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| ===Sai-in=== | | ===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 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. |
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| + | The ''chûmon'' is four bays wide and three bays deep, while the ''kondô'' is five bays wide by four deep. The latter has stairs on all four sides, and a hipped gable roof. The temple's bell tower (''shôrô'') and sutra repository (''kyôzô'') are built into the covered corridors surrounding the precinct.<ref name=ching>Francis D.K. Ching, et al, ''A Global History of Architecture'', Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons (2011), 291.</ref> |
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| 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]]. | | 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]]. |
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− | 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. | + | 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, including a [[Shaka]] Triad designed by the sculptor [[Kuratsukuri no Tori]] in [[623]] to commemorate the death of Prince Shôtoku, and a set of sculptures of the [[Shitenno|Four Heavenly Kings]] dated to around 650, by [[Yamaguchi no Atai Oguchi]].<ref name=ching/> |
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| ===Tô-in: The Yumedono=== | | ===Tô-in: The Yumedono=== |
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
| *Signs and plaques on-site. | | *Signs and plaques on-site. |
| + | <references/> |
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| ==External Links== | | ==External Links== |