temple, however, was Hōkōji, later called Asukadera (tera, or dera, means “temple”) by local residents because of its location. It was constructed in 596 by Soga-no-Umako with the help of the Korean king of Paekche. Most of the buildings were moved to Nara in 718 and renamed Gangōji, but the central object of worship, a statue of the historical Buddha (Shaka), was left behind, where it still exists in a newer building. Though badly damaged and in poor repair, the image is of great historical interest since it was the first Buddhist statue in Japan.
Hakuhō Period (645–710)
The Taika Reform of 645 created a central government with a legislative structure based upon the model of Tang China. Official interchange with China was established for the first time and envoys were exchanged between the two courts. Buddhist architecture, arts, and crafts spread from the capital to the provinces, and literature flourished, as evidenced by the publication of a great collection of 4,400 poems, the Manyōshū.
Hypothetical interior of a rural farmhouse ( minka ) in the early historical period.
In the early days, the capital was moved every time an emperor died. In 694, Emperor Temmu decided to build a permanent capital at Fujiwarakyō (kyō means capital city), a little north of Asuka. The capital for seven years, Fujiwarakyō was the first full-scale capital in Japan, with streets laid out in a square grid pattern, as was the custom in China. However, changes in the political and economic situation made it necessary to expand the government bureaucracy. Because the space at Fujiwarakyō was limited, the capital was moved to Heijōkyō (present-day Nara) in 710 by Emperor Genmei.
Nara Period (710–794)
Despite several temporary moves back and forth between Heijōkyō and other locations, Heijōkyō remained the capital for seventy-four years With official support, the major Buddhist denominations built headquarters in Heijōkyō, such as Yakushiji and Kōfukuji. Emperor Shōmu, a vigorous supporter of Buddhism, decreed that temples and nunneries be erected in each province and that Tōdaiji be built in Heijōkyō as the head cathedral of this national network. Tōdaiji housed a great bronze Buddha (Daibutsu) that still exists today. In 752, dignitaries from as far away as Persia gathered for the eye-opening ceremony, during which the eyes were painted in by an eminent Indian priest.
Only the foundations remain from the original buildings at Shitennōji, one of the earliest temples in Japan. This model at the Osaka Prefectural Chikatsu Asuka Museum shows the linear arrangement of the gate, pagoda, main hall, and lecture hall.
A number of items used by Emperor Shōmu in his daily life are preserved in the Shōsōin Repository of Imperial Treasures in Nara, one of the few buildings still remaining from the Nara Period. The great flowering of architecture and the arts in the Nara Period marks the high point of Buddhist culture in Japan.
Recycling
In 718, Asukadera Temple in Asuka, the first temple in Japan, was dismantled and the lumber was used to build Gangōji Temple in Heijōkyō. Gangōji burned in 1451 but some of the original lumber from Asukadera Temple was salvaged and used in reconstructing the Meditation Hall (Zenshitsu), which still exists today. Thus, the Meditation Hall of Gangōji contains lumber that predates Hōryūji, the oldest extant wooden structure in the world.
Most common roof types used in Japan. Pre-Buddhist shrines used a gable roof, whereas the hipped-and-gable roof became popular after the introduction of Buddhist architecture in the sixth century.
Residential Architecture
The sixth through the eighth centuries are best known for the introduction of Buddhism and the construction of capitals in the Chinese style, as described above. There were, however, indigenous developments, primarily in the area of residential architecture. Average houses were probably post-and-beam structures, with either thatch or board roofs, the latter weighted down with stones. Starting in the Asuka Period, palaces, temples, and aristocratic dwellings were built at the expense of the farmers who paid heavy taxes and provided forced labor. Farmhouses grew progressively smaller as the condition of farmers worsened.
At the same time, however, technology improved to the point that it was possible to eliminate interior posts that supported the roofs of pit houses and rely solely on pillars in the exterior walls. Eventually, the pit was eliminated altogether in favor of rectangular ground-level dwellings with two interior rooms: a room with an earthen floor and fire pit for cooking, and a room whose earthen floor was covered with straw and mats for eating and sleeping. This basic plan can still be seen in some traditional farmhouses, known as minka.
Tōdaiji Temple, one of the seven great temples of Nara, was established as a center for Buddhism, newly introduced from China, in the eighth century. Its architecture was influenced by the grand scale of Buddhist architecture of China’s Tang Dynasty, especially in the size of its Daibut-suden (Great Hall) and the large, heavy roof and complex bracketing system that supported it. The present Daibutsuden, although still grand, is significantly smaller than the original, which was twice destroyed by fire. Still the largest wooden building in the world under one roof, it houses the Great Buddha.
Heijōkyō: An Early Capital
Early capitals were temporary affairs that were moved when an emperor died. Needing to demonstrate the power of the Yamato Court, Emperor Genmei decided to move the capital from Fujiwarakyō, near Asuka, to Heijōkyō (kyō means capital), a site considered ideal according to Chinese principles of geomancy. The move, accomplished in only two years, was facilitated by dismantling the existing palace and reusing the lumber.
Model of an ornamental roof tile used on a corner of the roof of the second Daigokuden. The tile is called onigawara (tile with a “devil” face). The face shown here is a good devil, whose job was to frighten away bad devils that caused fire, lightning, wind, and other damage to buildings.
The City
In 708, when the emperor decided to move the capital to Heijōkyō, the people living in the area had to be relocated. Hills had to be leveled and valleys filled in, with much of the work done by con-scripted farmers working with hand tools. The work was so difficult that many attempted to escape and return home. Heijōkyō, modeled after the Chinese capital of Ch’angan, occupied an area 5.9 kilometers (4 miles) from east to west and 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) from north to south; 1.2 square kilometers (0.5 square miles) were allotted for the palace. For materials, they moved lumber and tile from the Fujiwara palace, supplemented by timbers brought from neighboring prefectures on rafts floated down the river to the nearby town of Kizu. Stone was quarried at Nijōzan, a mountain near present-day Nara City, and tile was manufactured at kilns near the new capital.
Heijōkyō was a good-sized city with an estimated population of around 100,000.The city was divided into squares, with streets running north and south and avenues running east and west. Heijōkyū, the palace compound,
