The Nara Period — Japan's First Permanent Capital

In 710, Empress Genmei established Japan's first permanent capital at Heijo-kyo (modern Nara), modeled on the Tang dynasty capital of Chang'an. Before Nara, the capital had moved with each new emperor due to Shinto beliefs about death pollution. The decision to build a permanent seat of government marked Japan's transformation from a loose confederation of clans into a centralized state. The Nara period (710-794) saw the wholesale importation of Chinese culture, governance, and religion: a Chinese-style bureaucracy was established under the Ritsuryo legal codes, Buddhism became a state-sponsored religion (Emperor Shomu built the Great Buddha at Todai-ji, the world's largest bronze statue at the time), and the first Japanese histories — the Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720) — were compiled to legitimize imperial rule. The Man'yoshu, Japan's oldest poetry anthology containing over 4,500 poems, was also compiled during this era. But the growing power of Buddhist monasteries and their interference in politics alarmed the court. In 784, Emperor Kanmu decided to move the capital — first briefly to Nagaoka-kyo, then in 794 to Heian-kyo (Kyoto), where it would remain for over a thousand years.