Sanjusangen-do

• Japanese: 三十三間堂 (Sanjuusangendou)

Sanjûsangendô, literally the "hall of thirty-three bays," is part of a Buddhist temple in Kyôto commonly known by the same name, but formally called Renge Ô-in (蓮華王院). It was founded by Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa in 1164, and is famous for its 1,001 statues of Kannon, the boddhisattva of compassion.

The temple was originally founded in 1132 as part of the Myôhô-in temple, though it was not formally completed until 1164. The temple was then rebuilt in 1251-1256.

The Sanjûsangendô itself is 118.22 meters long and 16 meters wide, each of the thirty-three "bays", or spaces between pillars being one ken (間, roughly 1.8m) across. The Kannon statues are each about 1.2m tall and constructed of gilded wood. The hall also houses a number of other Buddhist statues carved by Unkei, Kôkei, and their students, the premier sculptors of the 12th-13th centuries.

The hall is also famous for its annual archery contests (see yabusame, Tôshiya) held in April and May since 1696.

Refferences

• Japan Chronik
• Frederic, Louis (2002). "Renge-ō-in." Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
• Sanjûsangendô Official Site