Event held to commemorate 1300 years since Abe no Nakamaro's "mission to Tang China"

Nara Prefecture is implementing the "Abe no Nakamaro 'Tang Mission' 1300th Anniversary Project" leading up to 2017, which marks the 1300th year since the dispatch of the "9th Tang Mission" (717 AD, led by Abe no Nakamaro).

As the first event, "Journey to Antiquity: The Tang Envoys Depart from Heijō-kyō" was held on June 25th and 26th at the special area in front of the Heijō-kyō History Museum and the reconstructed Tang envoy ship. The venue featured an original play blending historical narrative with music and dance, "The Tale of Abe no Nakamaro: Moon of the Tenpyō Era," and a performance of gagaku (court music) titled "Revived Melodies of the Tenpyō Era" by the Tenri University Gagaku Club. On the 25th, a talk show was held with Nara City-born model and talent Natsume Mito and Professor Makoto Ueno from the Department of Japanese Literature, Faculty of Letters, Nara University. The two-day event drew approximately 4,000 visitors.