Toshodaiji Temple

The head temple of the Ritsu sect of Buddhism, Toshodaiji is dedicated to the Rushanabutsu (national treasure). The temple was founded in 759 by the Tang Dynasty monk Ganjin, and was built on the site of a former residence of a member of the imperial family that was given to him by the Imperial Court. It is also the place where Ganjin spent the last years of his life.

The temple houses many cultural assets, including the only existing Kondo (National Treasure) built in the Nara period (710-794), as well as buildings, paintings, sculptures, and artifacts, and the former site of Toshodaiji Temple is a nationally designated historic site.

The former precincts of Toshodaiji are designated as a national historic site. The temple is registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as part of the cultural properties of the ancient capital of Nara.

Ganjin

Ganjin came to Japan from the Tang Dynasty in 753. At that time, Japan did not have formal Buddhist monks to observe the Buddhist rules known as the “precepts,” and the number of private monks without approval was increasing, leading to disorderly social order.

A study-abroad monk who had come to Tang with the Japanese envoys offered to recommend a suitable high priest to Ganjin, as there was no official teacher of the precepts in Japan. Ganjin asked his disciples, but they refused to go to Japan, citing the danger of the trip.

Therefore, Ganjin decided to go to Japan himself. However, because voyaging was a risky undertaking in those days and leaving the Tang Dynasty was considered a violation of national prohibition, Ganjin experienced repeated setbacks.

In 743, the first attempt to leave the Tang Dynasty was foiled by a snitch, and after 10 years of repeated attempts, he finally succeeded in boarding a Tang Dynasty envoy ship to return to Japan on his sixth attempt. Ganjin was already 66 years old at the time.

In 759, he founded Toshodaiji Temple, was appointed high priest, and ended his tumultuous life in Japan in 763. He was 76 years old at the time of his death.

Toshodaiji Temple

In the Nara Period, Toshodai-ji Temple had the following buildings: Nandaimon (South Gate), Seinamon (Southwest Gate), Kitadomon (North Gate), Naka-mon (Central Gate), Kondo (Golden Hall), Kyodo (Sutra Tower), Belfry, Kododo (lecture hall), three octagonal halls, a dining hall, a trapdoor, a monk’s room, a small room, a hot spring room and a storehouse.

Kondo (Golden Hall)

Kondo is the only surviving Nara-period temple kondo and is a National Treasure. The hall is built with a hipped roof with a tile roof, and is decorated with shibi (ridge-tail) on both sides of the main building.

Eight thick columns line the front of the hall and are a distinctive feature of the building. Inside the hall, a large area is occupied by a shumidan, on which Buddhist statues stand side by side.

In the center is a seated statue of Rushanabutsu (3 meters high, made in the late Nara period), to the right is a standing statue of Yakushi Nyorai (3.4 meters high), and to the left is a standing statue of Senju Kannon (5.4 meters high, made in the late Nara period, actually representing 1,000 hands). Standing statues of Brahma and Teishakuten are enshrined in front of and to the left and right of the main image, and standing statues of the Four Heavenly Kings are enshrined at the four corners of the shumidan. All of these statues are national treasures.

Auditorium

The auditorium is a relocated and remodeled version of the Dongchoshuden Hall of Heijo Palace, which was moved around 760 as part of the renovation of Heijo Palace.

The Tochoshuden was an open-plan building with almost no walls or fittings, and had a gabled roof, but when it was remodeled for use as a temple, the roof was made in the irimoya style and fittings were added.

It was remodeled in 1275 during the Kamakura period (1185-1333), and is designated as a National Treasure because it is the only remaining structure of the Nara-period court architecture.

The main statue of Maitreya Nyorai (Important Cultural Property, Kamakura period) and standing statues of Jikkuiten and Zocho-ten (National Treasures, Nara period) are enshrined inside the hall.

The lecture hall was used as a space for monks to learn, and thus there is a discussion platform on which lecturers and readers sit.

Events

The temple grounds are filled with different flowers each season, making it possible to enjoy each of the four seasons.

For example, in spring, the Mikado Kukkaen is specially opened to coincide with the blooming of “Qionghua,” a famous flower from Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, the hometown of Ganjin Wajo, and an uchiwa-maki (throwing ceremony) is held in which 1,500 heart-shaped uchiwa are thrown.

In summer, the Jizo Bon Festival is held to pray to Jizo Bosatsu, the guardian of children, for the healthy growth of children. In autumn, the leaves of autumn bloom beautifully. In winter, you can enjoy the beauty of Toshodaiji covered with snow.