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[[Image:Horyuji.jpg|right|thumb|500px|The ''kondô'' and pagoda at Hôryû-ji.]]
*''Established: [[607]], [[Shotoku Taishi|Shôtoku Taishi]]''
*''Japanese'': 法隆寺 ''(houryuu-ji)''
Hôryû-ji, in Ikaruga, just outside the city of [[Nara]], is one of the oldest and most famous [[Buddhist temple]]s in Japan. The compound includes numerous [[National Treasures]] and other structures and objects of great significance; the temple's pagoda and ''kondô'' (Golden Hall) are considered the oldest wooden structures in the world, and a pair of terracotta [[Nio|Niô]] statues at the temple's ''chûmon'' (Middle Gate) are said to be the oldest extant freestanding Niô statues in the country.
==History==
The temple was established in [[607]] by [[Shotoku Taishi|Shôtoku Taishi]]. It was rebuilt in [[670]], after being damaged in a fire.
==Layout & Treasures==
===Sai-in===
The Western Compound, or ''Saiin'', which contains the pagoda and ''kondô'', is enclosed within a wall broken up by the ''chûmon'' to the south, and the ''kôdô'' (Lecture Hall) to the north.
The pagoda and ''kondô'' are believed to be the oldest extant wooden structures in the world; dating technology has revealed that the central pillar was made from a tree felled around [[594]]. Unlike most pagodas in Japan, the ground floor of Hôryû-ji's pagoda is open to visitors; as worshippers circumambulate within the pagoda, they view a series of four diorama scenes in unfired clay sculpted in [[711]], including one portraying the [[Parinirvana]] of the [[Buddha]] (his death, or his entrance into [[Nirvana]]), and one the famous battle of wits between Manjusri (J: [[Monju]]), boddhisattva of Wisdom, and the peasant [[Vimalakirti]].
Significant architectural elements of the ''kondô'' have been dated to around 670. Both the ''kondô'' and ''kôdô'' contain numerous Buddhist sculptures of great art historical significance.
===Tô-in: The Yumedono===
::''Main article: [[Yumedono]]''
The chief structure in the Tô-in (Eastern Compound) is a National Treasure known as the Yumedono, or the Hall of Dreams. The small octagonal structure contains the Yumedono Kannon, a particularly spiritually powerful statue of the [[bodhisattva]] [[Kannon]], also a National Treasure, which was kept hidden, unseen by anyone, from shortly after its sculpting in the 7th century, until [[1884]].
===Other Structures===
The Shôryô-in, a National Treasure located just east of the Sai-in, is a [[Kamakura period]] structure, dedicated to the worship of Shôtoku Taishi.
===Other Treasures===
Of the ten temples originally granted ''[[hyakumanto darani|hyakumantô darani]]'' in [[770]], Hôryû-ji is the only one to still hold its collection of the small ceramic pagodas, within which are instances of the oldest printed material in the world.
The Treasure House / Museum at Hôryû-ji contains numerous National Treasures, including the [[Kudara Kannon]], and [[Tamamushi Shrine]].
{{stub}}
==References==
*Signs and plaques on-site.
==External Links==
*[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=%E6%B3%95%E9%9A%86%E5%AF%BA&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=34.614213,135.73419&spn=0.002362,0.005284&sll=34.414186,-119.859201&sspn=0.018941,0.042272&t=h&hq=%E6%B3%95%E9%9A%86%E5%AF%BA&z=18 Hôryû-ji on Google Maps]
[[Category:Temples]]
[[Category:Asuka Period]]
*''Established: [[607]], [[Shotoku Taishi|Shôtoku Taishi]]''
*''Japanese'': 法隆寺 ''(houryuu-ji)''
Hôryû-ji, in Ikaruga, just outside the city of [[Nara]], is one of the oldest and most famous [[Buddhist temple]]s in Japan. The compound includes numerous [[National Treasures]] and other structures and objects of great significance; the temple's pagoda and ''kondô'' (Golden Hall) are considered the oldest wooden structures in the world, and a pair of terracotta [[Nio|Niô]] statues at the temple's ''chûmon'' (Middle Gate) are said to be the oldest extant freestanding Niô statues in the country.
==History==
The temple was established in [[607]] by [[Shotoku Taishi|Shôtoku Taishi]]. It was rebuilt in [[670]], after being damaged in a fire.
==Layout & Treasures==
===Sai-in===
The Western Compound, or ''Saiin'', which contains the pagoda and ''kondô'', is enclosed within a wall broken up by the ''chûmon'' to the south, and the ''kôdô'' (Lecture Hall) to the north.
The pagoda and ''kondô'' are believed to be the oldest extant wooden structures in the world; dating technology has revealed that the central pillar was made from a tree felled around [[594]]. Unlike most pagodas in Japan, the ground floor of Hôryû-ji's pagoda is open to visitors; as worshippers circumambulate within the pagoda, they view a series of four diorama scenes in unfired clay sculpted in [[711]], including one portraying the [[Parinirvana]] of the [[Buddha]] (his death, or his entrance into [[Nirvana]]), and one the famous battle of wits between Manjusri (J: [[Monju]]), boddhisattva of Wisdom, and the peasant [[Vimalakirti]].
Significant architectural elements of the ''kondô'' have been dated to around 670. Both the ''kondô'' and ''kôdô'' contain numerous Buddhist sculptures of great art historical significance.
===Tô-in: The Yumedono===
::''Main article: [[Yumedono]]''
The chief structure in the Tô-in (Eastern Compound) is a National Treasure known as the Yumedono, or the Hall of Dreams. The small octagonal structure contains the Yumedono Kannon, a particularly spiritually powerful statue of the [[bodhisattva]] [[Kannon]], also a National Treasure, which was kept hidden, unseen by anyone, from shortly after its sculpting in the 7th century, until [[1884]].
===Other Structures===
The Shôryô-in, a National Treasure located just east of the Sai-in, is a [[Kamakura period]] structure, dedicated to the worship of Shôtoku Taishi.
===Other Treasures===
Of the ten temples originally granted ''[[hyakumanto darani|hyakumantô darani]]'' in [[770]], Hôryû-ji is the only one to still hold its collection of the small ceramic pagodas, within which are instances of the oldest printed material in the world.
The Treasure House / Museum at Hôryû-ji contains numerous National Treasures, including the [[Kudara Kannon]], and [[Tamamushi Shrine]].
{{stub}}
==References==
*Signs and plaques on-site.
==External Links==
*[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=%E6%B3%95%E9%9A%86%E5%AF%BA&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=34.614213,135.73419&spn=0.002362,0.005284&sll=34.414186,-119.859201&sspn=0.018941,0.042272&t=h&hq=%E6%B3%95%E9%9A%86%E5%AF%BA&z=18 Hôryû-ji on Google Maps]
[[Category:Temples]]
[[Category:Asuka Period]]