Nara Period in Japanese History
552 to 794
552 to 794
The Nara period of Japan's history begins in 552, when Korea sent a statue of Buddha to Japan. Suddenly the Japanese became very interested in their neighbors. On one hand, this was great for knowledge and trade. On the other hand, local Shinto priests were very unhappy at the influx of Buddhism and the competition that began.
Prince Shotoku (573-621) was quite a liberal leader, and despite the conservative mindset of many of his advisors, Shotoku started up a series of missions to China. Until now the capital's location had not been permanent - but Shotoku set up a new, permanent capital in Nara and modelled it after Chang'an. This was the capital of China - 30 miles square and very cosmopolitan.
When Emperor Kotoku took control in 645, he went even further. This was the "Taika Reform". They worked on expanding and encourages foreigners to come in. They granted peasants access to land areas, to help build up the economy. They put in a system of rank, to help ensure that the powerful retained their status even though others were becoming more settled. Rank controlled everything from what you were allowed to wear to how much money you could have. With inspiration from China, they set up a new calendar system and constitution. Interestingly, they even brought over the Chinese characters, even though they used the letters for their own Japanese language which was not related.
At some point during this time, the Japanese rulers sent a message to the Chinese, addressing it "from the emperor of the sunrise country to the emperor of the sunset country". The Chinese were not amused!
Even so, until the end of this period there were no threats at this time to Japanese life. There was no real need for a strong army. The nobility was in general effeminate and culture-minded.
In the 700s, there was a rebellion which required all able bodied men to hold off. From this point forward, these 'soldiers' were looked on as the savior of Japan, while the remaining farmers were considered the weaklings that needed to be protected. Both were still considered lower class than the nobility.
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