New Page 2

The Great Buddha Hall
Daibutsu-den
(National Treasure)

Great_Buddha_hall.jpg (22249 bytes)

This is the Kondo, or Main Hall of the Todaiji temple, but because it contains the Rushana Daibutsu it has from the tine of its construction been widely known as the Daibutsuden, or Great Buddha Hall. It is the largest wooden structure in the world.

A site was first prepared for the Daibutsuden by digging away a part of the hills in the east of Nara and work began on its construction once the casting of the Diabutsu was complete. It was the first major undertaking of the special office for the construction of temple buildings for the todaiji. The Daibutsuden was completed in 752 after five years' work with a height of 47 meter's, a length of 51 meter's, and a width of 88 meter's. Most of the huge pieces of wood required for the structure were brought to Nara along the waterways of the Kinki area from present day Nara, Shiga, Hyogo and Mie Prefectures. The dedicatory ceremonies for the newly completed building were held in 752 and the celebrations were amongst the grandest of the eighth century. Unfortunately, in the course of the wars at the end of the twelfth century the Daibutsuden was destroyed by fire in the year 1180. With the support of the Retired Emperor Goshirakawa and the help of contributions collected from all over Japan, the Hall was rebuilt and the new dedicatory ceremonies in 1195 were attended by Minamoto no Yeritomo, the de facto ruler of Japan, along with tens of thousands of his troops.

The Hall was burnt down Agian in 1567 and work on the present structure, which took some twenty-five years, commenced in 1684. The scale of the Hall was reduced somewhat owing to a shortage of materials and it is now 50 meter's long and 57 meter's wide. The wood for the huge beams was specially brought to Nara from Kyushu. Some repairs were also undertaken between 1879 end 1915 and the structure was strengthened with iron sections imported from England. English technicians also took part in the repair work. Because of the damage caused by heavy rains in the course of the present century further repairs eventually became necessary and they were undertaken from 1974 to October 1980. As on the occasion of the earlier reconstruction's, contributions towards the expenses were solicited from all corners of Japan.