Changes

[[Image:Sanjusangendo.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The Sanjûsangendô.]]

[[Image:Sanjusangendo.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The Sanjûsangendô.]]

*''Built: [[1164]], [[Taira no Kiyomori]]''

*''Built: [[1164]], [[Taira no Kiyomori]]''

*''Japanese'': 三十三間堂 ''(san juu san gen dou)''

*''Popular Name'': 三十三間堂 ''(san juu san gen dou)''

*''Formal Name'': 蓮華王院本堂 ''(renge ou in hondou)''

The Sanjûsangendô (lit. "Hall of 33 Bays") is a Buddhist temple of the [[Pure Land Buddhism|Pure Land sect]] located in Kyoto. Built in [[1164]] by [[Taira no Kiyomori]], it is thirty-three bays long (about 120 meters) by four bays deep, the width of "bays," i.e. the space between the pillars in a building, being standardized in traditional Japanese architecture.

 

The Sanjûsangendô (lit. "Hall of 33 Bays") is a Buddhist temple of the [[Tendai sect]] located in Kyoto. It was built by [[Taira no Kiyomori]] for [[emperor Go-Shirakawa|Ex-emperor Go-Shirakawa]] and finished  in [[1164]] . It is thirty-three bays long (about 120 meters) and four bays deep, the width of "bays," i.e. the space between the pillars in a building, being standardized in traditional Japanese architecture.

Due to the great length of the hall, its exterior porch has long been the site of [[archery]] competitions. The competition centered not on hitting a bull's eye or other target with exceptional precision or accuracy, but rather on firing as many arrows as possible within a limited time, and on having as many of those arrows as possible fly the full length of the hall without striking the floor, walls, pillars, or ceiling of the porch. The standing record dates back to [[1686]], when a competitor is said to have loosed 13,053 arrows down the length of the building, of which 8,133 were successfully shot the full length of the building without touching it.

Due to the great length of the hall, its exterior porch has long been the site of [[archery]] competitions. The competition centered not on hitting a bull's eye or other target with exceptional precision or accuracy, but rather on firing as many arrows as possible within a limited time, and on having as many of those arrows as possible fly the full length of the hall without striking the floor, walls, pillars, or ceiling of the porch. The standing record dates back to [[1686]], when a competitor is said to have loosed 13,053 arrows down the length of the building, of which 8,133 were successfully shot the full length of the building without touching it.

The hall contains 1000 gilded wooden sculptures of [[Kannon]], flanking one larger central Kannon sculpture, along with twenty-eight additional figures of various Buddhist deities. The building, and many of the sculptures, were severely damaged during the [[Genpei War]] (1180-1185); the sculptures created in the early 13th century by [[Tankei]] and other members of the [[Kei school]] to replace those lost are often cited as some of the greatest surviving examples of [[Kamakura period]] sculpture.

The hall contains a large gilded central sculpture of the "1000-armed" [[Kannon]] (the 1000 arms are represented by 42 arms in the statues), flanked by 1000 smaller 1000-armed Kannon, along with figures of twenty-eight other various Buddhist deities. The building, and many of the sculptures, were severely damaged during the [[Genpei War]] (1180-1185); the sculptures created in the early 13th century by [[Tankei]] and other members of the [[Kei school]] to replace those lost are often cited as some of the greatest surviving examples of [[Kamakura period]] sculpture.

An earthenwork wall in the Sanjûsangendô compound is counted among the Three [Great] Earthenwork Walls of Japan, alongside one built by [[Oda Nobunaga]] at [[Atsuta Shrine]] in [[Nagoya]], and one at [[Nishinomiya Shrine]].

An earthenwork wall in the Sanjûsangendô compound is counted among the Three [Great] Earthenwork Walls of Japan, alongside one built by [[Oda Nobunaga]] at [[Atsuta Shrine]] in [[Nagoya]], and one at [[Nishinomiya Shrine]].