Suzaku Gate
During most of the Nara Period (710-794), Nara served as the capital of Japan and was known as Heijo-kyo. The Heijo Palace extended about one kilometer wide and one kilometer long and served as the site of the emperor's residence and the government offices. For its great historical and cultural importance, the palace site is included as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Nara.
Although the palace once stood as the majestic center of the ancient capital, all of its buildings were eventually lost with the exception of a single hall that now stands at Toshodaiji Temple. When the capital was moved away from Heijo-kyo in 784, Heijo Palace and a large part of the city were abandoned as people flocked to the new capital. The temples on the outskirts of the former capital, however, retained their importance, and the city of Nara eventually resumed its growth around these temples, while the palace grounds were used for nothing but rice fields.
In more recent times, it was decided to rediscover and celebrate Nara's past. The lack of development on the grounds of the former Heijo Palace made it particularly easy for conducting archaeological research, which has been ongoing since the 1950s. Visitors to Heijo Palace nowadays will still find a rural atmosphere, but the government has gone to considerable lengths to put on display for visitors the history of Heijo Palace with historic reconstructions and museums.
Three major structures of the former palace complex have been reconstructed in recent decades. Foremost among them is the Former Audience Hall (Daigokuden), the largest building on the palace grounds, which was reconstructed on the occasion of the 1300th anniversary of Nara Capital and opened to the public in April 2010.
Former Audience Hall
The large audience hall was used as the site of important ceremonies and meetings. Its ceiling is decorated by the four animals of the direction on the compass and the twelve animals of the lunar calendar. A throne stands in the center of the hall. The building is called the "former" audience hall, because it was replaced by the "latter" audience hall in the second half of the Nara Period. The latter audience hall's foundations are visible to the east of the former audience hall.
Two more full scale reconstructions from the 1990s are the Suzaku Gate (Suzakumon), the main gate of the palace to the south, and the East Palace Garden (Toin Teien), which features a pond, streams and bridges, and was used by the imperial family for banquets. Also partially reconstructed were the offices of the Imperial Household Agency (Kunaicho).
East Palace Garden
Furthermore there are various foundations found across the palace grounds, some of which are highlighted by bushes, poles or low walls to indicate the former locations of other palace structures, such as the imperial living quarters and administrative offices.
At the north east corner of the palace grounds stands the Excavation Site Exhibition Hall, where exposed excavation sites are left open to be viewed by the public. At the western end of the grounds is the Nara Palace Site Museum, a moderately sized, very informative museum with artefacts, models, photographs and maps on display, including several wooden tablets that were widely used as an alternative to more expensive paper during the Nara Period.
A few steps from the Suzaka Gate stands the Heijokyo History Museum, which was originally built for the 1300th anniversary of Nara Capital in 2010. Its main features are a replica of a ship used to travel between Japan and China during the Nara Period and an impressive high-resolution movie about the capital city as it looked like during its heydays. Unfortunatelly, there are no English signs or subtitles.
Foundation of the Latter Audience Hall
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