Built in 743 on the instigation of Emperor Shomu, Todai-ji centres on the Daibutsu-den , the main pavilion. There is a reason for its gigantic size (57m long and 50m wide): this wooden structure houses the enormous bronze statue of the cosmic Buddha..

Kofuku-ji, which was originally erected in Kyoto, was taken to Nara in 741 by the aristocratic Fujiwara family, whose power it represented. At the height of its glory, between the 8C and 12C, this Buddhist temple of the Hosso school had a total of 17..

Inaugurated in 1895, the Nara National Museum has a large collection of Buddhist art housed in two different buildings. The old building brings together the collections of Japanese Buddhist sculpture left in storage by the large monasteries of Nara..

Like all Shinto shrines, Kasuga Taisha looks after the nature around it. Hunting and the felling of trees have been banned since the 8C and hundred-year-old cedars stand tall in the sacred forest surrounding the shrine. A thousand stone lanterns mark..

Off the beaten track for tourists, the traditional garden of Isui-en offers a relaxing break between cultural sites. It consists of two gardens dating from the Meiji period: the one to the west is a stroll garden laid out around a little pond; its op..

Naramachi is Nara's historical district and is made up of time-worn little wooden houses, machiya . These modest residences built by merchants in the 18C and 19C (some are still inhabited by their descendants) have been turned into restaurants, craf..

Upon the invitation of Emperor Shomu, the monk Ganjin (688-763) left China for Japan in 759 to spread the teachings of Buddhism. He founded the Ritsu school by establishing the rules of monastic discipline which would have a durable influence on Japa..

This temple (680) belonging to the Hosso sect is one of the oldest and most sacred in the city. Badly damaged by fire in 973 and again in 1528, Yakushi-ji had to be reconstructed in its entirety, with the exception of the To-to , the East Pagoda. Th..