Nara, the oldest city in Japan 2016/10/22
Last week I visited Nara. It took me nearly five hours to Nara station from my home in Tokyo by train including 3 transfers.
Weather was not too hot and not to cold. It was just comfortable for walking. There is a famous Haiku, “when I eat persimmon, the bell of Horyuji temple rings”. It was just the time of persimmon and I could find red persimmons everywhere I walked. And also it was the time of harvest of rice.
There were lots of foreign visitors such as Western and Asian people but also many young pupils on excursion.
Nara is considered to be the center of old Japan when it began to form an ancient nation around 3rd to 5th century and it had been the capital of Japan until 794 when the capital was moved to Kyoto.
Therefore there are so many old and historic shrines and temples together with tremendous number of Buddha statues and arts. My preference is Hanka Shii statue which sits contemplatively in a branch temple of Horyuji. It has been sitting there for more than 1300 years and shines black with smokes of incense.
There are also numerous numbers of giant tumuluses from 3rd to 7th century. We did not have prevailing of letters until around 6th century, while it is considered that the begging of the nation was around 3rd century. Therefore we do not have written records about the beginning of the nation, however Japanese oldest historic books, Kojiki and Nipponshoki tell many old tales and myths about the beginning. Old tumuluses also indicate lots about the beginning together with various historic events in old days.
Nara basin was under a lake in ancient times and it was still marshy ground until around 5th century. Such ground might have been suitable place for rice cropping when quality irrigation system was not enough.
Watching farmers were busy in harvesting rice, I was convinced the days when Nara was the center of newly born nation, it must have been the most advanced rice fields.
It is so enjoyable to imagine about the early time of the nation when you walk around one of the oldest towns in Japan.
