Saga Shakado

• Other Names: 清凉寺 (seiryou-ji)
• Japanese: 嵯峨釈迦堂 (Saga Shaka dou)

Seiryô-ji, also known as the Saga Shakadô, is a Buddhist temple in the Saga neighborhood of Kyoto, famous for its chief object of worship, the hibutsu (hidden Buddha) sculpture known as the Saga Shaka.

The sculpture was traditionally, albeit erroneously, believed to have been carved in India during the Buddha's lifetime, and to have flown itself to China in ancient times. The sculpture was then said to have been seen in 985 by the Japanese monk Chônen, who produced a replica to bring back to Japan; however, the original then magically switched places with the replica, such that the original ancient Indian Saga Shaka was installed at the Seiryô-ji, where it remains today. A late 15th or early 16th century set of six scroll paintings by Kanô Motonobu depicts these miraculous events.

References

• Timon Screech, Obtaining Images, University of Hawaii Press (2012), 119-120.