Click here to go to the YouTube video Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty were frequently sent to China to introduce advanced systems and culture to Japan. It was during this period that the famous Buddhist monk, Jianzehn, or Ganjin, came to Japan with great difficulty and introduced the precepts of Buddhism. The Nara period was a time of epidemics, earthquakes, and famine. Consequently, the smallpox epidemic that started in 735 was thought to have killed about 30% of the population. Emperor Shomu decided to protect the country with the power of Buddhism, and he built Kokubunji temples across the country and the huge Todaiji Temple in the capital, Heijokyo.…