I had always imagined ancient Japan as a remote island nation at the far edge of Asia. In school, I learned that Buddhism came from China and eventually reached Japan and I thought of the Great Buddha as simply a religious monument.
Walking through Nara as an adult, I began to see a different story.
In the 8th century, Japan actively sent missions to Tang China, crossing dangerous seas to learn from the wider world and bring new ideas home.
I also learned about the Great Buddha Eye-Opening Ceremony. The ceremony brought together people from across Japan and overseas. What I once saw as a religious statue now feels like something more—a statement that Japan had decided to engage with the wider world.
Buddhism was not something that merely happened to arrive in Japan. It was something Japan deliberately chose to embrace.
That was something I never understood on my school trip long time ago.Returning to Nara as an adult, I began to see that Japan had actively chosen the world.
Traveling does not change history. Sometimes, it changes the way we see it.
奈良を歩きながら、8世紀の日本は、自分が思っていた以上に積極的に世界とつながろうとしていたのだと感じました。
遣唐使を送り、大仏を建立し、開眼会を開く。車も飛行機もない時代だからこそ、海を渡る船は世界への唯一の窓だったのかもしれません。
歴史は変わりませんが、自分の年齢とともに、見方は変わる。その面白さを改めて感じた奈良旅でした。