TODAIJI TEMPLE
Todaiji Temple tours - Todaiji Temple is a Buddhist temple in Nara,
Japan is largest wooden building in the
world. Todaiji Temple houses Japan's largest Buddha statue.
Tōdai-ji (東大寺), the Eastern Great Temple, houses a giant statue of the Buddha Vairocana (Jp. Dainichi),
known in Japanese simply as the Daibutsu (大仏, "great Buddha"). The
temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon school of
Buddhism. Todaiji Temple
is a classic Japanese Temple.
Todaiji, ancient Buddhist temple in Nara,
Japan. Picture by
Fg2
Todaiji Temple Tours
Organised guided tours are available in English to the Todaiji
Temple. These day tours are from
Kyoto and can include
Golden Pavilion,
Nijo Castle, Kasuga Shrine and
Deer Park.
Todaiji Temple Tours
Options
Kyoto and Nara Day Tour - Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle, Todaiji
Nara Afternoon Tour - Todaiji, Deer Park, Kasuga ShrineTodaiji Temple History During the Tempyo period, people suffered from
disasters and epidemics. In 743, Emperor Shomu issued a law that the
people should make a Buddha to protect themselves. He believed in
Buddha’s power could help the people. 420,000 people contributed and
2,180,000 people worked to build it. The Great Buddha itself was
designed by an artist from the Korean Baekje Kingdom. According to
legend, nearly 2,600,000 in total helped construct the Buddha at that
time; this number equates to nearly the half of the people in
Japan at
that time and is probably exaggerated. The Buddha was completed in
751, having consumed most of Japan's bronze production for several
years and leaving the country almost bankrupt. The statue has been
recast several times since for various reasons including earthquake
damage, and the temple rebuilt twice after fire. The current building
finished in 1709 although immense is actually 30% smaller than its
predecessor. The original complex also contained two 100 m pagodas,
probably the tallest buildings in the world at the time. These were
destroyed by earthquake.
Todaiji was the provincial temple of Yamato Province and the head of
all the provincial temples.
On 20 May 1994, the international music festival The Great Music
Experience was held at the Todaiji, supported by the UNESCO. Among
other artists were the Tokyo New Philharmonic Orchestra, X Japan, INXS,
Bon Jovi, Bob Dylan, Hotei Tomoyasu, Roger Taylor, classic Japanese
drummers, and a Buddhist monk choir. The event was broadcast on 22 May
and 23 May 1994, in 55 countries all over the world.
The size of the Buddha
Total height : 30 meters
Sitting height : 14.98 meters
Face : 5.33 meters
Eyes : 1.02 meters
Nose : 0.5 meter
Ears : 2.54 meters
Weight : 500 metric tonnes
The Buddha is made of gold (440 kg) and copper (499 Mg). The Buddha
has special hair, like a spiral perm. In total, the hair consists of
966 balls whose diameter are 18 cm and whose height are 30 cm each.
Daibutsu of Todaiji temple in Nara. Picture by
Fg2
Todaiji Temple Transport
5 minutes walk from Kintetsu Nara station
15 minutes walk from JR Nara station
(Article based on
Wikipedia article and used under the
GNU Free Documentation License)
|
