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The nara period was named because of its Japanese capital at the time "Nara". During this period there were many influences to the Japanese that reflected in their art work. Many of these influences came from the Tang dynasty, in China. Also, with the further establishment of Buddhism in 6th- and 7th-century Japan, religious painting flourished and was used to adorn numerous temples erected by the aristocracy. However, Nara-period Japan is recognized more for their magnificent sculptures and temples. One of many great temples from this time period would be the Toshodai-ji temple, which transcribes to "temple from tang". Another would be "the great budda hall", which houses one of the great sculptures of the time the "The great Budda", a colossal bronze sculpture of "Birushana Butsa".

The earliest surviving paintings from this period include the murals on the interior walls of the Kondō (金堂) at the temple Hōryū-ji in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture. These mural paintings although not many, were painted images on the important Tamamushi Shrine include narratives such as jataka, episodes from the life of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, in addition to iconic images of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and various minor deities. The style is reminiscent of Chinese painting from the Sui dynasty or the late Sixteen Kingdoms period. However, by the mid-Nara period, paintings in the style of the Tang dynasty became very popular. Much influence brought change to Japanese art and it started to reflect that of the Chinese. There was also great influence in architecture, and it shows this "Ch'ang-an" way. These also include the wall murals in the Takamatsuzuka Tomb, dating from around 700 AD. This style evolved into the (Kara-e) genre, which remained popular through the early Heian period.

As most of the paintings in the Nara period are religious in nature, the vast majority are by anonymous artists. Because many artist are anonymous of this time, there are not a lot of records on many of the paintings that came from this period. The most to survive from this period are the temples and sculptures of buddha. Large collection of Nara period art, Japanese as well as from the Chinese Tang dynasty is preserved at the Shōsō-in, an 8th-century repository formerly owned by Tōdai-ji and currently administered by the Imperial Household Agency.