1 Introduction

Nova Cassiopeiae 1995 (=V723 Cas) was discovered by M. Yamamoto on 24 August 1995 (Hirosawa 1995). Spectroscopic confirmation of the nova was reported soon after (Ohshima et al. 1995; Iijima & Rosino 1995; Della Valle et al. 1995). The unusual spectroscopic and photometric features of this nova prompted a comparison with the symbiotic nova PU Vul (Munari et al. 1995). However, continued spectroscopic observations affirmed that it was a slow classical nova (Ijima & Rosino 1996; Ijima et al. 1998). The visual light curve of this nova has a striking resemblance to that of the unusual slow nova HR Del. Near-IR light curves of V723 Cas in its early phase are given by Munari et al. (1996). The first IR observations of this nova reported by Woodward et al. (1995) show that it was in the pseudophotospheric phase. Our observations reveal the persistence of the pseudophotosphere for a long time after outburst (see Sect. 3.3).