ABSTRACT
Nara stands to Kyoto somewhat as Canterbury does to London, in that it was the capital in an early romantic period, and kept its religious prestige long after the Court had departed. The "Nara period" is a sort of Age of Charlemagne—a heroic, brilliant period, when art was young and literature flourished, and the Court led the way in all. One of the earliest Nara Emperors established a university at the capital for the study of the "Four Paths of Learning," which were history, Chinese classics, law and mathematics. When the Court departed, Nara at least gained the safety of obscurity, and escaped the periodic burnings which overtook Kyoto in the feudal wars. Foreign travelers often stay some time at Nara; two of the hotels give more or less European accommodation, and it is near enough to Osaka to get supplies from there, if needful.
