Horyuji 法隆寺Originally built in 607 by Prince Shotuku,

it was rebuiltby 711 after it was destroyed by a fire in

670.The “new” temple modified the linear

arrangement ofChinese and Korean temples to an

asymmetrical layout.

Nioumon 仁王門

阿形仁王A-gyo NiouGuardian

Kingof the East

吽形仁王Un-gyo Niou

Guardian King

of the West

The Pagoda…stands at 32.45 meters in

height (122 feet)…and isone of the oldest wooden

buildings in the world.The wood used in the

center pillar of the pagodais estimated through aDendrochronologicalanalysis to have beenfelled in 594. [Pagoda]

Kondo 金堂(Main Hall)

The kondō…is another one of the oldest wood buildings extant in the world.…Due to a fire incident that broke out on January 26, 1949…

[only] about fifteen to twenty percent of the original seventh century Kondo materials is left in the current building. [Kondo]

Kondo (Main Hall) Altarwith Shakyamuni Triad in the Center

Tori Busshi is credited with the casting of this massive Buddhist statue. It is a triad and so Sakyamuni, the center

Buddha, is attended by two other figures, Bhaisajyaguru to its right and Amitābha to its left. The statues are dated to 623 and the style originates in Northern Wei art. [Shaka Triad]

Shaka Nyorai

YakushiNyorai

AmidaNyorai

Yakushi NyoraiThe Medicine

BuddhaThe statue of Yakushi of the original temple was saved during the fire of 670. While the

temple was being rebuilt the Shaka Triad was commissioned or

had been already cast. [Yakushi]

Yumedono (夢殿 ) — The Hall of Dreams

Yumedono is…built on the ground which was once Prince Shōtoku's private palace, Ikaruga no miya. The present incarnation of this hall was built in 739 to assuage the Prince's spirit. The hall acquired its present-day common name in the Heian period, after a legend that

says a Buddha arrived as Prince Shōtoku and meditated in a hall that existed here. [Yumedono]

Yumedono Kannon

This Kannon is a statue that supposedly is the

representation of Prince Shotoku. It is approximate six feet and one inch and some

sources believe that Shotoku was that height. It is 197

centimeters in height. The kannon is made of gilded wood. It is suggested that the statue was made to assuage the dead prince's spirit based on the fact that the halo was attached to

the statue by a nail driven through the head. The statue bears a close resemblance to

extant portraiture of the prince. [Yumedono Kannon]