This building is the Daibutsu-den at Todaiji Temple in Nara. Todaiji is the headquarters of the Kegon branch of Buddhism. The Daibutsu-den is the building that contains the Daibutsu (the Great Statue of the Buddha). The Daibutsu is a 49 foot tall image of Vairocana, the Buddha who shines a light of wisdom and mercy and offers salvation to all beings in the universe. The original Daibutsu-den was built by Emperor Shomu (724-749 A.D.). Twice, the Todaiji was victim of wars and were burned to the ground (once in 1180 and once in 1567). The current Daibutsu-den was built in 1708 and is about 2/3 the size of the original structure. The Daibutsu-den is the largest wooden building in the world. The Daibutsu is the largest bronze statue in the world.
This is a photo of Dirk and Sara outside of the Daibutsu-den in Nara. Isn't she cute?
On the way to the Todaiji Temple in Nara, we passed a large park in which there were several hundred free-roaming deer. These deer were everywhere! And they were fearless! I never saw them stray into traffic however (natural selection is at work here, I'm sure).
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