From the historian's notes

Nara, 752

Japan · East Asia · May 752 · spring

What it was medium

Japan's capital, a grid city laid out on the model of Tang Chang'an, perhaps 50,000 to 100,000 peopleas the capital Heijo-kyo in 710

That year

• The eye-opening ceremony of the Great Buddha: the Indian monk Bodhisena paints in its eyes with a brush tied to cords held by the crowd; some ten thousand monks attend, with musicians and dancers from across Asia the 9th day of the 4th month highthe greatest ceremony the state has staged
• Objects used at the ceremony, Chinese, Persian and Central Asian among them, will soon be stored in the Shosoin treasury, where many survive 752–756 highthe Silk Road's far eastern end
• The cost of the statue and the temple has strained the provinces, which supplied copper, gold and labour the 740s–750s higha nation's metal in one figure

Who held it high

the Japanese imperial state, governed by codes borrowed from Tang ChinaEmpress Koken; her father, the retired Emperor Shomu, is the Great Buddha's patronthe colossal bronze Buddha of Todai-ji, cast over the past years at enormous cost, is ready to be dedicated

Its name high

Heijo-kyo (平城京), the capital; Nara is the districtWritten in classical Chinese for government; Chinese characters used for their sounds to write Japanese poetry

The date, there high

the 4th year of Tenpyo-shohoJapanese era namesDrums and bells from the palace's official timekeepers, who keep a water clock.

Money medium

Wado-kaichin bronze coinsrice and cloth are still common paymentunknown

Weather medium

late spring: mild and green, around 20 °C, the rainy season still weeks away

Things

ObjectsWado-kaichin bronze coins; wooden tablets used as tags and memos; lacquerware; Tang-style ceramicsFoodrice; fish and seaweed; vegetables; sakeClothsilk court robes in Tang fashion; hemp for ordinary peopleGetting abouton foot; ox carts for the court; horses for officialsIn the airincense; freshly cut timber; spring rain on earth

What she'd hear

Old Japanese, with Chinese the written language of state; this week the crowd also hears Sanskrit chant and the languages of the foreign musicians.

Where she could stand

• Suzaku avenue — the central avenue, some 70 m wide, running north to the palace gate
• the gate of Todai-ji on ceremony day — the crowd, banners and music outside the temple precinct
• the East Market — one of the two official markets, with goods from the provinces and the continent
• the palace's Suzaku gate — the great red gate of the imperial compound

Researched for this card · confidence high