“Tang’s Influence” – True or false, why it matters (3/3)
. The cross-section of the Japanese society in the mid-eighth century seen through the construction of Todai-Ji Temple 東大寺 Now, let’s get out of the Asuka period and go to the mid-eighth century at the height of the Nara Period straddling the opening of Todai Temple. More than two hundred years have passed since the Buddhism arrived in Japan and three generations had passed since the fall of Baekje and Koguryo . Now the grandchildren of the refugee immigrants from the bygone states were in their prime and were incorporated into the Japanese society, yet their family status from their state of origin was being recognized officially, defining their social status backed by the power of the settler communities with their advanced knowledge and skills. The process of the construction of the monumental temple well betrays the dimension of the contributions that those newly natura...