City in Japan. The country's capital from 710 to 794, it was the cultural centre of ancient Japan. The town and its vicinity are rich with archaeological materials, including remains of ancient instruments such as the wagon (a zither). It was to this area that foreign music was first introduced in Japan; records report that 80 musicians were sent to Nara in 453 by the ruler of Silla, a small Korean kingdom, and that gigaku (Chinese dance and music) was imported in 612. During the succeeding years, music from the continent was frequently introduced, encouraging lively musical activities which eventually led to the establishment of Gagakuryō (the Imperial Music Bureau) in 701; at its inception, the bureau included 250 Japanese musicians and dancers, 72 Chinese, 72 Koreans and a few others. They participated in the celebration of the completion of the Great Buddha of Tōdaiji (a temple) in Nara (752); the instruments used at the occasion, together with some other instruments and musical tablatures, are still preserved in Shōsōin (the Imperial Treasury of Nara).
The great ceremony in 752 also included performances of Shōmyō (Buddhist chants) and soon a number of shōmyō schools were established by various Buddhist sects. The old tradition is strictly kept at Tōdaiji (the Kegon sect), Kōfukuji (the Hossou sect) and several other temples. The founders of nō drama, Kannami and Zeami, were natives of the Nara area; the nō tradition in Nara has been kept primarily by the Komparu school, for which the Nara Komparu Nō Theatre was built in 1962. A movement to revive kagura (Shintō ritual) and gagaku (court music) has been growing since the end of the 19th century and is promoted by a preservation group which has its headquarters at Kasuga Shrine.
For bibliography see Japan.
MASAKATA KANAZAWA