Nara Prefecture Specialties, Souvenirs, Shrines, Temples, and Travel | 47 Prefecture Guide

Nara is an even older capital than Kyoto It is also inland and surrounded by mountains. These two facts shape both its food and its faith.

Specialties

Kakinoha-zushi is made by placing salt-cured mackerel or salmon on vinegared rice and wrapping it in persimmon leaves.

Nara has no sea. To carry mackerel over the mountains from Kumano, there was no choice but to salt it heavily. That salty mackerel was paired with rice to make it easier to eat. Persimmon leaves are said to have antibacterial properties and were used as wrapping material to help preserve the food. It is a form that turned a disadvantage into a local specialty.

Miwa somen is considered the birthplace of Japan’s hand-stretched somen noodles The method said to have been passed down in the priestly families of Omiwa Shrine later spread to Banshu and Shodoshima. Yamato traditional vegetables and Yamato tea.

Souvenirs

Kakinoha-zushi, Miwa somen, and Nara ink sticks.

Most domestic production of solid ink sticks is said to be in Nara City. What began as something made in temples for sutra copying became an industry as it was. It is a trace of Nara’s history as a capital.

Shrines and Temples

Todaiji Temple The Great Buddha of was consecrated in 752. The Great Buddha Hall is among the world’s largest surviving wooden buildings according to estimates.

Horyuji Temple in Ikaruga Town is the world’s oldest surviving wooden building It is said to be so, and in 1993 it became one of Japan’s first World Heritage Sites.

For 1,300 years, the wood has stood. This is not only a story about materials. It means that the people who kept repairing it never disappeared, not even once In this series we have looked at traditional crafts, and here is an extreme example of inheritance.

Kasuga Taisha Shrine is, is the head shrine of the approximately 1,000 Kasuga shrines said to exist across Japan The stone lanterns and hanging lanterns lining the approach are said to number about 3,000 in total, and all of these are offerings from worshippers It is the same structure as the thousand torii gates of Fushimi Inari.

Omiwa Shrine in Sakurai City is a shrine with no main sanctuary, where Mount Miwa itself is regarded as the sacred object of worship, one of Japan’s oldest shrines. It preserves a form of faith from before people worshipped buildings.

Kofukuji Temple’s five-story pagoda, Yakushiji Temple, and Toshodaiji Temple. Eight assets are registered as World Heritage Sites under the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.

Sightseeing

The deer of Nara Park are considered messengers of the deity of Kasuga Taisha and are designated a National Natural Monument They are not kept as livestock; they are wild.

The cherry blossoms of Mount Yoshino, the Ishibutai and Takamatsuzuka tombs in Asuka, and the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage routes (World Cultural Heritage).

Traditional Crafts

Nationally designated items are Takayama tea whisks, Nara brushes, and Nara ink, making 3 items.

Nara brushes are said to have begun with a technique brought back from Tang China by Kukai. Ink, brushes, and tea whisks all arose from temple demand. Nara is a prefecture where temples created industries.

For details, see [VILLAGE Report vol.19] Temples Created Industry

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References: Nara Prefecture, Nara City, Sakurai City, Ikaruga Town, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries — Value Village Editorial Team