Hōryū-ji

The current temple is made up of two areas, the Sai-in (西院) in the west and the Tō-in (東院) in the east. The western part of the temple contains the Kondō (金堂, sanctuary Hall) and the temple's five-story pagoda. The Tō-in area holds the octagonal Yumedono Hall (夢殿, Hall of Dreams) and sits 122 meters east of the Sai-in area. The complex also contains monk's quarters, lecture halls, libraries, and dining halls.

The belfry of the East Precinct

The reconstructed buildings embrace significant cultural influences from the Three Kingdoms of Korea, particularly those of Baekje,[15] as well as from Eastern Han to Northern Wei of China.[16] The Chinese influence came through Baekje, since Baekje had a permanent trading relationship with China at the time.

The reconstruction has allowed Hōryū-ji to absorb and feature a unique fusion of early Asuka period style elements, added with some distinct ones only seen in Hōryū-ji, such as the extremely small proportions of the fifth story of the pagoda, which buildings constructed in later years lack. It is also home to unique examples of early Japanese architecture, such as the Tamamushi Shrine.[17]

There are many features that suggest the current precinct of Hōryū-ji is not entirely related to the Asuka period style in the same way as other works from the period.[18] Scholars note that the style of Hōryū-ji is more "conservative" than other examples from the period, such as Yakushiji.[19]

The pagoda has certain characteristics unique to Hōryū-ji

The five-story pagoda, located in Sai-in area, stands at 32.45 meters in height (122 feet) and is one of the oldest extant wooden buildings in the world. The wood used in the central pillar or axis mundi of the pagoda is estimated through a dendrochronological analysis to have been felled in 594.[7] The axis mundi rests three meters below the surface of the massive foundation stone, stretching into the ground. At its base, a relic believed to be a fragment of the bones of the Buddha is enshrined. Around it, four sculpted scenes from the life of the Buddha face in the four cardinal directions.[20] The pagoda is five-storied but, as is customary for pagodas, there is no access to the interior.[21]

The kondō

The kondō, located side by side to the pagoda in Sai-in, is another one of the oldest wood buildings extant in the world. The hall measures 18.5 meters by 15.2 meters.[18] The hall has two stories, with roofs curved in the corners. Only the first story has a double roof. This was added later in the Nara period with extra posts to hold up the original first roof because it extended more than four meters past the building.[22]

Due to a fire that broke out on January 26, 1949, severe damage was caused to the building, mainly its first floor, and the murals. As a result of the restoration (completed in 1954), it is estimated that about fifteen to twenty percent of the original seventh century Kondo materials is left in the current building, while the charred members were carefully removed and rebuilt to a separate fireproof warehouse for future research.[21][23][24]

Through a recent dendrochronological analysis carried out using the materials preserved during the restorations done in the 1950s, it has turned out that some of them were felled prior to 670, suggesting a possibility that the current kondō was already under construction when "the fire in 670", as recorded in the Nihon Shoki, burned the former Wakakusa-garan down.[25]

The hall holds the famous Shaka Triad, together with a bronze Yakushi and Amida Nyorai statues, and other national treasures. The wall paintings shown today in the Kondō are a reproduction from 1967.

Yumedono, a hall associated with Prince Shōtoku

Yumedono is one of the main constructions in the Tō-in area, 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. The hall also contains the famous Yumedono Kannon (also Kuse-, or Guze Kannon); which is only displayed at certain times of the year.[26]

Kudara Kannon

Kudara Kannon is one of the best representative Buddhist sculptures in the Asuka period, with Guze Kannon in Yumedono. Probably made in the early – middle 7th century, it is 209 cm in height and has a quite slim figure. While frontality is a prominent characteristic of the Shaka Triad by Tori Busshi, this statue intends to be seen rather from a side.[30] Most parts of it are made of camphor. Initially some parts, such as its bare body, were finished with lacquer, and colored vividly, but the lacquer has severely degraded over time.

The origin of the statue is veiled in mystery. Ancient catalogs for Hōryūji's treasures, even one written in the late Kamakura period, never mention it. The first surviving record which referred to it was from 1698 C.E. and implies that it was moved from somewhere sometime after the Kamakura period. The record calls it Kokūzō Bosatsu (Ākāśagarbha Bodhisattva), not Kannon Bosatsu (Guanyin), and says "it came from Baekje, but was made in India." At least in the Edo period, no official records remained about its origin, which continues to be shrouded in legend.[30]

Although it is referred to as the Kudara Kannon today, its name in the oral tradition was Kokūzō Bosatsu. In 1911, a crown created for the statue was discovered in a storehouse of Hōryūji. The crown was characterized with a curved Amitabha, a typical attribute for Kannon statues. Since then, it has been commonly known to be a depiction of Kannon. The name Kudara Kannon firstly appeared in a book published in 1917.[30]

Today, it is widely accepted that the statue was made in Japan. The statue is carved from camphor, which was a very typical medium for Japanese Buddhist sculptures in the 7th century. Furthermore, the style of flower ornaments in the crown closely resemble those of Guze Kannon and the Four Devas in the Kondō.[30]

The influences on the style could stem from a variety of places. The Northern Qi, Northern Zhou or Sui dynasties are all possibilities. The relative rarity of surviving Chinese Buddhist sculptures makes it difficult to pinpoint the potential influences on the sculpture from China.[30]

Amitabha paradise before fire

The murals of the kondō comprise fifty walls; four larger walls, eight mid-sized walls and thirty-eight small wall areas inside the building. The original murals were removed after the fire incident in 1949 and are kept in a non-public treasure house. Twenty small wall paintings, unscathed from the 1949 fire, are in their original places while reproductions replaced the parts that were removed due to damage.

It is generally believed that the paintings on the large walls represent the Pure Land (浄土 jōdo) with Shaka, Amida, Miroku and Yakushi Nyorai Buddhas. Some of the artistic choices, including the way the robes are modeled, are similar to murals found in Ajanta Caves (India) or Dunhuang (China.) Also observed are Tang and Indian flavors of the Bosatsu and Kannon drawn on the sides of the Amida.

Judging from the early Tang influences, the present day consensus on the time of creation of the paintings is end of the 7th century. Thus ruling out the possibilities of authorship by those early 7th-century figures who were once believed to be the creator, e.g. Tori or Donchō, there is no clear or accepted author of this work.[22][31][32]

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.[33][34] The style of the statue is also known as Tori style and is characterized by the two-dimensionality of the figure and the repetitive pattern-like depictions of the cloth the triad sits upon.[33] At each corner of the triad stand four wooden Shitennō statues from the end of the Asuka period. They are the oldest examples of Shitennō statues in Japan.[35]

The Tamamushi Shrine, Tamamushi-no-zushi, a miniature shrine once decorated with the iridescent wings of the tamamushi beetle (Chrysochroa fulgidissima)

The Tamamushi Shrine is a small wooden Buddhist shrine that is currently stored in the Great Treasure Repository of Hōryū-ji. The shrine is named for the many wings of the tamamushi beetle that once adorned it but have since deteriorated.[36][37] The shrine was likely created before the year 693, perhaps even dating back to before the construction of Hōryū-ji. It is notable for its smallness (it measures only 226 centimeters in height) and for the fact that it is the oldest surviving shrine of its kind in East Asia.[38] The paintings that cover building and dais are of Jataka tales, bodhisattvas, the Four Heavenly Kings, and other buddhist iconography. The front panels of the building show the Four Guardian Kings clad in armor with long flowing scarves. On the side doors are bodhisattvas holding lotus blossoms and forming a mudra. On the back is represented a sacred landscape with heights topped with pagodas. The dais shows on its front relics, seated monks making offerings, and apsara. On the back is depicted Mount Sumeru. The right side shows a scene from the Nirvana Sutra, where the Buddha offers his life in return for more of the sacred teachings, before being caught in his plummet by Indra. On the left panel of the dais is a scene from the Golden Light Sutra of a bodhisattva removing his upper garments before casting himself from a cliff to feed a hungry tigress and her cubs.[36]

The statue of Yakushi of the original temple was saved during the fire of 670.[39] While the temple was being rebuilt the Shaka Triad was commissioned or had been already cast.

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.[33] 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. The Kannon retains most of its gilt. It is in superb condition because it was kept in the Dream Hall and wrapped in five hundred meters of cloth and never viewed in sunlight. The statue was held to be sacred and was never seen until it was unwrapped at the demand of Ernest Fenollosa, who was charged by the Japanese government to catalogue the art of the state and later became a curator at the Boston Museum of Fine Art.[40] Art historians suggest that this figure is based on the Tori Busshi style.[33]

Inscription on the halo of Bhaisajyaguru

A replica of The Heart Sutra and Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra manuscript in Siddham script on palm-leaf in 609 CE. First page and the first line of second page is The Heart Sutra second page is Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra Hōryū-ji, Japan. The last line is a complete Sanskrit syllabary in Siddhaṃ script