at a grand temple, Tōshōdai-ji

Today I came to Tōshōdai-ji (唐招提寺) which is located in southwest in Nara city. The gate came within sight by a road in local and rustic town.

 
The main hall called Golden hall has eight stout columns at its facade, and they, as well as the shape of the roof with tiles, make this architecture significant .

 

This temple was established in 759 by Ganjin( 鑑真)(688～７６３） who had been a high Buddhist priest in China. According to the leaflet, " Ganjin Wajo decided to go to Japan. Overcoming the hardship that even took the loss of his eyesight, he crossed the ocean to arrive in Japan on his sixth such attempt in 753."


It is said that the difficulty for Ganjin was not only to travel overseas but also to leave China as he was already well known and important priest for his mother country.

As for travelling overseas I remember the scene, in a novel「天平の甍」"Tenpyo- no- iraka"（Tenpyo is a period , iraka means tiles on a roof), that massive numbers of handwritten books are sinking in the sea when the ship was wrecked.


The novel tells the story of Ganjin and also of ambitious Japanese students who went to China to learn. They dedicated themselves to write down Buddhism doctrine, as it was the main subject for them to learn at that era, and many of them got older until finally they came to be able to go back to Japan with their manuscripts. And then the travel itself was a great obstacle for them.

Many years have passed since I read the novel, yet I remember clearly the scene of the books sinking .
 
There are greenery yard and several paths in the precincts. Hundreds of leaves are flowing in the breeze.
 
 



It is said that haiku poet Bashō(1644~1694) wrote the following haiku facing up to the Seated Stature of Ganjin.

青葉しておん目の雫ぬぐはばや

I wish

I could wipe your eyes

with a green leaf

 

 

  One of the paths led me to a yard where lotus were planted in some pots.

Some  are not yet blooming and some are flourish.

 As it is often said lotus flowers are symbolic for enlightenment, for the bright bloom after growing in the mud. Ganjin must have seen the brightness with his mental eyes.

Getting back to columns at the Golden hall, there is a stone at a corner of the precincts and the inscribed on it is a tanka by Yaich Aizu(1881~1956)in regard to these columns. 
 
おおてらの まろきはしらの つきかげを. つちにふみつつ ものをこそおもへ 会津　八一

Stepping on the shadows

of columns

at the grand temple

in a moon light

I think now is the time to ponder



The archtectures of  Tōshōdai-ji were designated World Heritage site in 1998.