As the name says (san-jū-san-ken means thirty-three ken), the Sanjūsangen-dō hall from Kyoto is a very long building… In fact, with a length of 120 meters, it holds the record of the longest wooden structure from Japan. But its builders didn’t have records in mind, the number of 33 ken was selected because it is connected to Kannon, the Buddhist deity enshrined here: there are thirty-three forms of Kannon.
The giant hall houses a treasure unique in Japan, 1001 golden wood statues representing Senju Kannon ("Kannon with 1000 arms"), 1000 of them human-sized and one larger, plus 28 wooden statues representing other guardian deities. Photography inside the hall is prohibited, but a glimpse of the amazing sight is available on the Sanjusangendo official site.
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Yesterday’s Japan Photo:Ushi-san, the cow statue |
