Nara Period Japan established the first permanent capital, compiled the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki chronicles, and built the Great Buddha of Tōdai-ji — the high point of Chinese-influenced imperial governance before the Heian shift.
The Nara period ended in 794 CE when Emperor Kanmu relocated the imperial capital from Nara to Nagaoka and then to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto), beginning the Heian period.
Sansom's foundational cultural history covers the Nara period's Chinese-influenced court culture and Buddhist art in depth.
Volume 1 of the Cambridge History covers the Nara period's administrative, literary, and religious achievements.