Clear the Nara Local Quiz and earn the Nara Local title. Want to know Nara City even better, or already confident? The tougher courses are next.
The Nara City quiz maps Nara Park and deer, shrines, temples and heritage, Naramachi daily life, hills and local food, not as disconnected attractions but as one local route. Names such as Nara Park, Nara deer, Todai-ji Temple, Great Buddha Hall appear alongside the ways people travel, worship, eat, and work. Begin with clues like the large eastern-city park where lawns and shrines and temples connect; deer living around the park and forming part of its cultural landscape; the head temple of the Kegon school enshrining the Great Buddha of Nara; then use examples and practice questions to move from nationwide basics to super-maniac details and test what you really remember.
Q1.Opened in 1880 (Meiji 13), which roughly 660-hectare park holds Todai-ji, Kofuku-ji, Kasuga Taisha, and the Nara National Museum all within its grounds?
Nara Park
the Okina dance
The structure standing today dates from a 1426 reconstruction, and at 50.1 meters it ranks second among Japan's wooden pagodas after To-ji's
Heijo Palace Site
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Correct answerNara Park
This park opened in 1880 and covers about 660 hectares, with Todai-ji, Kofuku-ji, Kasuga Taisha, and the Nara National Museum all sharing its grounds. For more than 140 years it has served as a green space right beside the city center.
Q2.Designated a national natural monument in 1957, what is the collective name for the deer living around Nara Park?
Rokuen Deer Park
Nara deer
Mt. Wakakusa
Tamukeyama Hachiman Shrine
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Correct answerNara deer
The deer around Nara Park were designated a national natural monument, known as the 'Nara Shika,' in 1957. Tied to a legend that names them divine messengers, they are still carefully protected today. Stalls selling "shika senbei" deer crackers dot the park, drawing the familiar sight of visitors feeding the deer by hand.
Q3.Built in the 8th century at Emperor Shomu's request, which head temple of the Kegon school held the eye-opening ceremony for its Great Buddha in 752?
Shiga Naoya's Former Residence
Kofuku-ji Sanjunoto
Todai-ji
Gango-ji Temple
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Correct answerTodai-ji
Built in the 8th century at Emperor Shomu's request, this temple serves as the head temple of the Kegon school. The eye-opening ceremony for its principal image, the Great Buddha (Vairocana), took place in 752, and it has stood since as one of Japan's defining works of Buddhist architecture.
Q4.Which building at Todai-ji, the main hall, houses the principal image of Rushana Buddha, known as the Great Buddha of Nara?
Shosoin Repository
Hannya-ji Temple
Great Buddha Hall
Todai-ji Nigatsu-do
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Correct answerGreat Buddha Hall
The current Great Buddha Hall was rebuilt in 1709, the third version after the original and a Kamakura-era reconstruction. Its frontage is somewhat narrower than the original, but it remains one of the largest wooden buildings in the world.
Q5.Which pagoda within Kofuku-ji is said to have been founded in 730 at the request of Empress Komyo?
Five-story Pagoda
Chukondo Hall
Nandaimon Gate
Tegai-mon Gate
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Correct answerFive-story Pagoda
Kofuku-ji's five-story pagoda is said to have been founded in 730 at the request of Empress Komyo. Rebuilt several times after fires, the current pagoda dates from the Muromachi period and, at about 50 meters, is Japan's second-tallest wooden pagoda after Toji's.
