A Daytrip to Nara

While staying in Kyoto, our group took a day trip to Nara.  Founded in 710 on the Yamato Plain, then known as the "citadel of peace" Nara was Japan's first capital (then Kyoto and then Tokyo).  It was here in the 7th and 8th centuries that Buddhism along with Chinese script and technology became firmly established in Japan through Korea, as Nara was located at the far end of the Silk Road.  Under the patronage of court nobles many magnificent temples and works of art were built, many of which still survive today.  We started the day trip with small group excursions to the Kasuga Grand Shrine.  This shrine was originally the family shrine of the Fujiwaras, one of the families that helped to establish Nara.  The original building was built in 710, but as part of the rules of purity and renewal in the Shinto belief system, the building is demolished and rebuilt every 20 years.  The current building has been preserved since 1863.  

Surrounding the shrine is a wooded area that contains roads lined with over 3,000 stone and bronze lanterns!  These shrines have been donated over the centuries by ordinary people as tokens of faith and thankfullness.  As beautiful as it was to walk the hill to the shrine, while gazing upon these lanterns, it must be an incredible experience to be here in early February (as part of the Last Day of Winter Festival) and mid-August (as part of the "Obon" or Festival of Souls) when all 3,000 lanterns are lit for several days!

Next, our group visited the Todai-ji (The Great Eastern) Temple and gazed upon the 53-foot bronze Daibatsu (The Great Buddha).  The temple was founded in 745 by Emperor Shomu to help ward off the terrible epidemics that regularly swept the nation, but also as showing of his power.  The temple is quite impressive.  It took 15 years to build and was (and still is) the world's largest wooden building!  (Although now the current structure dates from 1709 and is only 2/3rds the size of the original).

The temple has to be so large because it holds a colossal bronze image of a Buddha (Daibatsu) sitting on a lotus, serving as the Cosmic Buddha, who presides over all levels of the universe.  This Buddha was a phenomenal achievement at the time and is the largest in Japan.  Over the centuries the Buddha has endured tough times, loosing its head in a 9th century earthquake and its right hand in a fire in 1180.  As a result only small fragments of the original remain with patchwork parts put together over the century-although it was hardly noticed by me!  I gazed in wonder at Daibatsu as it sat in the center of the Great Buddha Hall.  It's gigantic size, taking up the entire structure and dwarfing all of us visitors as we walked around the hall.  It is truly a wonder of technological achievement and a very moving experience.

After leaving the Todai-ji, we walked past the Five-Storey Pagoda, which belonged to the Kofuku-ji, one of Nara's great temples in the 8th century.  We also had time to walk through Nara Park, home to more than a thousand semi-wild deer.  They were originally regarded as divine messengers of one of the Kosuga-jinja's Shinto gods, and anyone who killed a deer was liable to be killed!  During World War II the number of deer dwindled to just 70, but now they are back by the hundreds!  They are VERY friendly and constantly looking to the many visitors to Nara for treats.  (They are fed by the locals on a daily basis)  One member of our group bought the sembei crackers and the deer came running!  A wild sight for a tourist from the US who isn't used to such tame deer!

Sue and I enjoyed a quick lunch with our friend Ria and hoped the return train to Kyoto just in time for a lovely Shojin Ryori group dinner at Kodai-ji TK Kuan Restaurant.