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Rengeō-in (Sanjūsangen-dō) Temple in Kyoto, Japan
Address: 〒605-0941 京都市東山区三十三間堂廻り町657
Rengeō-in (Sanjūsangen-dō) Temple Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan [三十三間堂] This Temple has 1001 human-sized statues.
A temple built by the famous warlord Taira no Kiyomori for Emperor Go-Shirakawa in 1164, Sanjūsangen-dō is primarily famous for its 1,001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of compassion in her thousand-armed incarnation, lined up along the entire length of the thirty-three ken (unit of measurement) hall from which the temple gets its moniker. The temple complex used to be larger until a fire decimated it and only the main hall was rebuilt, but visitors are more than satisfied with the impressive contents of the long wooden structure.
Not only is the hall filled with the golden faces of a thousand Kannon statues, but another 28 sculptures of Buddhist guardian deities are also featured in the front row. The hall itself shows its age in the many arrow notches that can be found in the wood on the edge of the building, marks of the Tōshiya archery competition once held at the temple hundreds of years ago. Source: discoverkyoto
Features of 1,001 Thousand-Armed Kannon Statues
One of Sanjūsangen-dō’s well-known aspects is the statuary housed in its main hall, created by a team that was led by sculpture masters father and son Unkei and Tankei. Arranged in ten rows and fifty columns on each side of the hall, the thousand statues of Kannon are made of Japanese cypress covered in gold leaf. Of these, 124 are originals from the temple’s founding that were saved from destruction in a 1249 fire, while the rest were replaced in the 13th century.
The thousand human-sized statues flank a much larger statue of the deity that serves as the principal object of worship and is also a National Treasure. The thousand-armed Kannon is said to have eleven heads to better see the suffering of mankind, and one thousand arms to save everyone in need. Though the wooden statues only have 42 arms, each holds a different item or is posed in a Buddhist symbolic gesture. Look carefully at their faces: it is said that among the Kannon statues, you will find one that resembles the person you long to meet.
In addition to the thousand-armed Kannon statues, the hall displays 28 guardian deities whose origins lie in Hinduism. There are various theories as to how the concepts spread, but they somehow made their way across Asia in the form of Sanskrit texts and over the sea to Japan where the Hindu deities of Shiva, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Brahma and others found new lives as fusion deities in Buddhism. They now serve to protect the goddess Kannon.
Admission:
- General Admission: ¥600
- Junior High and High School Students: ¥400
- Primary School Students: ¥300
Open Hours: 8:30 – 17:00 (April 1st to November 15th), 9:00 – 16:00 (November 16th to March 31st)
Closed: No closing days
How to get there:
By Train: From Kyoto
- Keihan Line to Shichijō Station and walk about 10 minutes walking
By Bus:
- City Bus on Bus# 100, 206, or 208 to Hakubutsukan Sanjūsangen-dō-mae Bus Stop and then walk about 1-minute walking
Another Detail on Access:
How to get to and around Kyoto:
Sanjusangendo is located next to the Hakubutsukan-Sanjusangendo-mae bus stop (10 minutes, 230 yen from Kyoto Station by bus numbers 100, 206 or 208) or a five minute walk from Shichijo Station along the Keihan Line. Alternatively, it takes about twenty minutes to walk there from Kyoto Station. source: japan-guide.com
