The Nara and Heian periods describe japan at 800 AD. The Nara period is from 710-794, and the Heian period is from 794-1185 (Segal “Heian Japan”). The Heian is actually the last division of classical japanese history. The significant action that began the Nara period is when the capital was moved from Fujiwarakyo to modern day Nara (reason for being called Nara period). Buddhism was established as the official religion, which has a large impact. Chinese government and culture had an impact on japanese culture as well. The significant action that began the Heian period was the capital of Japan moving from Nara, to Heian-kyo in 794 AD. The government established in the Nara period was gradually changed to rule by the Fujiwara family.
The culture of Japan at 800 AD was extremely centered around religion. Around 538 AD Buddhism was first brought to Japan. Around 730 AD it was established as the official religion by the pious Prince Regent Shotoku. Shotoku was actually entitled to the throne, but rejected it in order to serve the public. After this, Buddhist temples were built all around Japan, and it affected their culture in a huge way. Buddhism was used in schools, hospitals, orphanages etc. It was practiced by many people such as monks, nobles, and artisans. This influenced…show more content… They had types of poetry, and they also had drama or theater. This drama was mainly dances at shrines, which evolves into Noh, which is a telling of folktales with actors. One of the earliest novels written in Japan was Genji Monogatari, which was written by a woman named Murasaki Shikibu. There were many other works of literature in early Japan, mostly about fictional battles, or the about nobles in the emperor's court. Japanese literature and language was influenced by China, as was a lot of things in Japan. After 800 there were large books of compiled poetry, with all sorts of different types of