The first capital of Japan. History of the Great Japanese Empire

Everyone knows that the modern capital of Japan is the city of Tokyo. However, not everyone knows how the first capital was called. We suggest to make a small trip into the depths of history and find out what the Land of the Rising Sun was like many centuries ago.

Nara (Japan) on the world map is just a small point. However, its significance was once very great. Today it is a small Japanese city located in the Kansai region. Its population is about 365 thousand people. However, this is not just a city. Nara is the first capital of Japan. Its earlier name is Heijou-kyu. The first capital of Japan was built, like much in this country at the initial stages of development of statehood, in the image and likeness of Chang'an, the capital of China of that time. The civilization of ancient China strongly influenced the formation of religion, writing and statehood of the Land of the Rising Sun. Japan took a lot from her. On a world map, these states are in the neighborhood, so do not be surprised.

The Golden Buddha is the symbol of Nara. The first capital of Japan was founded in 710. However, the presence in Nara of a large number of Buddhist temples, as well as the huge impact on the life of the city of Buddhist monks, has become a threat to the government. Therefore, it decided to find a new capital. In 784, it was moved to Nagaoko for a while, and then to Kyoto.

History with the Japanese capitals

History with the Japanese capitals is a complicated and complicated thing. The official sources indicate the period of time when this or that city was the capital. However, despite this, in fact it was repeatedly postponed. Even in the Nara era, it was moved to 740-44 years. In Kuni-Kow (today's Kamo). And in 745, the capital was another city - Naniwa-Kyu (modern Osaka). After that, Nara again became the capital.

The Nara period

This is the name of the era in the history of Japan, when the capital was the city of Nara (from 710 to 794). Its features are the accelerated si- tation of society, the flowering of culture, in particular poetry and Buddhism, the creation of the first Japanese historical chronicles.

Until the 8th century the Japanese called their state Yamato. However, in 702 the toponym "Nihon" first appeared. Visiting China Avata-no Mahito, the Japanese ambassador, called his country so. Before the adoption of Taiho (the main legislative code) in 701 there was a custom after the death of the emperor to transfer the capital of the state to a new place. In the 8th century, the reform of Japanese society began. A centralized power was created, with an effective administrative apparatus. As a result, the whole territory of Japan was united. All this required the creation of a sedentary large center. The first capital in 710 became this center.

Nara was a quadrangle that was divided into left and right "capitals". In addition, the city was divided into dozens of small areas. Government buildings were concentrated in the northern part of Nara. Here was the palace of the emperor. The central thoroughfare of the city, known as the "Red Phoenix Street", stretched from it. It reached the main gate, located in the south.

The population of Japan in the Nara period

The period of Nara in Japan is seen as a continuation of the reforms begun in the 7th century. They were associated with the borrowing of China's civilizational experience. The population of the state, according to Russian researchers, was about 6 million people. At that time the Japanese empire was already a centralized state. The population was divided into 2 categories: ryomin (kind people) and sammine (mean people). Officials belonged to the first category (they were the elite of Japan at that time), as well as free community members and artisans who depended on the court. The Sammin included grave guards, criminals turned into slaves and their families, privately owned slaves. All officials, according to the legislative codes of Japan of the 7th century, were divided into provincial and metropolitan. Their position was fixed by a system of 9 ranks. In turn, they split up into junior and senior ranks. The higher the official position in this system, the higher his salary, more privileges and benefits.

Economy of the state

The economy of this period was state-planned. The network of roads leading to the capital was laid for more efficient collection of taxes. Thanks to her, Japan's active development began. At the court minted silver and copper coins. In 708 the first Japanese coins appeared. The money was used mainly to pay salaries to employees and officials. The bulk of the Japanese were outside the sphere of commodity circulation. 90% of the residents were free peasants. The natural character was borne by the country's economy.

The naturalization of Buddhism and the flowering of the arts

An important feature of this era is the naturalization of Buddhism. The policy of Emperor Semu contributed to this. He personally turned to Buddhism, which was declared "defender" of the country, in other words, defined as a state religion. The Nara period is also the era of the heyday of the arts, which the Japanese Empire was experiencing at that time. Up to now, most of the works of art have been preserved in Shosoin (the Imperial Vault) located on the territory of the Todai-ji Temple. Among them, you can find items from India and Persia, which indicates that the ancient Japanese participated in international trade.

The time when Nara was the center of the whole state was an outstanding period in the history of Japan in terms of the progress of art and architecture. The reason for this was the extensive international exchange with Korea and China. The basis of culture and politics in Japan at the same time was already formed enough to have its characteristic features. Many shrines and temples of that time and today can be seen in the first capital and, having returned back to 1300 years, feel the atmosphere of those years.

The population of Nara in the heyday

It is believed that in the heyday of Nara was a large city. About 100 thousand people lived here. In Nara was the residence of Shchomu (Semu), the 45th emperor of Japan. He was the first who took a commoner to his wife. In addition, the first capital of Japan was a political and administrative center with many officials. It was here, according to the ancient myth, that the first emperor of Japan descended from the skies on deer Jimmu. Therefore, in the country, and especially in its first capital, deer are sacred animals, which are called to protect the city and the state.

The fate of Nara after the transfer of the capital

After Nara ceased to be the capital, her development stopped for a while. Many architectural monuments of the city during the internecine wars, which so often occurred in Japan and lasted a very long time, were destroyed, since most of the structures of that time were built of wood. Under the agricultural land began to use the land of the first capital. The once magnificent city has come to a complete decline. However, influential temples after centuries opposed this. Again Nara became the capital of shrines and temples of Japan.

Restoration of the city

It was not so easy to restore it - many monuments were completely destroyed. And in order to recreate Suzakumon, the majestic gates of the red phoenix, the main ones in the temple of Nara, did not even have enough basic information. It was not known for sure how they looked. Therefore, the reconstruction was carried out on the basis of a model made as a result of excavations, comparison and analysis of distances between columns and fragments that could be detected. In 1998 the gates were reconstructed. Today it is a majestic structure with a height of 25 m. They are built of concrete and cypress. During their reconstruction, the seismological situation in the region was taken into account, and special technologies were used that allowed the gate to stand for another 500 years.

Gardens of Nara

Based on the excavations, it was possible to reconstruct gardens that restored the ancient appearance of this area. In Nara, for more than a thousand years, deforestation of the forests near the sacred mountain Kasugayama was banned. And today they are considered primordial. They still grow Japanese cedars, and these forests are home to many rare animals. They themselves are a natural monument. It is very unusual that these ancient forests are in close proximity to the city. They are an important place for tourist excursions. These forests can be visited free of charge daily. Here grows 175 species of trees, 598 species of flowers, 60 species of animals and birds and 1180 species of insects.

Nara today

The ancient capital of Nara is today a favorite place for Japanese tourism. Excursions here for graduation classes of schools and groups of kindergartens are especially popular. For foreign travelers there are tours, calculated, as a rule, for one day. If you plan to stay here for a longer time, you should take care of booking the hotel in advance, as there are not many of them in this city. The former capital of Japan is one of the best places where you can admire the cherry blossom in the spring, and in the autumn you can observe the beauty of the leaves of the mimiji.