ならまち Naramachi Nara-machi
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In the south of the center of Nara City, Nara is the area developed around the Gankou-ji Temple, an area vibrant with old houses and temples. This area is called Nara-machi and it is the oldest town in Nara. Nara-machi is designated and preserved as an Area of Traditional Buildings.
The town escaped the fires of the Second World War and it carefully preserves its landscape and old, charming buildings, which were built during the end of the Edo and Meiji periods.
Nara-machi was initially developed as a suburb with some significant temples in the northeast area of Heijyou-kyou. Heijyou-kyou had been the capital city of Japan from 710 to 794. When the capital was transferred to Nagaoka-kyou, Heijyou-kyou declined, but the temples remained and the people who worked for those temples continued to live in the area around Toudai-ji Temple and Koufuku-ji Temple. The residents eventually developed it into a merchant district called a “gou”.
Within Nara-machi, is Nara-machi Shiryoukan, a museum of Nara-Machi’s history, which exhibits such items as the daily utensils used in the old times. Another notable building is Nara-machi Koushi-no-ie, a lattice-worked building that has a traditional building layout with a small frontage and deep interior. Walking through the buildings and the streets, visitors can enjoy the appearance of the city as it was originally.
The town escaped the fires of the Second World War and it carefully preserves its landscape and old, charming buildings, which were built during the end of the Edo and Meiji periods.
Nara-machi was initially developed as a suburb with some significant temples in the northeast area of Heijyou-kyou. Heijyou-kyou had been the capital city of Japan from 710 to 794. When the capital was transferred to Nagaoka-kyou, Heijyou-kyou declined, but the temples remained and the people who worked for those temples continued to live in the area around Toudai-ji Temple and Koufuku-ji Temple. The residents eventually developed it into a merchant district called a “gou”.
Within Nara-machi, is Nara-machi Shiryoukan, a museum of Nara-Machi’s history, which exhibits such items as the daily utensils used in the old times. Another notable building is Nara-machi Koushi-no-ie, a lattice-worked building that has a traditional building layout with a small frontage and deep interior. Walking through the buildings and the streets, visitors can enjoy the appearance of the city as it was originally.
- address
- 38 Higashiterabarashi-cho, Nara, Nara Prefecture 630-8362
- name
- Naramachi Promotion Foundation
- phone
- 0742-27-1820
- hp
- http://www1.kcn.ne.jp/~narazai/