Nara period
The Nara period (Jap.奈良 时代, Nara jidai ) in the history of Japan covers the years 710 to 794 Empress ( Tennō ) Gemmei moved the capital to Heijo - kyō (now Nara ). Heijo - kyō capital remained until the transferred her Kammu - tennō in the year 784 according to Nagaoka - kyō - and a decade later to Heian - kyō ( Kyoto ).
The majority of Japanese society during this period was dominated by agriculture to villages around. Most of the villagers followed the Shinto religion, which is based on the worship of the spirits of nature and of ancestors ( Kami ).
The capital had been created following the model of Chang'an ( Xi'an ), the capital of Tang China (618-907). Also in other respects emulated the upper classes by the Chinese, for example, in the acquisition of Chinese characters ( kanji ) and Buddhism as a religion.
Economic, social and governmental developments
Because of influenced by Shinto idea that a place by the death of a man is spiritually contaminated, it was up to the Asuka period and before the Taiho Code was introduced, common to move the capital after the death of each Tennō. Reforms and the bureaucratization of the government led 710 for the construction of permanent imperial capital Heijo - kyō, or Nara. This capital city was the new era its name and was the first real urban center in Japan. They soon had a population of 200,000 inhabitants, nearly 4 % of the total population of the country. About 10,000 officials had positions at court.
The economic and governmental activities increased during the Nara period. Roads linked Nara to provincial capitals and taxes were collected more efficiently and regularly. Coins were minted, although not widely used. Outside the Nara area, there was little trade. In the provinces faded the old system of land ownership, which in the context of ( Taika Reform) - had been created - in the spirit of the Prince Shōtoku.
Middle of the 8th century took as a result of erosion of the land distribution system on the Chinese model, the proportion of Shoen ( feudal estates ) to. This was mainly caused by three factors:
- Attempts by the government to secure the loyalty of officials by soon gave them erbbares Office Country
- By reclaimed land reclamation did not fall under the land distribution system
- Progressively circumvent the redistribution and tax burden by the binding of landowners to powerful ( tax-exempt ) noble families.
The management system of the era was called ritsuryō.
The infighting in the imperial court continued into throughout the Nara period. Imperial family members, leading Hoffamilien as the Fujiwara, and Buddhist priests were arguing further for influence. Already the Shōmu moved - tennō left three years at a new capital ( Kuni ) build without referring them. In the late Nara period, increased the financial burden on the state, and the court did not release the necessary officials. 792 compulsory military service was abolished and the Bezirksvorstehern was allowed to entertain private militia forces for local police duties. The decentralization of authority was the rule, despite the reforms of the Nara period. Finally, to gain control in imperial hands back, 784 was the capital to Nagaoka, about 26 kilometers north of Nara, laid. The venture was abandoned before completion, because 794 was the relocation to Heian - kyō ( capital of peace and tranquility ). In the late 11th century this city was universally Kyoto ( capital ) called.