NARA, NARA

is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering itself to Kyoto Prefecture. Seven temples, shrines and ruins in Nara, specifically Tōdai-ji, Saidai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga Shrine, Gangō-ji, Yakushi-ji, Tōshōdai-ji and Heijō Palace Remains, together with Kasugayama Primeval Forest, collectively form "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Contents

History

Modern Nara

Geography

Climate

Demographics

Famous places

Wildlife in Nara

Education

Universities

Primary and secondary education

Public schools

Private schools

Sister cities

In Japan

Outside Japan

Gallery

References

Miscellany

External links

History

''for pre-modern history of Nara''
Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784, lending its name to the Nara period. The original city, Heijō-kyō, was modelled after the capital of Tang Dynasty China, Chang'an (present-day Xi'an). According to the ancient Japanese book Nihon Shoki, the name "Nara" derived from the Japanese word ''narashita'' meaning "made flat".^[1][2]
The temples of Nara remained powerful even beyond the move of the political capital to Heian-kyō in 794, thus giving Nara a synonym of Nanto (lit. meaning "South Capital") as opposed to Heian-kyō, situated in the North.

Modern Nara

In the modern age, as the seat of the prefectural government, Nara has developed into a local center of commerce and government. The city was officially incorporated on February 1, 1898.

Geography

The city of Nara lies in the north end of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering itself to Kyoto Prefecture in its north side. The city is 22.22 km from North to South, and 33.51 km from
East to West. As a result of the latest merger, effective April 1st 2005, that combined the villages of Tsuge and Tsukigase into the city of Nara, the city now borders directly to Mie Prefecture in its east as well. The total area is 276.84 km².^[3]
The downtown of Nara is on the east side of the ancient Heijō Palace site, occupying the northern part of what was called the ''Gekyō'' (外京), literally the outer capital area. Many
of the public offices (eg. the Municipal office, the Nara Prefectural government, the Nara
Police headquarter, etc.) are located on Nijō-ōji (二条大路), while Nara branch offices of major
nationwide banks are on Sanjō-ōji (三条大路), both avenues running east-west.
The highest point in the city is at the peak of Kaigahira-yama, alt.822.0m (Tsugehayama-cho district), and the lowest is in Ikeda-cho district, with an altitude of 56.4m.^[4]

Climate

Nara City, 2004	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average °C	3.7	5.6	8.0	14.5	19.2	23.0	27.6	26.4	24.1	16.8	12.4	7.3	-
Rainfall (mm)	26.0	52.5	82.0	78.0	285.0	107.5	39.5	199.0	224.5	232.0	114.0	70.5	-

Demographics

As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 373,189 and the density of 1,348 persons per km². There were 147,966 households residing in Nara. The highest concentraton of both households and population, respectively about 46,000 and 125,000, is seen along the newer bedtown districts, along the Kintetsu line connecting to Osaka. There were about 3,000 registered foreigners in the city, of which Koreans and Chinese are the two biggest groups with respectively about 1,200 and 800 people. There were a little less than 1,200 deer in Nara in 2005.

Famous places

Because of its many temples and shrines, Nara is a famous tourist destination.

★ Buddhist temples ★ ★ Tōdai-ji, including Nigatsu-dō ★ ★ Saidai-ji ★ ★ Kōfuku-ji ★ ★ Gangō-ji ★ ★ Yakushi-ji ★ ★ Tōshōdai-ji ★ Shinto shrines ★ ★ Kasuga Shrine

★ Imperial palace ★ ★ Heijō Palace ★ Other ★ ★ Kasugayama Primeval Forest ★ ★ Naramachi ★ ★ Nara Park ★ ★ Sarusawa Pond ★ ★ Wakakusa-yama ★ ★ Yagyū

Wildlife in Nara

Deer roaming in central Nara. The trees in autumn are Sapium sebiferum.

Nara is famous for the tame deer that roam all over the town, and especially in Nara Park. These deer might be consided "tame" if you do not have any "Deer Biscuts" with you when you see them. According to the legendary history of Kasuga Shrine, a mythological god Takemikazuchi arrived in Nara on a white deer to guard the newly built capital of Heijō-kyō. Since, the deer were regarded as heavenly animal to protect the city, and the country.^[5] Snack vendors sell small biscuits to visitors so they can enjoy feeding the deer. Some of the deer have learned to bow in response to tourists' bows. They nudge, jostle, and even bite for food.

Education

As of 2005, there are 16 high schools and 6 universities located in the city of Nara.

Universities

Nara Women's University is one of the only two national women's universities of Japan.

Primary and secondary education

Public schools

Public elementary and junior high schools are operated by the city of Nara.
Public high schools are operated by the Nara Prefecture.

Private schools

Private high schools in Nara include the Todaiji Gakuen, a private school founded by the temple in 1926.

Sister cities

Nara has three sister cities in Japan and five sister cities overseas.^[6]

In Japan

★ Kōriyama, Fukushima

★ Obama, Fukui

★ Dazaifu, Fukuoka

Outside Japan

★ Gyeongju,Korea

★ Xi'an,China.

★ Toledo, Spain

★ Versailles,France

★ Canberra,Australia

Gallery

References

1. 奈良の語源
2. Yamada Munemutsu 山田宗睦, trans. ''Nihon shoki'' 日本書紀. Vol. 1. Newton Press ニュートンプレス, 1992. p. 159.
3. City Profile of Nara For more details and latest figures, navigate to the equivalent Japanese page at the official homepage[1]
4. 奈良市統計書「統計なら」平成１７年版（２００５年版）(Nara City Statistics, Year 2005 Edition)
5. 奈良のシカの歴史 (The history of deers in Nara)
6. [2]

Miscellany

★ There is a theory that an ancient variant word for Nara, ''naraku'' (寧樂 / 寧楽), is related to the Korean word ''nara'' for "country" [3].

External links

★

★ City of Nara - Official website (Japanese, English Page link exist)

★ Nara International Foundation

★ Nara photos at Trekearth.com

★ Lucadea.com - Various photos of the city and its garden