Hi there! \u00a0Many of you out there might have heard about Nara city (nara-shi,\u5948\u826f\u5e02) in Japan where you will find the Todaiji Temple(Todaiji, \u6771\u5927\u5bfa).\u00a0Todaiji Temple(Todaiji, \u6771\u5927\u5bfa) is famous for the “Daibutsu(\u5927\u4ecf)\u00a0” or “Great Buddha of Nara” Statue, which is considered as the largest seated Buddha Statue in Japan.\u00a0(Daibutsu(\u5927\u4ecf) is a Japanese word for large statue of Buddha.)The main worship hall is called as Daibutsu-den (\u5927\u4ecf\u6bbf). \u00a0A few years ago, my family visited this temple. \u00a0For me, it was my third time visiting here, but for my husband and my boys, it was their first time. \u00a0They were amazed and mesmerized by its size of Daibutsu(\u5927\u4ecf).<\/p>\n
The Todaiji temple(Todaiji, \u6771\u5927\u5bfa)was built in the Nara period (710-794 C.E) during the era of Emperor Shomu. The\u00a0Daibutsuden(\u5927\u4ecf\u6bbf)was originally completed in 751, and was larger than\u00a0the current building. Daibutsuden(\u5927\u4ecf\u6bbf) has been rebuilt twice due to fire damage. The current building was finished in 1709. It is 57 m long and 50 m wide.\u00a0Even though the current building is only 2\/3 of its original size, this Daibutsuden(\u5927\u4ecf\u6bbf) is still stunning, and breathtaking.<\/p>\n
In 743, Emperor Sh\u014dmu issued a law in which he stated that the people should become directly involved with the establishment of new Buddha temples throughout Japan. His belief was that it would inspire Buddha to protect his country from further disaster.\u00a0\u00a0It is believed\u00a0that 420,000 people contributed to the building of the Buddha and 2,600,000 worked to build it.<\/p>\n
However, the Daibutsu(\u5927\u4ecf)\u00a0has been recast\u00a0several times for many reasons, including earthquake damage. The current hands of the statue were made in the Momoyama(\u6843\u5c71) Period\u00a0(1568\u20131615), and the head was made in the Edo(\u6c5f\u6238)Period\u00a0(1615\u20131867).<\/p>\n
According to Wikipedia,<\/p>\n
The temple gives the following dimensions for the Daibutsu(\u5927\u4ecf): The statue weighs 500 tonnes!<\/p>\n I found the informative Youtube video below. \u00a0Half way through the video, it starts the tour of the Todaiji Temple(Todaiji, \u6771\u5927\u5bfa) and Daibutsu(\u5927\u4ecf) with English narration.<\/p>\n
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