Nara period

Nippon Nippon (日本)
710–794
Gokishichidō system showing ancient regions and provinces during the Nara period after the introduction of the Yōrō Code (720)
Capital	Heijō-kyō (710–740; 745–784) Kuni-kyō (740–744) Naniwa-kyō (744–745) Shigarakinomiya (745) Nagaoka-kyō (784–794)
Official languages	Japanese
Common languages	Old Japanese
Religion	Buddhism Shinto
Government	Feudal absolute monarchy
Emperor
• 710–721	Genmei
• 781–794	Emperor Kanmu
Daijō-daijin
• 760-764	Fujiwara no Nakamaro
• 765-766	Dōkyō
History
• Established at Nara	710
• Japanese smallpox epidemic	735–737
• Fujiwara no Hirotsugu rebellion	740
• Kuni-kyō, Naniwa-kyō, and Shigarakinomiya as capital	740–745
• Yōrō Code promulgated	757
• Fujiwara no Nakamaro Rebellion	764
• Capital moved to Nagaoka-kyō	784
• Capital moved to Heian-kyō	794
Preceded by Succeeded by Asuka period Heian Period

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History of Japan
Periods Paleolithic before 14,000 BC Jōmon 14,000 – 1000 BC Yayoi 1000 BC – 300 AD Kofun 300 AD – 538 AD Asuka 538 – 710 Nara 710 – 794 Heian Former Nine Years' War Later Three-Year War Genpei War 794–1185 Kamakura Jōkyū War Mongol invasions Genkō War Kenmu Restoration 1185–1333 Muromachi Nanboku-chō period Sengoku period 1336–1573 Azuchi–Momoyama Nanban trade Imjin War Battle of Sekigahara 1573–1603 Edo (Tokugawa) Tokugawa shogunate Invasion of Ryukyu Siege of Osaka Sakoku Perry Expedition Convention of Kanagawa Bakumatsu Meiji Restoration Boshin War 1603–1868 Meiji Ryūkyū Disposition Invasion of Taiwan (1874) Satsuma Rebellion First Sino-Japanese War Treaty of Shimonoseki Triple Intervention Invasion of Taiwan (1895) Colonization of Taiwan Boxer Rebellion Russo-Japanese War Treaty of Portsmouth Japan–Korea Treaty Colonization of Korea 1868–1912 Taishō World War I Intervention in Siberia Great Kantō earthquake 1912–1926 Shōwa Militarism Financial crisis Nanking incident Mukden Incident Invasion of Manchuria May 15 incident February 26 incident Anti-Comintern Pact Tripartite Pact Second Sino-Japanese War World War II Attack on Pearl Harbor Pacific War Atomic bombings Soviet–Japanese War Surrender of Japan Occupation of Japan Postwar Japan Anpo protests Economic miracle Asset price bubble 1926–1989 Heisei Lost Decades Great Hanshin earthquake Cool Japan Tōhoku earthquake Imperial transition 1989–2019 Reiwa COVID-19 pandemic Abe assassination Noto earthquake 2019–present
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The Nara period (奈良時代, Nara jidai) of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794.^[1] Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kanmu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784, before moving to Heian-kyō, modern Kyoto, a decade later in 794.

Japanese society during this period was predominantly agricultural and centered on village life. Most of the villagers followed Shintō, a religion based on the worship of natural and ancestral spirits named kami.

The capital at Nara was modeled after Chang'an, the capital city of the Tang dynasty.^[2] In many other ways, the Japanese upper classes patterned themselves after the Chinese, including adopting the Chinese writing system, Chinese fashion, and a Chinese version of Buddhism.