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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 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.
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. Repair and restoration work on the one thousand statues, begun in 1936-1956, and resumed in 1973, continues to be ongoing. As of April 2015, 898 of the statues have been repaired, and the project is nearing completion.<ref>"[http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201504010070 Decades-long restoration of ancient 1,000 Kannon statues nearing completion]," Asahi Shimbun, 1 April 2015.</ref>
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]].
* [[Louis, Frederic|Frederic, Louis]] (2002). "Renge-ō-in." ''Japan Encyclopedia.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
* [[Louis, Frederic|Frederic, Louis]] (2002). "Renge-ō-in." ''Japan Encyclopedia.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
* [http://sanjusangendo.jp Sanjûsangendô Official Site]
* [http://sanjusangendo.jp Sanjûsangendô Official Site]
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