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Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...
, Japan. , Nara has an estimated population of 367,353 according to World Population Review, making it the largest city in Nara Prefecture and sixth-largest in the
Kansai region The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropol ...
of
Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...
. Nara is a
core city In urban planning, a historic core city or central city is the municipality with the largest 1940 population in the present metropolitan area (metropolitan statistical area). This term was retired by the US census bureau and replaced by the term ...
located in the northern part of Nara Prefecture bordering the
Kyoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Kyoto Prefecture has a population of 2,561,358 () and has a geographic area of . Kyoto Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the northeast, Shiga Prefecture ...
. Nara was the capital of Japan during the
Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...
from 710 to 784 as the seat of the
Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
before the capital was moved to Nagaoka-kyō, except for the years 740 to 745, when the capital was placed in Kuni-kyō, Naniwa-kyō and Shigaraki Palace. Nara is home to eight major historic temples, shrines, and heritage sites, specifically Tōdai-ji, Saidai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga Shrine, Gangō-ji, Yakushi-ji, Tōshōdai-ji, and the Heijō Palace, together with Kasugayama Primeval Forest, collectively form the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara, a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.


Etymology

By the
Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...
, a variety of different characters had been used to represent the name Nara: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . A number of theories for the origin of the name "Nara" have been proposed, and some of the better-known ones are listed here. The second theory in the list, from the notable folklorist
Kunio Yanagita was a Japanese author, scholar, and Folklore studies, folklorist. He began his career as a bureaucrat, but developed an interest in rural Japan and its folk traditions. This led to a change in his career. His pursuit of this led to his eventual e ...
(1875–1962), is most widely accepted at present. *The (''The Chronicles of Japan'', the second oldest book of classical Japanese history) suggests that "Nara" was derived from '' narasu'' (to flatten, to level). According to this account, in September in the tenth year of Emperor Sujin, "leading selected soldiers (the rebels) went forward, climbed Nara-yama (hills lying to the north of Heijō-kyō) and put them in order. Now the imperial forces gathered and flattened trees and plants. Therefore the mountain is called Nara-yama." Though the narrative itself is regarded as a folk etymology and few researchers regard it as historical, this is the oldest surviving suggestion, and is linguistically similar to the following theory by Yanagita. *"Flat land" theory (currently most widely accepted): In his 1936 study of placenames, the author
Kunio Yanagita was a Japanese author, scholar, and Folklore studies, folklorist. He began his career as a bureaucrat, but developed an interest in rural Japan and its folk traditions. This led to a change in his career. His pursuit of this led to his eventual e ...
states that "the topographical feature of an area of relatively gentle gradient on the side of a mountain, which is called ''taira'' in eastern Japan and ''hae'' in the south of
Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...
, is called ''naru'' in the
Chūgoku region The , also known as the region, is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori and Yamaguchi. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 7,328,339 ...
and
Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...
(central Japan). This word gives rise to the verb ''narasu'', adverb ''narashi'', and adjective ''narushi''." This is supported by entries in a dialect dictionary for nouns referring to flat areas: ''naru'' (found in Aida District, Okayama Prefecture and Ketaka District, Tottori Prefecture) and ''naro'' (found in Kōchi Prefecture); and also by an adjective ''narui'' which is not standard Japanese, but is found all across central Japan, with meanings of "gentle", "gently sloping", or "easy". Yanagita further comments that the way in which the fact that so many of these placenames are written using the character ("flat"), or other characters in which it is an element, demonstrates the validity of this theory. Citing a 1795 document, from the province of Inaba, the eastern part of modern Tottori, as indicating the reading ''naruji'' for the word 平地 (standard reading ''heichi'', meaning "level/flat ground/land/country, a plain"), Yanagita suggests that ''naruji'' would have been used as a common noun there until the modern period. Of course, the fact that historically "Nara" was also written or as above is further support for this theory. *The idea that Nara is derived from ''nara'' ( Japanese for "oak, deciduous ''
Quercus An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
'' spp.") is the next most common opinion. This idea was suggested by a linguist, Yoshida Togo. This noun for the plant can be seen as early as in Man'yōshū (7–8th century) and Harima-no-kuni Fudoki (715). The latter book states the place name ''Narahara'' in Harima (around present-day Kasai) derives from this ''nara'' tree, which might support Yoshida's theory. Note that the name of the nearby city of Kashihara (literally "live oak plain") contains a semantically similar morpheme (Japanese ''kashi'' "live oak, evergreen ''
Quercus An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
'' spp."). *Nara could be a
loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...
from
Old Korean Old Korean is the first historically documented stage of the Korean language, typified by the language of the Unified Silla period (668–935). The boundaries of Old Korean periodization remain in dispute. Some linguists classify the sparsely at ...
, related to Middle Korean ''narah'' and Modern Korean ''nara'' (: "country", "nation", "kingdom"). This idea was put forward by the linguist Matsuoka Shizuo. American linguist Samuel E. Martin notes that the earliest attestation of this word in Korean sources—given in an eighth-century ''
hyangga ''Hyangga'' () were poems written using Chinese characters in a system known as ''hyangchal'' during the Unified Silla and early Goryeo periods of Korean history. Only a few have survived: 14 in the ''Samguk yusa'' (late 6th to 9th centuries) and ...
'' text, in the phonogramic form —should be read as ''NAL -k''. This is similar to the form implied by the Old Japanese writings of Nara that transcribe the second syllable with (''raku''), and Martin notes that the city name has been "long suspected of being a borrowing from the Korean word". Kusuhara et al. argues that this hypothesis cannot account for the fact there are many places named Nara, Naru and Naro besides this Nara.楠原佑介ほか KUSUHARA Yūsuke et al. (1981), 『古代地名語源辞典』 ''(The Dictionary of Ancient Place Name Etymology)'', 東京堂出版, p.232 *There is the idea that Nara is akin to Tungusic ''na''. In some Tungusic languages such as Orok (and likely Goguryeo language), ''na'' means earth, land or the like. Some have speculated about a connection between these Tungusic words and Old Japanese ''nawi'', an archaic and somewhat obscure word that appears in the verb phrases ''nawi furu'' and ''nawi yoru'' ('an
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
occurs, to have an earthquake'). The "flat land" theory is adopted by Nihon Kokugo Daijiten (the largest dictionary of Japanese language), various dictionaries for place names, history books on Nara, and the like today, and it is regarded as the most likely.


History


Pre-Nara and origins

There are a number of megalithic tombs or kofun in Nara, including Gosashi Kofun, , , , , , and . By decree of an edict on March 11, 708 AD, Empress Genmei ordered the court to relocate to the new capital, Nara. Once known as Heijō or Heijō-kyō, the city was established as Japan's first permanent capital in 710 CE; it was the seat of government until 784 CE, albeit with a five-year interruption, lasting from 741 to 745 CE. Heijō, as the ‘penultimate court’, however, was abandoned by the order of Emperor Kammu in 784 CE in favor of the temporary site of Nagaoka, and then Heian-kyō (Kyoto) which retained the status of capital for 1,100 years, until the Meiji Emperor made the final move to Edo in 1869 CE. This first relocation was due to the court's transformation from an imperial nobility to a force of metropolitan elites and new technique of dynastic shedding which had refashioned the relationship between court, nobility, and country. Moreover, the ancient capital lent its name to Nara period. As a reactionary expression to the political centralization of China, the city of Nara (Heijō) was modeled after the Tang capital at Chang’an. Nara was laid out on a grid—which was based upon the Handen system—whereby the city was divided by four great roads. Likewise, according to Chinese cosmology, the ruler's place was fixed like the pole star. By dominating the capital, the ruler brought heaven to earth. Thus, the south-facing palace centered at the north, bisected the ancient city, instituting ‘Right Capital’ and ‘Left Capital’ zones. As Nara came to be a center of Buddhism in Japan and a prominent pilgrimage site, the city plan incorporated various pre-Heijō and Heijō period temples, of which the Yakushiji and the Todaiji still stand. File:CG Gosashi Kofun 1 7p.jpg, Gosashi tomb


Politics

A number of scholars have characterized the Nara period as a time of penal and administrative legal order. The
Taihō Code The was an administrative reorganisation enacted in 703 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. It was historically one of the . It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito. Nussbaum, Louis- ...
called for the establishment of administrative sects underneath the central government, and modeled many of the codes from the Chinese Tang dynasty. The code eventually disbanded, but its contents were largely preserved in the Yōrō Code of 718. Occupants of the throne during the period gradually shifted their focus from military preparation to religious rites and institutions, in an attempt to strengthen their divine authority over the population.


Religion and temples

* Nanto Rokushū With the establishment of the new capital, Asuka-dera, the temple of the
Soga clan The was one of the most powerful aristocratic kin groups Uji (clan), (''uji'') of the Asuka period of the early Japanese state—the Yamato period, Yamato polity—and played a major role in the spread of Buddhism in Japan. Through the 5th and ...
, was relocated within Nara. The Emperor Shōmu ordered the construction of Tōdai-ji Temple (largest wooden building in the world) and the world's largest bronze Buddha statue. The temples of Nara, known collectively as the Nanto Shichi Daiji, remained spiritually significant even beyond the move of the political capital to Heian-kyō in 794, thus giving Nara a synonym of Nanto ( "the southern capital"). On 2 December 724 AD, in order to increase the visual "magnificence" of the city, an edict was ordered by the government for the noblemen and the wealthy to renovate the roofs, pillars, and walls of their homes, although at that time this was unfeasible. Sightseeing in Nara city became popular in the Edo period, during which several visitors' maps of Nara were widely published. During the Meiji Period, the Kofukuji Temple lost some land and its monks were converted into Shinto priests, due to Buddhism being associated with the old shogunate. File:Todaiji18s3200.jpg, Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple and the world's largest wooden building (8th century) File:Wakakusa-yakushiji.jpg, Yakushi-ji was completed in 680 File:Kofukuji12st5s3200.jpg, Kōfuku-ji was built in 669 File:Hotokuji15s5s3200.jpg, Houtokuji (Yagyu Clan Tomb) File:Weeping cherry tree in Himuro jinja 20150329.jpg, Himuro Shrine, established in 710


Modern Nara

Although Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 794, it was not designated a city until 1 February 1898. Nara has since developed from a town of commerce in the Edo and Meiji periods to a modern tourist city, due to its large number of historical temples, landmarks and national monuments. Nara was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in December 1998. The architecture of some shops, ryokans and art galleries has been adapted from traditional merchant houses. Nara holds traditional festivals every year, including the Neri-Kuyo Eshiki, a spring festival held in Todaiji temple for over 1,000 years; and the Kemari Festival, in which people wear costumes ranging across 700 years and play traditional games). In 1909, Tatsuno Kingo designed the Nara Hotel, whose architecture combined modern elements with traditional Japanese style. At a 2022 campaign event in Nara, former
Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...
Shinzo Abe was shot and killed with a homemade firearm by Tetsuya Yamagami, who resented Abe's ties to the
Unification Church The Unification Church () is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists or sometimes informally Moonies. It was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon in Seoul, South Korea, as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unificatio ...
.


Geography

The city of Nara lies in the northern end of
Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...
, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture to its north. The city is from North to South, from East to West. As a result of the latest merger, effective April 1, 2005, that combined the villages of Tsuge and Tsukigase with the city of Nara, the city now borders
Mie Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...
directly to its east. The total area is . For more details and latest figures, navigate to the equivalent Japanese page at the official homepage Nara city, as well as several important settlements (such as Kashihara, Yamatokōriyama, Tenri, Yamatotakada, Sakurai and Gose), are located in the Nara Basin. This makes it the most densely populated region of Nara Prefecture. The downtown of Nara is on the east side of the ancient Heijō Palace site, occupying the northern part of what was called the , literally the outer capital area. Many of the public offices (e.g. the Municipal office, the Nara Prefectural government, the Nara Police headquarters, etc.) are located on , while Nara branch offices of major nationwide banks are on , with both avenues running east–west. The highest point in the city is at the peak of Kaigahira-yama at an altitude of (Tsugehayama-cho district), and the lowest is in Ikeda-cho district, with an altitude of .


Climate

The climate of Nara Prefecture is generally temperate, although there are notable differences between the north-western basin area and the rest of the prefecture which is more mountainous. The basin area climate has an inland characteristic, as represented in the higher daily temperature variance, and the difference between summer and winter temperatures. Winter temperatures average approximately , and from in the summer with highest readings reaching close to . There has not been a single year since 1990 with more than 10 days of snowfall recorded by Nara Local Meteorological Observatory. The climate in the rest of the prefecture is that of higher elevations especially in the south, with being the extreme minimum in winter. Heavy rainfall is often observed in summer. The annual accumulated rainfall totals as much as , which is among the heaviest in Japan and indeed in the world outside the equatorial zone. Spring and fall temperatures are temperate and comfortable. The mountainous region of Yoshino has been long popular for viewing cherry blossoms in the spring. In autumn, the southern mountains are also a popular destination for viewing fall foliage.


Cityscape


Demographics

, the city has an estimated population of 359,666 and a population density of 1,300 persons per km2. There were 160,242 households residing in Nara. The highest concentration of both households and population, respectively about 46,000 and 125,000, is found along the newer bedtown districts, along the Kintetsu line connecting to
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
. There were about 3,000 registered foreigners in the city, of which Koreans and Chinese are the two largest groups with about 1,200 and 800 people respectively.


Landmarks and culture


Buddhist temples

* Akishino-dera * Byakugō-ji * Daian-ji * Enjō-ji * Enshō-ji * Futai-ji * Gangō-ji * Hannya-ji * Hokke-ji * Kikō-ji * Kōfuku-ji * Ryōsen-ji * Saidai-ji * Shin-Yakushi-ji * Shōryaku-ji * Tōdai-ji, including Nigatsu-dō and
Shōsōin The is the wikt:treasure house, treasure house of Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. The building is in the ''azekura'' (log-cabin) style with a raised floor. It lies to the northwest of the Great Buddha Hall. The Shōsō-in houses arti ...
* Tōshōdai-ji * Yakushi-ji


Shinto shrines

* Himuro Shrine * Kasuga Shrine * Tamukeyama Hachiman Shrine


Former imperial palace

* Heijō Palace


Museums

* Irie Taikichi Memorial Museum of Photography Nara City * Nakano Museum of Art * Nara City Historical Materials Preservation House * Nara National Museum * Nara Municipal Buried Cultural Properties Research Centre * Nara Prefectural Museum of Art * Neiraku Museum * Shōhaku Art Museum * Yamato Bunkakan


Gardens

* * Isuien Garden * Kyūseki Teien * Manyo Botanical Garden, Nara * * Yoshiki-en


Other

* Nara Hotel * Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties * Nara Park * Yagyū *


Music

* Tipsy night, a rock band from Nara, contributed the theme song for the '' Naruto: Gekitō Ninja Taisen! 4'' (''僕の愛してるだれもいない'') games


Events

* Nara Centennial Hall * Nara Kasugano International Forum Iraka * Nara Marathon * Shuni-e File:Tōdai-ji_Kon-dō.jpg, Tōdai-ji Temple Daibutsuden Hall, the world's largest wooden building File:Kofukuji08s3200.jpg, Kōfuku-ji in the center of Nara


Deer in Nara

According to the legendary history of Kasuga Shrine, the god Takemikazuchi arrived in Nara on a white deer to guard the newly built capital of Heijō-kyō. Since then, the deer have been regarded as heavenly animals, protecting the city and the country. Tame sika deer (also known as spotted deer or Japanese deer) roam through the town, especially in Nara Park. In 2015, there were more than 1,200 sika deer in Nara. Snack vendors sell ''sika senbei'' (deer crackers) to visitors so they can feed the deer. Some deer have learned to bow in order to receive ''senbei'' from people. A 2009 study by Harumi Torii (who is the assistant professor of wildlife management at Nara University of Education), in which necropsies of deceased shika deer in Nara park were conducted, found that the deer in Nara park were malnourished from not having enough grass to eat, and eating too many rice crackers and other human food. The rice crackers commonly fed to the deer lack fiber and other nutrients deer require, so when the deer eat too many rice crackers it causes the gut microbiome in the deer to become unbalanced, among other problems. 7 out of 8 deer dissected had a “kidney fat index” (which measures how much fat has attached to the kidneys) below 40%, which indicates malnutrition in the deer. And of those 7, some had kidney fat below 10%, which indicates starvation. Compared to male shika deer outside of Nara park, which weigh about 50 kilograms on average, the male shika deer in Nara park only weigh 30 kilograms on average. The color of the femoral marrow in Nara park’s deer was also abnormal, indicating malnourishment. When living deer in Nara park were observed during the study, it was discovered that rice crackers made up about one third of the average deer’s diet in Nara park, with grass making up about two thirds. The deer have become so excessively numerous in Nara park, that there isn’t enough grass in the park for all of them to live entirely on grass, creating a dependency on humans for rice crackers. This lack of grass also causes the deer to resort to eating garbage and plants that they would not normally eat. The deer in Nara park have become overpopulated due to being fed by people frequently, and having few predators and the deer have caused extensive damage to trees (by feeding on bark), bamboo (by eating their shoots), and other plants in the park. Additionally, the deer have become aggressive towards humans in their solicitation of food (which leads to people getting injured by deer,) aggressive towards each other in competition for rice crackers, and have lost their fear of predators in general. For these reasons, tourists may want to consider not feeding the deer in Nara park, and simply observe them instead. File:Nara_Park_Shika.jpg, Deer in Nara Park (2012) File:Sika deer in Nara 09.jpg, Deer approaching tourists in Nara Park in summer File:20100716_Sika_Deer_Nara_2241.jpg, Deer in Nara Park


Education

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


Universities

Nara Women's University is one of only two national women's universities in Japan. Nara Institute of Science and Technology is a graduate research university specializing in biological, information, and materials sciences.


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 Tōdaiji Gakuen, a private school founded by the temple in 1926.


Transportation

The main central station of Nara is Kintetsu Nara Station with JR Nara station some 500m west and much closer to Shin-Omiya station.


Rail

* Kintetsu Railway ** Nara Line: Tomio StationGakuen-mae StationAyameike StationYamato-Saidaiji StationShin-Ōmiya StationKintetsu Nara Station ** Kyoto Line: Takanohara StationHeijō Station – Yamato-Saidaiji Station ** Kashihara Line: Yamato-Saidaiji StationAmagatsuji StationNishinokyō Station ** Keihanna Line: Gakken Nara-Tomigaoka Station * West Japan Railway Company ** Kansai Main Line (
Yamatoji Line The is the common name of the western portion of the Kansai Main Line in Japan. The line is owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It starts at Kamo Station (Kyoto), Kamo Station in Kyoto Prefecture and ends at JR Namba Stat ...
): Narayama StationNara Station **
Sakurai Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Nara Prefecture. It connects Nara Station, Nara on the Yamatoji Line to Takada Station (Nara), Takada on the Wakayama Line, with some services continuing on the Wakayama L ...
(Manyō-Mahoroba Line): Nara Station – Kyōbate StationObitoke Station


Roads

* Expressways ** Keinawa Expressway (Under construction) ** Hanshin Expressway Dainihanna Route * Japan National Route 24 * Japan National Route 25 * Japan National Route 169 * Japan National Route 308 * Japan National Route 369 * Japan National Route 370


Sister cities


International

Nara's
sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...
are: *
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, Australia *
Gyeongju Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...
, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea * Toledo,
Province of Toledo Toledo () is a Province (Spain), province of central Spain, in the western part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Madrid Province, Madrid, Cuenca Province (Spai ...
, Spain *
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
,
Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
,
Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
, China * Yangzhou,
Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...
, China


Domestic

* Dazaifu,
Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...
, Japan * Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan * Obama,
Fukui Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 737,229 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,190 Square kilometre, km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture border ...
, Japan * Tagajō,
Miyagi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...
, Japan * Usa, Ōita Prefecture, Japan


In popular culture

Nara is featured in the
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
and
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
, ''Tonikawa: Fly Me to the Moon''. Nara is the inspiring location for the 2014 album '' This Is All Yours'' by English indie rock band
Alt-J Alt-J (stylised as alt-J, real name Δ) are an English indie rock band formed in 2007 in Leeds. Their lineup includes Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals), Thom Sonny Green (drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals), and formerly Gwil Sainsbury ...


References


External links


Nara City official website

The Official Nara Travel Guide

Public junior high schools in Nara
* {{Authority control 710 establishments Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Japan Cities in Nara Prefecture Former capitals of Japan Holy cities Populated places established in the 8th century