tiled roof and pillars lacquered in vermilion in the style of the contemporary Chinese Tang Dynasty.
A little to the east was another state hall, the East Chôdô-in, to the north of which the Dairi was located.
Here the buildings were, by contrast, in traditional Japanese style: roofed with cypress-bark shingles and supported on unpainted pillars set directly in the ground.
The compound also included a number of gardens, details of one of which have been found by archaeological excavation. In the centre there was a shallow pond, the bottom of which was paved with stone; all around were pavilions from which to appreciate the beauty of the garden.
Conservation
Respect for tradition and for sacred places resulted in the creation of special maintenance and restoration organizations by the imperial and shogunate administrations. Modern conservation began with the enactment of the Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law in 1897, when professional architects and conservators were appointed in Nara Prefecture.
The Palace Site was covered with rice paddies after the move of the capital to Kyoto. It came under national protection as an Historic Site in 1922. In 1953 archaeological excavation revealed that the remains of the Palace had survived in a good state of preservation underground, and a major excavation programme began in 1955. The entire area of the imperial Palace is now in public ownership.
The level of authenticity of the various properties included in the nomination is high. Japanese conservation principles have ensured that replacement of damaged or degraded architectural elements has respected the materials and techniques used by the original builders.
There has been some in situ reconstruction on the Nara Palace Site. The continuity of traditional architecture in Japan and the substantial amount of data recovered by archaeological excavation has ensured that the reconstructed buildings have a high level of authenticity in design and materials.
The same holds good for the garden reconstructions.
The only reconstruction that might be considered to involve a significant element of conjecture is that of the Suzaku (south gate). Much of the constructional and decorative details depend upon archaeological evidence and that from surviving structures from the same period elsewhere.
Protection
The 78 buildings are designated as National Treasures (26) or Important Cultural Properties (52). The areas in which they are located are also designated, under Article 69 of the same statute, as Historic Sites or Places of Scenic Beauty, and this article is used for the designation of the Kasugayama Primeval Forest as a Special Natural Monument and the Nara Palace Site as a Special Historic Site.
Ownership of the various properties is diverse. The places of worship (the Buddhist temples and the Shinto shrine) are the property of their respective religious communities. Certain parts of the Tôdai-ji are owned by the Ministry of Finance (which also owns the Kasugayama Primeval Forest and part of the Kôfuku-ji) and by the Imperial Household Agency. The Agency for Cultural Affairs is the official proprietor of the Nara Palace Site.
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