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[[Image:Todaiji.jpg|right|thumb|400px|The ''Daibutsuden'' (Great Buddha Hall) at Tôdai-ji.]]
*''Established: [[747]]''
*''Japanese'': 東大寺 ''(Toudai-ji)''
*''Japanese'': 東大寺 ''(Toudai-ji)''
==History==
==History==
The Great Buddha was completed in [[752]].
[[Emperor Shomu|Emperor Shômu]] ordered the construction of Tôdai-ji in [[743]], to serve as a national Imperial temple. It was to be the head temple in Japan of the [[Kegon school]] of Buddhism, a school particularly favored by Shômu.<ref>Mason. p59.</ref> The site chosen for the temple was previously that surrounding the hermitage of the Kegon Buddhist master [[Roben|Rôben]]; he would later become the temple's first abbot.<ref name=mason6869>Mason. pp68-69.</ref>
The temple wielded great political influence at various times in its history, particularly in the Nara and [[Heian periods]], and became embroiled in armed conflict at times as well. Tôdai-ji, along with nearby [[Kofuku-ji|Kôfuku-ji]], came under attack from the forces of the [[Taira clan|Taira samurai clan]] in [[1181]] for this reason; the temple had opposed the Taira both politically, and militarily, fielding forces of warrior monks. The 1181 [[siege of Nara]] saw the destruction of Tôdai-ji, Kôfuku-ji, and [[Gango-ji|Gangô-ji]], and the deaths of roughly 35,000 people.
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. The construction of Tôdai-ji and 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 eye-opening ceremony for the sculpture, Emperor Shômu officially declared himself "a servant of the Three Treasures of Buddhism." Art historian [[Penelope Mason]] points out that it would not be until after World War II that an emperor would again put aside their own [[Shinto|Shintô]]-derived divinity to declare their subservience to Buddhism so publicly or officially.<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.
The temple wielded great political influence at various times in its history, particularly in the Nara and [[Heian periods]], and became embroiled in armed conflict at times as well. Tôdai-ji, along with nearby [[Kofuku-ji|Kôfuku-ji]], came under attack from the forces of the [[Taira clan|Taira samurai clan]] in [[1181]] for this reason; the temple had opposed the Taira both politically, and militarily, fielding forces of warrior monks in support of the opposing [[Minamoto clan]]. The 1181 [[siege of Nara]] saw the destruction of Tôdai-ji, Kôfuku-ji, and [[Gango-ji|Gangô-ji]], and the deaths of roughly 35,000 people. The temples were rebuilt shortly afterwards, however. The Buddhist priest [[Shunjobo Chogen|Shunjôbô Chôgen]] ([[1121]]-[[1206]]) was placed in charge of the reconstruction project, and of organizing campaigns for collecting monetary contributions. [[Saigyo|Saigyô]] became one of a number of prominent figures of the time who went on a journey to the provinces in order to campaign for contributions.<ref>[[Benkei]] and [[Minamoto no Yoshitsune]] claim to be traveling monks on precisely this campaign for contributions for the reconstruction of Tôdai-ji in the fictionalized [[Noh]] play ''[[Ataka]]'' and [[kabuki]] play ''[[Kanjincho|Kanjinchô]]''.</ref>
Reconstruction of Tôdai-ji's ''daibutsuden'' was completed in [[1195]]; [[Shogun]] [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]] visited the temple at this time, offering a sizeable contribution, and paying his formal respects to the emperor. The Nandaimon, destroyed in a typhoon in [[962]], was rebuilt in [[1199]], and survives from that time today. The structures rebuilt at this time, the Nandaimon in particular, incorporated new elements of architectural style, brought back to Japan by Chôgen, who visited China three times between [[1167]] and [[1176]]. The new architectural style he created based on the latest trends in China at that time came to be known in Japan as ''daibutsu-yô'', or "Great Buddha style," because of its prominent use at Tôdai-ji.<ref>Mason. pp185-186.</ref>
A re-dedication ceremony for the temple as a whole was held in [[1203]],<ref>Mason indicates (p185) that the re-dedication ceremony was held in 1195.</ref> and attended by [[Emperor Go-Toba]].
The temple suffered damage from fire again in [[1567]], in a battle between the [[Miyoshi clan|Miyoshi]] and [[Matsunaga clan]]s.
The Daibutsuden that stands today dates back to [[1707]], when the hall was destroyed and rebuilt at roughly 70% of its previous size. Yet, even reduced in size, it remains the largest wooden building in the world.
The Daibutsuden that stands today dates back to [[1707]], when the hall was destroyed and rebuilt at roughly 70% of its previous size. Yet, even reduced in size, it remains the largest wooden building in the world.
==Daibutsu==
The temple has undergone renovations numerous times in its long history; one of the most significant recent restoration projects took place from [[1906]]-1913.
==Layout==
Within the grid system of [[Heijo-kyo|Nara's]] streets, Tôdai-ji takes up 64 city blocks. However, that large space is actually only sparsely filled with buildings. Many sub-temples or other structures exist today that were not part of the original plans and are much later additions.
The Daibutsuden sits just south of the center of the compound, facing south. It is eleven bays long by seven bays deep, or 285 x 170 feet, and 154 feet high. Before it lie the ''chûmon'' ("central gate"), and beyond that, directly to the south, at the center of the southern edge of the compound, the Nandaimon ("South Great Gate"). The lecture hall (''[[kodo|kôdô]]'') was located behind the Daibutsuden, surrounded on three sides by the monks' quarters, and connected to the refectory to the east. A set of walls encircled these structures, creating, essentially, three plazas - one before the Great Hall, one behind it, and one behind that surrounding the ''kôdô''. Today, this entire section behind the Daibutsuden is no longer extant, or at least not in that location.<ref name=mason6869/>
The remainder of the temple's buildings lay at some distance from the Daibutsuden, outside of its immediate encircling walls (but still within the walls of the compound as a whole). A pair of 330-foot tall pagodas, each with their own encircling walls, stood just south of the ''chûmon'', and to either side of it. These, too, are no longer extant.<ref name=mason6869/>
The ''kaidan'in'' (ordination hall) built in 755, however, is extant, and actively in use. It lies to the west of the Daibutsuden, roughly halfway between it and the outer walls of the compound. The Tegaimon, originally one of three gates piercing the western wall of the compound, is the only original 8th century gate still extant on the grounds. Continuing clockwise around the Daibutsuden, the Shôsôin can be found behind the Great Hall, to the northwest. Two structures originally stood in the eastern portion of the compound: the Nigatsudô ("Second Month Hall") and Hokkedô ("Lotus Hall"). The Hokkedô, also known as the Sangatsudô ("Third Month Hall"), is the oldest extant building on the grounds, and was originally established as Konshô-ji, a temple in its own right, constructed for the monk Rôben prior to the establishment of Tôdai-ji. The building was modified in the 13th century, and a worship hall was added in front of it, their two roofs linked.<ref name=mason6869/>
===Sculptures===
The Daibutsu at Tôdai-ji, a representation of [[Dainichi]] Nyorai (Vairocana), is the largest bronze Buddha sculpture in Japan. It weighs 250 tons, and is 18.03 meters tall (including the platform; 14.98m tall without the platform). 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 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 Daibutsu was severely damaged in the 1181 fires set by the Taira warriors who besieged the temple; its head is said to have "melted and fell to earth, and the "body fused into a mountainous heap."<ref>McCullough, Helen (trans./ed.) ''The Tale of the Heike''. Stanford University Press, 1988. p196.</ref> The sculpture was repaired quite quickly however; a celebration for the completion of repairs was held in [[1185]], less than five years later.
Many of the other sculptures at Tôdai-ji are also of great art historical significance.
[[Kuninaka Kimimaro]] (d. [[774]]) was a prominent Buddhist sculptor (''busshi'') of the time who headed a studio established temporary at the temple in order to produce images for the compound. A number of these original 8th century sculptures are housed in the Hokkedô, where fifteen sculptures, some in clay and some in [[dry lacquer]], are organized in a specific [[mandala]]-like pattern around a dry lacquer Fukûkenjaku [[Kannon]] dating to the 740s, and 142 inches tall. Statues of Nikkô and Gakkô flanking the Kannon, each 81 1/2 inches high, are considered among the finest examples of clay sculpture from this period. This arrangement also includes a pair of [[Nio|Niô]] (Guardian Kings) and set of [[Shitenno|Shitennô]] (Four Heaven Kings) in dry lacquer, each nearly 10 feet tall, as well as dry lacquer sculptures of [[Taishakuten]] and [[Bonten]], each roughly 13 feet in height, all dating to the 8th century, and all considered of great art historical and religious importance. Another set of very significant sculptures of the ''Shitennô'', also dating to the mid-8th century, can be found in the ''kaidan'in''; these are made of clay, rather than dry lacquer.<ref name=mason87>Mason. pp87-93.</ref>
Another sculpture in the Hokkedô, an image of [[Shukongojin|Shûkongôjin]] (Vajrapani), is of particular significance. Made of painted & gilded clay, it is associated with Konshô-ji, the temple established for Rôben in [[733]], ten years before even the order for Tôdai-ji's construction. A secret image, held to be especially powerful for its being hidden, this sculpture is only shown once a year.<ref name=mason87/>
A pair of [[Nio|Niô]] guardian figures housed inside the Nandaimon ("Great South Gate") of the temple, the tallest freestanding wooden sculptures in Japan. They were fashioned by [[Unkei]] and [[Kaikei]], along with 18 assistants, over the course of 72 days in [[1203]], using [[yosegi-zukuri|multiple block construction]]. They are unusual in that they face inwards, towards one another, while most guardian statues installed in gates face forwards, outwards from the compound.<ref>Mason. pp187-188.</ref> A number of other sculptures made by Unkei for Tôdai-ji, including one of the [[bodhisattva]] [[Kokuzo|Kokuzô]] and one of [[Jikoku-ten]], do not survive today.<ref>Môri Hisashi. "Unkei: The Man and His Art." in ''Sculpture of the Kamakura Period''. New York: Weatherhill, 1974. p45.</ref>
The complex also includes a shrine to [[Hachiman]], which contains a particularly lifelike sculpture in wood by Kaikei, depicting the Shintô deity [[Hachiman]] in the guise of a Buddhist monk. This seated sculpture, in usually good condition with its painting intact, is 34 1/2 inches tall, and dates to [[1201]].<ref>Mason. pp191-192.</ref>
==References==
==References==
*Mason, Penelope. History of Japanese Art. Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.
*Mason, Penelope. ''History of Japanese Art''. Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.
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==External Links==
*[http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=17911005107283377295&q=%E6%9D%B1%E5%A4%A7%E5%AF%BA&hl=en&ved=0CBQQ-gswAA&sa=X&ei=0vEoT47nHJe0zAX9nu2eCA&sig2=AzOG7651kNzU4eW7DdQQMg Tôdai-ji on Google Maps].
[[Category:Nara Period]]
[[Category:Nara Period]]
[[Category:Temples]]
[[Category:Temples]]
