Japan's First Permanent Capital, Nara, Captured on CD-ROM

October 18, 1994 -- DragonLord Software has captured all of the main
tourist sights of historical Nara, Japan's first permanent capital, in a
multimedia tour on CD-ROM.

Why "first permanent capital"? The actual site of Japan's first capital is
lost in the mists of history. But Japan's written history dates back to
around 400 A.D., and it is beyond doubt that Nara was the first permanent
capital.

In the old days, Japan's capital was customarily moved every time the
Emperor died, because it was felt that the palace was polluted by his
death. It was not until 710 that a fixed capital city was established, at
Nara. In 794, the capital was moved to Kyoto; in 1868 to Tokyo; and there
are now some quiet plans to move it again to some new, as yet unspecified
location. But Nara was the first of these, and for this reason the years
from 710-794 A.D. are called the Nara Jidai or "Nara Period" by
historians.

Surprisingly, tiny Nara also is home to some world-class records. The
world's largest wooden building, the Daibutsu-den of Todaiji temple, was
dedicated in 752. This building, made from cedar trees, is taller than the
roof of Notre Dame cathedral. It houses the Daibutsu or "Great Buddha",
the world's largest bronze statue.

DragonLord Software has come out with a multimedia "virtual reality" tour
of Nara on CD-ROM that allows people to visit these sights and explore
this historical city by themselves on their home computers. The tour
consists of a series of full-screen pictures taken of the actual sites in
Nara. The user selects which direction to explore in the city, and the
software moves the view in that direction. Then a cheerful Japanese tour
guide explains the new resulting scene. The layout of the scenes reflects
the actual layout of Nara itself, so prospective visitors can save time
and learn about the city before actually going there. The tour covers all
of the important tourist sights in the city, and contains about 3-5 hours'
worth of material. There are also language lessons for beginners and
experts. Many people consider Nara to be one of the most lovely cities in
Japan, worth exploring just for its beauty. But now people with a computer
can also learn about the history and culture of Japan's first permanent
capital themselves.

DragonLord Software
204 N. El Camino Real Bldg, E-123
Encinitas, CA 92024 USA
800-353-9753,  619-793-3888

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