Welcome to Ancient Nara

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Welcome to Ancient Nara"

Melina Strickland
5 years ago
Views:

1 Welcome to Ancient Nara

2 English Narration: We love Nara! Let s learn about Nara in English. Welcome to Ancient Nara Today s topic is 'Welcome to Ancient Nara ' Lisa AndyHello! I m Andrew Morrow from America. Many foreign tourists come to Nara to see the Great Buddha of Todai-ji Temple. I m excited to have this opportunity to see Japanese ancient capital firsthand. LisaToday we will be visiting Nara-nara-kan, which is located in the Nara Kintetsu Building. There we will learn more about Nara, which was the capital of Japan in the 8th century, and many of its cultural assets that remain today, 1300 years later. AndyLet s go! LisaOK! Lisa AndyI m curious about the clothes that you are wearing? LisaThis is a replica of the dress worn by Heijo-kyo aristocrats.heijo-kyo was what Nara was called when it was the capital of Japan. This woman is wearing the dress of the court ladies of that time. AndyOh, they are very beautiful! Lisa

3 LisaAt 'Nara-nara-kan', we can learn about 'The Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara', a UNESCO-designated world heritage site. There is a lot of information about Heijo-kyo, Japanese wooden architecture, and various Buddhist images. LisaThis corner is called 'Nara, Town of World Heritage'. Here, we can see photographs, display panels and videos about two world heritage sites: 'The Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara' and 'The Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area'. We can also see documents issued by UNESCO that designate 'The Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara' as a world heritage site. AndyThe World Heritage Committee has inscribed the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara on the World Heritage List. Wow! That s pretty neat! LisaHere we are at the 'Buddhist Images' corner. AndyGuessing from the size of the head. The whole body must have been enormous. Why is the head the only part that has remained? LisaWhen Kofukuji-Temple was burned down by a fire at the beginning of the 15 th century, the statue disappeared. It s head alone was found in the 20 th century. AndyThat s one big hand! LisaThis is a replica of one of the hands from Todaiji s Buddha Statue. AndyIf his hand is this big, I can only imagine how big the rest of the statue is!

4 LisaThis is a scale model of Heijo-kyo. AndyWhen was Heijo-kyo the capital of Japan? LisaIn 710, the capital was transferred from Fujiwara-kyo, near the present-day Asuka Village, to Heijokyo. From 710 until to 784, the area flourished as the capital of Japan. AndyHow large was Heijo-kyo? LisaIt s about 4km from east to west and about 5 km from south to north. AndyAnd what about its population? LisaIt is said to have been somewhere around 100,000. LisaLet s go to Heijo-kyu, Nara Imperial Palace Site. Mr. Imaida will guide us. AndyGlad to meet you, Mr. Imaida. Thank you very much for guiding us. Nice to meet you. AndyThis street is quite wide! This is Suzaku-oji, the main street of Heijo-kyo. It is 74 meters wide. LisaYou can see the gate, Suzaku -mon, over there. AndyIt looks big enough to be a palace all by itself!

5 This was reconstructed in It is 25 meters wide, 20 meters tall and 10 meters deep. LisaThey say that there were 12 gates in Heijo-kyu. What was so special about Suzaku-mon? Suzaku-mon was the main gate of Heijo-kyu, and was used both for ceremonies and for receiving important ambassadors from foreign countries. AndySo the gate wasn t used very often? It seems not. It is believed to have been the symbol of Heijo-kyu, showing the whole world the power and influence of the government. The palace measured about 1,300 meters from east to west and about 1,000 meters from south to north. In addition to being the emperor s residence, it was also the place where the government was administered and official ceremonies were carried out. AndyBut there s nothing left! That s correct. After the capital moved to Nagaoka-kyo, and then to Heian-kyo, both in present-day Kyoto, this place rapidly declined in power and the palace grounds became simple fields. AndyWhat is that building over there for? That was the location of 'The first Daigoku-den', the Imperial Palace Hall, where welcome receptions for foreign ambassadors as well as national ceremonies were held. They are reconstructing 'The first Daigoku-den' for the 1300th anniversary of Heijo-kyo which will be held in AndyI m looking forward to seeing the restored Daigoku-den. Lisa AndyThese statues are really angry. These statues are called Kongorikishi, and are placed at the right and left sides of the Nandai-mon Gate. The one with his mouth opened is named Agyo, and the other with his mouth closed is named Ungyo. They have very angry -looking faces in order to ward off enemies.

6 LisaWhen were these statues made? Todai-ji Temple was burnt down during the war in So in 1203, Unkei and Kaikei, the sculptors of Buddha's images were said to have carved the images in only 69 days. AndyYou mean these great masterpieces were carved in only 69 days. That s incredible! LisaWe re almost to the 'Daibutsu-den', the Great Buddha Hall! AndyI've never seen such a huge wooden building. This building was rebuilt in It is much smaller than the original one. AndyThis statue is much more magnificent than I expected. It is about 15 meters tall, and its estimated weight is 380 tons. LisaWhy did they build such a huge structure? In the middle of the Nara period, many problems occurred such as an epidemic of smallpox and an unstable political atmosphere. Emperor Shomu built Todai-ji Temple as a means of asking Buddha to save his country. He dedicated the temple to 'Birushana-butsu'. This image is called 'Daibutsu', which means 'Big Buddha'. AndyA project of this scale can only be completed by the national government. LisaI think you re right. Thank you very much, Mr.Imaida. AndyThank you very much. LisaFrom Nigatsu-do Hall, you can get a good view of Nara City. AndyNigatsu-do Hall was built on higher ground than the Daibutsu-den, so it s very easy to see the rows of houses along the streets. LisaWhat do you think of ancient Nara AndyIt s amazing to think that all this history is still alive in Nara, even nearly 1300 years later! But there are still more places to see than just those that we have visited today.

7 LisaYes, there are. Here at Nigatsu-do Hall, for more than 1200 years, Buddhist monks have undergone severe ascetic practice called 'Shunie'. This practice includes the traditional ceremony of the fire and torch. On the 12 th day of this two weeks ritual the monks draw sacred water from the well in Nigatsu-do Hall and give it to its Buddha. That s why this practice is known as 'Omizu-tori', or 'The Water-drawing Ceremony'. AndyMore than 1200 years? It hasn t ever been cancelled once? Lisa That s right! Nara has many other famous fire ceremonies, including Mt. Wakakusa grass-burning festival, Kasuga Grand Shrine s Mantoro festival, and 'Takigionou' ceremony of Kofuku-ji temple. Recently, a new ceremony of lights and lanterns called 'Nara-Tokae' is held in and around Nara Park every summer. As each year passes, this new event attracts more and more visitors to Nara City. AndyEven though 1300 years have passed since the capital came to Nara, the people continue to preserve its cultural assets and traditional events. I m really impressed.

Nara: A Trip to Japan s Ancient Beginnings January Day One 21 January 2011 and ( AD)

Nara: A Trip to Japan s Ancient Beginnings 21-23 January 2011 Day One 21 January 2011 and (710-784 AD) Almost every morning I read various newspapers online on my computer; these usually include The New