Wednesday

Another Japanese lesson, another history lesson. This time we moved on to the Nara period. This was a time when China was very powerful, so many nations, including Japan, attempted to emulate them. Japan brought in the great Taika reform, but over the next 150 years they tweaked it so much that it just ended up like it was before.

Another interesting thing is Empress Shōtoku, who was in love with a Buddhist monk called Dōkyō, and lavished him with praise. She almost made Dōkyō emperor, but died before she could. This angered the ruling families at the time since it would have reduced their power, so they moved the capital and banned the Buddhist temples from moving with them. Since then there hasn't been another Japanese empress.

Then I played pool with Akiko and Nozomi in the evening, and chatted to them after that. I also helped Nozomi with her English homework, which even I found difficuly. Both Lauma and James also chipped in a little when they were passing by.