Nara

Shiga · 奈良

Browse Shiga’s cultural heritage from the Nara period (710 – 794). Filter by type and keyword, with concise stories, maps, and travel tips.

35 total Shiga Nara Period 710 – 794
Showing 1 – 20 of 35
Objects Deposited in the Pagoda Foundation Stone of Sufukuji
Shiga 奈良
Objects Deposited in the Pagoda Foundation Stone of Sufukuji

Finds from the site of Sufukuji in Otsu, Shiga, recovered in 1938 from a cavity in the pagoda's foundation stone. Four nested containers held three crystal relics.

The Biography of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng
Shiga
The Biography of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng

A Tang-period text owned by Enryakuji in Shiga Prefecture. Its own country field reads China, while its own period field gives the Tang dynasty of it.

Shichijo Sashino Kesa
Shiga
Shichijo Sashino Kesa

Discover the Shichijō Shinō Kesa, a rare Tang dynasty hemp kesa designated as a National Treasure of Japan. Brought from China by the monk Saichō over 1,200 years ago, this sacred Buddhist vestment is preserved at Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hanshu (latter part of the Annals of Emperor Gao and a fragmentary volume of Biographies, Book Four)
Shiga 奈良
Hanshu (latter part of the Annals of Emperor Gao and a fragmentary volume of Biographies, Book Four)

Two scrolls at Ishiyama-dera preserve the Book of Han, China's history of the Former Han, copied by hand in eighth-century Japan, with a Buddhist text on the back.

Gyokuhenmaki No. 27 (second Half)
Shiga
Gyokuhenmaki No. 27 (second Half)

Compiled in 543 and lost in China, the Yupian survives only in Tang manuscripts in Japan. This National Treasure at Ishiyama-dera is volume 27's latter half.

Records of the Grand Historian, Volumes 96 and 97
Shiga 奈良
Records of the Grand Historian, Volumes 96 and 97

At Ishiyama-dera in Shiga, one of the oldest copies of the Shiji sits on paper a Heian monk later reused for a Shingon ritual. The scroll is a National Treasure.

Shaku-Makayenron
Shiga
Shaku-Makayenron

At Ishiyama-dera in Shiga, the Shaku Makaen Ron is a rare Tang-dynasty manuscript of a commentary on the Awakening of Faith, kept in five folding booklets.

Ten Recitations〈Vol. 52〉
Shiga 奈良
Ten Recitations〈Vol. 52〉

Copied in 768 by order of Empress Shōtoku for a departed sovereign's repose, this scroll of the Sarvāstivāda monastic code survives at Ishiyama-dera in Shiga.

Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra
Shiga 奈良
Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra

Kept at Taiheiji in mountainous Shiga, these 142 volumes are the oldest dated copy of the Great Wisdom Sutra in Japan, brushed in 712 at the wish of Prince Nagaya.

Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra
Shiga 奈良
Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra

Twenty-seven sutra volumes kept at Jomyoji Temple in Koka, Shiga, copied in 712 for Prince Nagaya: Japan's oldest dated Daihannya-kyo, a National Treasure.

Dengyo Daishi Entered the Tang Dynasty
Shiga
Dengyo Daishi Entered the Tang Dynasty

Held at Enryaku-ji, this National Treasure is a single scroll of two Tang government permits issued to the monk Saichō in 804 and 805. Part is in his own hand.

Gobu Shinkan (Ink on Paper; complete)
Shiga
Gobu Shinkan (Ink on Paper; complete)

A National Treasure at Onjo-ji near Lake Biwa, this Tang handscroll in ink line maps the deities of the Diamond World mandala, brought from China by Enchin in 855.

Purple Paper Golden Characters Golden Gwangmyeong the Most
Shiga 奈良
Purple Paper Golden Characters Golden Gwangmyeong the Most

Three-Story Pagoda at Ishitoji Temple
Shiga 奈良
Three-Story Pagoda at Ishitoji Temple

Ishiyama-Dera Sutra
Shiga 奈良~室町
Ishiyama-Dera Sutra

Silk Version of the Bodhisattva in Various Colors
Shiga 南宋
Silk Version of the Bodhisattva in Various Colors

Colored Silk Statue of Tendai Daishi
Shiga 南宋
Colored Silk Statue of Tendai Daishi

Big Dipper Statue on Silk
Shiga 南宋
Big Dipper Statue on Silk

Wooden Tablets Excavated from the Nishikawahara Ruins in
Shiga 飛鳥~奈良
Wooden Tablets Excavated from the Nishikawahara Ruins in

Theory of All Theories on Beksha (written by Senshaku)
Shiga 奈良
Theory of All Theories on Beksha (written by Senshaku)