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Construction began on the temple in [[747]]; it was a huge financial undertaking for the Imperial Court, and one of the largest temple projects, and Buddhist sculptural projects, in the Buddhist world at the time. Originally known as Kokubun-ji, the temple was renamed Tôdai-ji shortly afterwards.<ref name=pamphlet>"Tôdai-ji Temple, Sangatsu-dô: Hokke-dô</ref> The construction of the temple and of its Great Buddha were a means by which the Yamato state (i.e. Japan) showed the rest of the Buddhist world (mainly China & Korea) its wealth, power, and devotion.
Construction began on the temple in [[747]]; it was a huge financial undertaking for the Imperial Court, and one of the largest temple projects, and Buddhist sculptural projects, in the Buddhist world at the time. Originally known as Kokubun-ji, the temple was renamed Tôdai-ji shortly afterwards.<ref name=pamphlet>"Tôdai-ji Temple, Sangatsu-dô: Hokke-dô</ref> The construction of the temple and of its Great Buddha were a means by which the Yamato state (i.e. Japan) showed the rest of the Buddhist world (mainly China & Korea) its wealth, power, and devotion.
The Great Buddha was completed and dedicated in [[752]]. As part of the grand eye-opening ceremony held for the sculpture, Emperor Shômu is said to have officially declared himself "a servant of the Three Treasures of Buddhism."<ref>Mason. p60.</ref>
The Great Buddha was completed and dedicated in a grand ceremony on [[752]]/4/9. Ten thousand monks, four thousand musicians and dancers, and seven thousand officials were in attendance, along with the Indian priest [[Bodhisena]] ([[704]]-[[760]]), who performed the key ritual element of the ceremony by painting in the sculpture's eyes.<ref name=brief>Conrad Schirokauer, David Lurie, and Suzanne Gay, ''A Brief History of Japanese Civilization'', Wadsworth Cengage (2013), 32.</ref> As part of this grand eye-opening ceremony held for the sculpture, Emperor Shômu is said to have officially declared himself "a servant of the Three Treasures of Buddhism."<ref>Mason. p60.</ref>
An ordination hall, or ''[[kaidanin|kaidan'in]]'', was established at Tôdai-ji in [[755]]; there, the Chinese monk [[Ganjin]], quite possibly the only man in Japan capable of ordaining other monks, ordained 400 people, including [[Empress Komyo|Empress Kômyô]].<ref>Mason. p70.</ref> When Emperor Shômu died the following year, Kômyô established the Shôsôin Imperial Storehouse on the grounds of Tôdai-ji, and donated roughly 600 objects to be held there, including textiles, musical instruments, metalware, and other gifts from [[Tang Dynasty]] China, Korea, and as far afield as Persia.
An ordination hall, or ''[[kaidanin|kaidan'in]]'', was established at Tôdai-ji in [[755]]; there, the Chinese monk [[Ganjin]], quite possibly the only man in Japan capable of ordaining other monks, ordained 400 people, including [[Empress Komyo|Empress Kômyô]].<ref>Mason. p70.</ref> When Emperor Shômu died the following year, Kômyô established the Shôsôin Imperial Storehouse on the grounds of Tôdai-ji, and donated roughly 600 objects to be held there, including textiles, musical instruments, metalware, and other gifts from [[Tang Dynasty]] China, Korea, and as far afield as Persia.
====Daibutsu====
====Daibutsu====
[[Image:Nara-daibutsu.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The ''Daibutsu'' (Great Buddha) of Tôdai-ji.]]
[[Image:Nara-daibutsu.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The ''Daibutsu'' (Great Buddha) of Tôdai-ji.]]
At the time of its creation, the Daibutsu at Tôdai-ji, a representation of [[Dainichi]] Nyorai (Vairocana), was the largest cast-bronze statue in the world, at more than 50 feet tall and over one million pounds (500 short tons) in weight.<ref name=brief/>
The current Daibutsu, the product of numerous repairs and reconstructions, is still the largest bronze Buddha sculpture in Japan, at 18.03 meters tall (including the platform; 14.98m tall without the platform), and weighing 250 tons. Its face is 5.33m long, and each eye is 1.02m long. The statue's ears are each 2.54m long, and its mouth is 1.33m wide. The ''[[urna]]'' is 30cm in diameter, and each of its 966 whorls of hair is 21cm high and 22cm in diameter.<ref name=kotoku>"[http://www.kotoku-in.jp/characteristic.html Kamakura daibutsu no tokuchô]." Official website of Kôtoku-in. 2010.</ref>
The body of the Daibutsu was completed in [[749]], but other elements, such as the whorls of hair, and gilding, were not ready until 752. The eye-opening ceremony was held that year, and attended by numerous court nobility, as well as over 370 monks and officials from [[Silla]] (Korea),<ref>Roger Keyes, ''Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan'', New York Public Library (2006), 40.</ref> and a number of prominent Buddhist masters from China; there was even (at least) one monk from India who is said to have been present, and to have performed the actual painting-in of the Buddha's eyes. The sculpture's halo (or [[mandorla]]) was not finished until [[771]].<ref>Mason. p85.</ref>
The body of the Daibutsu was completed in [[749]], but other elements, such as the whorls of hair, and gilding, were not ready until 752. The eye-opening ceremony was held that year, and attended by numerous court nobility, as well as over 370 monks and officials from [[Silla]] (Korea),<ref>Roger Keyes, ''Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan'', New York Public Library (2006), 40.</ref> and a number of prominent Buddhist masters from China; there was even (at least) one monk from India who is said to have been present, and to have performed the actual painting-in of the Buddha's eyes. The sculpture's halo (or [[mandorla]]) was not finished until [[771]].<ref>Mason. p85.</ref>
