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Horyuji Temple

World's Oldest Wooden Halls

Horyuji Temple is considered to be the oldest surviving wooden complex in the world. It is located in Ikaruga, Nara, and is said to have been founded by Prince Shotoku. The Golden Hall and the Five-storied Pagoda, were built around the 7th century A.D. The temple also has 18 national treasure buildings.

Horyuji Temple 法隆寺 (Temple of the Flourishing Dharma) is located in Ikaruga, Nara, Japan, and is also known as Ikaruga-dera Temple. It was founded by Prince Shotoku in 607 A.D. In 670, the temple was destroyed by a fire, and rebuilt in its original form. In 1993, Horyuji Temple became one of the first Japanese sites to be registered as a World Heritage Site.

Manywhere Trivia:
Prince Shotoku was born in a stable, just like Jesus.

Horyuji Temple is divided into west and east Garan courtyards. Walking into the South Gate, you can see a stone-paved avenue leads to the West Garan Courtyard. The west courtyard is centered around the Golden Hall (Kondo) and the Five-story Pagoda, with A Cloister surrounding the Central Gate, the Great Lecture Hall, the Bell Tower (Shoro), and the Sutra Repository (Kyozo).

Engraved Marks on Tiles

Kondo, the Golden Hall, is the main hall of Horyuji Temple and is the oldest hall in the temple. The hall is mainly dedicated to the Sakyamuni Triad 釈迦三尊像, and is surrounded by the statues of Yakushi Buddha and the Four Heavenly Kings, forming a complete pattern of Mandala.

On one side of the hall stands the oldest Five-story Pagoda in Japan, which is about 32 meters high. At the center of the pagoda stands a central pillar that runs through the top of the pagoda, supporting the five-story pagoda that narrows step by step from the bottom up, with a strong Tang style legacy.

Manywhere Trivia:
Tang Dynasty wooden architectures are extremely rare, even in China.

The Daihozoin, Great Treasure Gallery 大宝蔵院 located in the northern part of the west courtyard of Horyuji Temple, houses a collection of Buddhist art statues and paintings from Japan’s Hakuho and Asuka periods. The Kudara Kannon Hall, located at the center of the Daihozoin, houses a 2-meter-tall Statue of Kudara Kannon 百済観音. The Kannon statue, carved from a single piece of wood, with a graceful body and smiling face, is considered an extremely valuable national treasure.

Weeping cherry blossoms inside the temple

After passing through the Blossom Path, which connects the east and west ends of the temple, you arrive at Horyuji’s East Courtyard, which was once the residence of Prince Shotoku, the Ikaruga Palace. Inside the courtyard, there is an octagonal wooden building called Yumedono, Hall of Dreams 夢殿. The name comes from the story of Prince Shotoku’s dream about Shakyamuni, and the hall is dedicated to the statue of the Kuse Kannon 救世観音像, the most mysterious treasure of Horyuji Temple.