Article

Japan’s capital of Tokyo is home to many galleries and museums. However, if you want to learn about Japan’s history and culture through cultural properties that span the country’s entire length, from Hokkaido to Okinawa, over a time period stretching from the Neolithic age to the modern day, there is only one place to visit: the Tokyo National Museum.

For those with an interest in East Asia’s ancient capitals, though, central Nara cannot be missed. With its palace ruins and old wooden structures, the area has conserved a unique cultural landscape that still appears today much as it did in antiquity. In 1998, the region was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the title ‘Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.’ With two further World Heritage Sites (‘Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area’ and ‘Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range’) within its borders, Nara Prefecture has vividly preserved the past in concrete form in its natural scenery, ruins, temples, shrines and other tangible cultural properties, and also in its associated ceremonies and events. There are so many places worth visiting in Nara. Let’s take a look at some of them now.

The Nara National Museum is located in a corner of Nara Park surrounded by famous temples and shrines like Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, and Kasuga-taisha. Japan has five national museums, located in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Fukuoka and Hokkaido. What sets the Nara National Museum apart is its unique focus on Buddhist art cultivated through a deep faith in Buddhism.

The museum comprises several exhibition buildings, each with their own distinct emphasis. The Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall is dedicated to Japanese Buddhist statuary from the 6th to the 14th centuries and it permanently displays around 100 Buddhist statues from the museum’s collection, including National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. The Ritual Bronzes Gallery exhibits the museum’s collection of ancient Chinese bronzes. The East and West New Wings hold special exhibitions of Buddhist art and masterpieces from the museum’s collection, including paintings, written materials, decorative arts and archeological artifacts. They also stage the Annual Exhibition of Shōsō-in Treasures, held each autumn to exhibit treasures gathered and donated during the Nara Period preserved for nearly 1,300 years. These wings are also venues for exhibitions that delve deeply into Nara’s unique history and culture, including shows planned to coincide with calendrical rituals and festivals like Tōdai-ji’s Omizutori and Kasuga-taisha’s Wakamiya Onmatsuri.

Tōdai-ji Temple was built in the 8th century after the Emperor ordered the construction of state-sponsored temples across Japan. Tōdai-ji also houses a colossal image of Vairocana known as the ‘Daibutsu’ (‘Great Buddha’), with the temple and the Daibutsu playing a central role in Japanese Buddhism while surviving numerous disasters. The temple has been rebuilt several times after these disasters, with its buildings and statues an impressive mix of different eras and styles. Another must-see is Tōdai-ji Museum, located on the left through the Great South Gate. Here, visitors can enjoy permanent exhibitions, thematic exhibitions and special viewings themed around the history and art of Tōdai-ji Temple. The museum is also home to several valuable Nara-period statues that were originally housed in Tōdai-ji’s oldest structure the Hokke-dō (Lotus Hall), built in the early 8th century.

The Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture has been researching buried cultural properties in Nara Prefecture since 1938. The valuable artifacts unearthed during this research are displayed at Archaeology of Yamato, a permanent exhibition that presents a comprehensive overview of the history of Japan and Nara from the Paleolithic age, some 25,000 years ago, to the 16th century. When the museum was renovated in 2021, this exhibition was also updated to reflect the latest discoveries, with around 30% of its 13,000 or so exhibits replaced with new display items. The focus on buried cultural properties from Nara Prefecture means visitors can always encounter artifacts from the Kurozuka Tomb, Fujinoki Tomb and other sites that have had a major impact on Japanese archaeology.

Kasuga Taisha was built at the foot of Mount Mikasa in 768 on the orders of Emperor Shōtoku, with the ancient shrine deeply venerated by the Imperial Family and ordinary folk ever since. The deer within the shrine grounds are cherished as messengers of the gods. Kasuga Taisha Museum houses and exhibits many sacred treasures that were dedicated to the gods from the 9th to the 12th century. The entire mountain behind the shrine is considered sacred, with hunting and tree felling forbidden. As a result, the area is a treasure trove of flora and fauna and it has been designated a Special Natural Monument as ‘Mount Kasuga Primeval Forest.’

In 588, the powerful Soga clan constructed Japan’s first ever temple in their stronghold of Asuka. From the dawn of the 7th century, meanwhile, successive emperors built their palaces in Asuka, with these collectively known as the Asuka Palaces. When the capital was relocated to Fujiwara-kyō in 694, the dismantled ruins of these Asuka buildings were carefully covered with soil and abandoned. The site subsequently became farmland, with no large-scale developments taking place thereafter, so the palace remnants remained undamaged beneath the rice fields like giant time capsules. The sites have since been excavated and work is now underway to restore the stone-paved square and large well of Asuka Kiyomimhara Palace.

Japan’s capital moved from Asuka to Fujiwara-kyō in 694. Fujiwara-kyō was the first castle town in Japan to be truly built on the Chinese grid model. Three emperors reigned here, with the political system also changing. Before, great kings had ruled as the heads of coalitions of elite clans. Now the Emperor became head of state supported by a legal system and a bureaucracy. Today, we can still see the ruins of the Imperial Palace, the Emperor’s abode at the center of the capital, and the Imperial Audience Hall, where the Emperor conducted ceremonial and political activities.

In 710, Japan’s capital moved from Fujiwara-kyō to Heijō-kyō. The new capital was built in a sprawling grid pattern, with the basic grid measuring around 4.3 km from east to west and 4.8 km from north to south, and the Gekyō (Outer Capital) measuring around 1.6 km from east to west and 2.1 km from north to south. Around 100,000 people are thought to have lived in Heijō-kyō. The capital was relocated again at the end of the 8th century, around a century later, with the Heijō-kyō site then becoming farmland. After hearing folktales about an ancient capital, volunteers began excavation work in the 19th century, with the 8th century castle town gradually revealing itself again thereafter. In recent years, part of the site has become a park. Visitors now have the opportunity to explore the contours of the ancient capital through the Excavation Site Exhibition Hall, the Nara Palace Site Museum, and reconstructions of the Suzaku Gate and Former Imperial Audience Hall.

As Japan’s foremost museum in the humanities field, Tokyo National Museum (TNM) displays, collects, preserves, and researches cultural properties from across Japan and the wider Asian region. Founded over 150 years ago, TNM’s collection houses around 120,000 objects, including 89 National Treasures and 649 Important Cultural Properties (as of April 2023). TNM has six galleries: Japanese Gallery (Honkan), Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan), Asian Gallery (Toyokan), The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures, Hyokeikan (all within the museum grounds), and Kuroda Memorial Hall (located outside the grounds). Around 3,000 items from the collection are on permanent display in Regular Exhibitions, with TNM also staging around 5 or 6 special exhibitions a year. Though perhaps not immediately apparent, TNM also has a strong connection with Nara. During the Meiji era (1868–1912), Hōryū-ji Temple, a registered World Heritage Site, donated a number of cultural properties to the Imperial Household. These treasures were later granted to the Tokyo Imperial Household Museum, TNM’s predecessor, and they are now displayed together in The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures. Here, it feels like the immense power of this ancient Nara temple has been transported fully to Tokyo. With exhibits rotated around 300 times a year, TNM is a museum where new discoveries can be made with every visit!