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nara japanconcept:era medieval

Todai-ji Great Buddha (Nara Daibutsu), 743 CE

The Great Buddha of Todai-ji (東大寺大仏, Nara Daibutsu), consecrated 752 CE, Nara. Bronze; height 14.98 m. Commissioned by Emperor Shomu as a state Buddhist monument, it is the world's largest bronze Buddha and a National Treasure of Japan. The wooden hall (Daibutsuden) housing it is the largest wooden structure in the world.

Scholarly Significance

Anchor Japanese Nara-period Buddhist sculpture with the Todai-ji Great Buddha — the largest bronze figure in the world at time of casting and a state-sponsored symbol of universal Buddhist protection.

Notes

  • ·Commissioned by Emperor Shomu (r. 724–749) as a state monument; the project required 2.6 million workers over several years.
  • ·The figure depicts Vairocana (Birushana Butsu), the cosmic Buddha of the Kegon (Avatamsaka) sutra — the universal Dharma body.
  • ·The original casting was supervised by the Korean monk Simsang (Roben) and the sculptor Kimimaro; the Chinese monk Ganjin performed the eye-opening ceremony.
  • ·Damaged and repaired multiple times: 855 CE (earthquake decapitation), 1180 (Taira clan fire), 1567 (Miyoshi clan fire). The current head dates to 1692.
  • ·Todai-ji is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara, 1998).