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Early Influences from Korea and Chi-na

Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the sixth century from the Korean state of Paekche. The sophisticated new religion was welcomed by the Yamato Court as a way to help promote a stronger centralized government. A great flowering of architecture ensued as magnificent temples, filled with statues and other works of art, were built to impress people at home and abroad.

This storehouse at Tōdaiji, from the Nara Period, consists of triangular logs that expand in the summer to keep moisture out and contract in the winter to allow air circulation.

Asuka Period (538–645)

The traditional date for the introduction of Buddhism to Japan is 538, although the date 552 is often used as well. The period between the arrival of Buddhism and the Taika Reform of 645 is known as the Asuka Period. The Asuka Period takes its name from the Asuka area near Nara, the site of the first real capital. During the Asuka Period, Japan was thoroughly transformed as it came under the influence of continental civilization.

When Buddhism was introduced, controversy erupted between the Mononobe and Soga clans concerning whether the new religion should be adopted officially or whether Shinto should retain a dominant position. This debate came at a time when Japan was evolving rapidly from a federation of influential clans into a nation under a centralized government known as the Yamato State. The Soga clan, which favored the official adoption of Buddhism, prevailed and the Yamato Court decided to use Buddhism as a political tool to help consolidate its power.

Prince Shōtoku, who was appointed Regent by Empress Suiko in 593, was more interested in the religious and philosophical aspects of Buddhism than in its use as a political tool. He became a devout follower and actively promoted the new religion. Under his patronage, great numbers of Korean craftspeople came to Japan to build Buddhist temples and furnish them with sculpture, paintings, and the decorative arts. The two main compounds constructed by Prince Shōtoku were Hōryūji Temple near Nara and Shitennōji Temple in Osaka.

The first temple, however, was Hōkōji, later called Asukadera (tera, or dera, means “temple”) by local residents because of its location. It was constructed in 596 by Soga-no-Umako with the help of the Korean king of Paekche. Most of the buildings were moved to Nara in 718 and renamed Gangōji, but the central object of worship, a statue of the historical Buddha (Shaka), was left behind, where it still exists in a newer building. Though badly damaged and in poor repair, the image is of great historical interest since it was the first Buddhist statue in Japan.

Hakuhō Period (645–710)

The Taika Reform of 645 created a central government with a legislative structure based upon the model of Tang China. Official interchange with China was established for the first time and envoys were exchanged between the two courts. Buddhist architecture, arts, and crafts spread from the capital to the provinces, and literature flourished, as evidenced by the publication of a great collection of 4,400 poems, the Manyōshū.

Hypothetical interior of a rural farmhouse ( minka ) in the early historical period.

In the early days, the capital was moved every time an emperor died. In 694, Emperor Temmu decided to build a permanent capital at Fujiwarakyō (kyō means capital city), a little north of Asuka. The capital for seven years, Fujiwarakyō was the first full-scale capital in Japan, with streets laid out in a square grid pattern, as was the custom in China. However, changes in the political and economic situation made it necessary to expand the government bureaucracy. Because the space at Fujiwarakyō was limited, the capital was moved to Heijōkyō (present-day Nara) in 710 by Emperor Genmei.

Nara Period (710–794)

Despite several temporary moves back and forth between Heijōkyō and other locations, Heijōkyō remained the capital for seventy-four years With official support, the major Buddhist denominations built headquarters in Heijōkyō, such as Yakushiji and Kōfukuji. Emperor Shōmu, a vigorous supporter of Buddhism, decreed that temples and nunneries be erected in each province and that Tōdaiji be built in Heijōkyō as the head cathedral of this national network. Tōdaiji housed a great bronze Buddha (Daibutsu) that still exists today. In 752, dignitaries from as far away as Persia gathered for the eye-opening ceremony, during which the eyes were painted in by an eminent Indian priest.

Only the foundations remain from the original buildings at Shitennōji, one of the earliest temples in Japan. This model at the Osaka Prefectural Chikatsu Asuka Museum shows the linear arrangement of the gate, pagoda, main hall, and lecture hall.

A number of items used by Emperor Shōmu in his daily life are preserved in the Shōsōin Repository of Imperial Treasures in Nara, one of the few buildings still remaining from the Nara Period. The great flowering of architecture and the arts in the Nara Period marks the high point of Buddhist culture in Japan.

Recycling

In 718, Asukadera Temple in Asuka, the first temple in Japan, was dismantled and the lumber was used to build Gangōji Temple in Heijōkyō. Gangōji burned in 1451 but some of the original lumber from Asukadera Temple was salvaged and used in reconstructing the Meditation Hall (Zenshitsu), which still exists today. Thus, the Meditation Hall of Gangōji contains lumber that predates Hōryūji, the oldest extant wooden structure in the world.

Most common roof types used in Japan. Pre-Buddhist shrines used a gable roof, whereas the hipped-and-gable roof became popular after the introduction of Buddhist architecture in the sixth century.

Residential Architecture

The sixth through the eighth centuries are best known for the introduction of Buddhism and the construction of capitals in the Chinese style, as described above. There were, however, indigenous developments, primarily in the area of residential architecture. Average houses were probably post-and-beam structures, with either thatch or board roofs, the latter weighted down with stones. Starting in the Asuka Period, palaces, temples, and aristocratic dwellings were built at the expense of the farmers who paid heavy taxes and provided forced labor. Farmhouses grew progressively smaller as the condition of farmers worsened.

At the same time, however, technology improved to the point that it was possible to eliminate interior posts that supported the roofs of pit houses and rely solely on pillars in the exterior walls. Eventually, the pit was eliminated altogether in favor of rectangular ground-level dwellings with two interior rooms: a room with an earthen floor and fire pit for cooking, and a room whose earthen floor was covered with straw and mats for eating and sleeping. This basic plan can still be seen in some traditional farmhouses, known as minka.

Tōdaiji Temple, one of the seven great temples of Nara, was established as a center for Buddhism, newly introduced from China, in the eighth century. Its architecture was influenced by the grand scale of Buddhist architecture of China’s Tang Dynasty, especially in the size of its Daibut-suden (Great Hall) and the large, heavy roof and complex bracketing system that supported it. The present Daibutsuden, although still grand, is significantly smaller than the original, which was twice destroyed by fire. Still the largest wooden building in the world under one roof, it houses the Great Buddha.