– Todai-ji – 東大寺 –
Nara (奈良) – August 9, 2018
One could say that no trip to Japan is complete without a trip to Todai-ji, one of Japan’s most famous Buddhist temples. Home to arguably the most famous Great Buddha statue, or Daibutsu, in Japan, it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and a National Treasure.
The giant statue is a stunning 15 meters tall, a number that’s pretty hard to fully comprehend until you’re standing next to it. I’ve had the opportunity to visit it 3 times and its size still puts me in awe. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, the Daibutsuden structure that houses it is one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. That’s pretty amazing considering that the present structure was built in the late 1600’s and the original was even larger.
In addition to the giant statue, there are several other statues, including two Boddhisattvas and others. One popular part of the temple is a pillar with a hole that is the size of the statue’s nostril. It was closed during the pandemic and was still closed when I visited again in 2023.
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