Hōryū-ji

Hōryū-ji was founded in 607 by Prince Shōtoku, considered by many to be the patron saint of Japanese Buddhism. Hōryū-ji is a veritable shrine to Shōtoku and is renowned not only as the oldest temple in Japan, but also as a repository for some of the country’s rarest treasures. Several of the temple’s wooden buildings have survived earthquakes and fires to become the oldest of their kind in the world. The layout of the temple is divided into two parts, Sai-in (West Temple) and Tō-in (East Temple). The entrance ticket allows admission to Sai-in, Tō-in and the Great Treasure Hall. A detailed map is provided and a guidebook is available in English and several other languages. The JNTO leaflet Walking Tour Courses in Nara includes a basic map for the area around Hōryū-ji. The main approach to the temple proceeds from the south along a tree-lined avenue and continues through Nandai-mon and Chū-mon, the temple’s two main gates, before entering the Sai-in precinct. As you enter the Sai-in, you’ll see the Hondō (Main Hall) on your right, and a pagoda on your left. On the eastern side of the Sai-in are the two concrete buildings of the Daihōzō-den (Great Treasure Hall), containing numerous treasures from Hōryū-ji’s long history. If you leave this hall and continue east through the Tōdai-mon you reach the Tō-in. The Yumedono (Hall of Dreams) in this temple is where Prince Shōtoku is believed to have meditated and been given help with problem sutras by a kindly, golden apparition.