Todaiji Temple

Todaiji Temple is the general headquarters of the provincial temples and it was founded in the Nara period at the wish of the Emperor Shomu. The Daibutsu-den, which houses the Great Statue of the Buddha, constitutes the Main Hall of Todaiji Temple and is its most important building. Due to war, it has been burnt down twice, first in 1567 and again in 1180. The Daibutsu-den that can be seen today was reconstructed in 1708, on a scale that is about two-thirds of its original size. Nevertheless it is still the largest wooden building in the world. The Great Statue of the Buddha has also had to undergo various repairs from time to time, but it remains the largest bronze statue in the world and is widely renowned as The Great Buddha of Nara.