Sunday, May 13, 2007

三十三間堂

Today, Otousan took me to 三十三間堂 (Sanjūsangen-dō), a famous Buddhist temple that is over 900 years old. The temple features a gigantic seated Buddha surrounded by 1000 life-size statues of the same deity. In addition, the temple contains 28 guardian deity statues and famous statues of Fujin and Raijin, the gods of wind and thunder. The main hall is 120m long and the sight of 1000 life-size gold-covered statues is an amazing one. Unfortunately, pictures aren't allowed, but you can read more about the temple on Wikipedia.