Hōryū-ji
Hōryū-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Built shortly after Buddhism was introduced to Japan, it is also one of the oldest Buddhist sites in the country. Its full name is, or Learning Temple of the Flourishing Law, with the complex serving as both a seminary and monastery.
The temple was founded by Prince Shōtoku in 607. According to the Nihon Shoki, in 670 all buildings were burned down by lightning. Reconstruction of the temple complex began soon after. Rebuilt at least 1,300 years ago, the Kondō is widely recognized as the world's oldest wooden building. A tree ring survey conducted in 2001 revealed that the shinbashira of the five-story pagoda were cut down in 594, before it burned down in 670.
On January 26, 1949, a fire broke out during the dismantling and repair of the Kondō. This heavily damaged the building and also destroyed a mural of the Asuka period, a national treasure, shocking the Japanese. Based on this accident, January 26 is now fire prevention day for cultural properties.
In 1993, Hōryū-ji Temple, along with Hokki-ji, was registered as Japan's first UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name of Buddhist Monuments in the Hōryū-ji Area.
History
The temple was originally commissioned by Prince Shōtoku; at the time it was called Wakakusadera, a name that is still sometimes used. This first temple is believed to have been completed by 607. Hōryū-ji was dedicated to Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of healing and in honor of the prince's father. Excavations done in 1939 confirmed that Prince Shotoku's palace, the Ikaruga-no-miya, occupied the eastern part of the current temple complex, where the Tō-in sits today. Also discovered were the ruins of a temple complex which was southwest of the prince's palace and not completely within the present temple complex. The original temple, named by modern historians and archaeologists Wakakusa-garan, was lost, probably burned to the ground after being hit by lightning in 670. The temple was reconstructed but slightly reoriented in a northwest position, which is believed to have been completed by around 711. The temple was repaired and reassembled in the early twelfth century, in 1374, and 1603.During the Kamakura period, as the cult of Shōtoku rose to prominence in Japan, Hōryū-ji became an important site for veneration of the long-dead prince. Ritual practices dedicated to Prince Shōtoku increased in number during this time. A memorial service for the prince called the ceremony of Shōryō-e became an annual event at Hōryū-ji in the early 12th century, and it is still practiced at the temple and other temples associated with Prince Shōtoku to this day. The Kamakura and early Heian period also brought new additions to Hōryū-ji, including the dedication of several new halls in the Eastern and Western compounds to venerate the Prince as the incarnation of the bodhisattva Kannon. The growth of the Shōtoku cult from the 7th century onward propelled the rise of Hōryū-ji as a well-known temple in Japan. By the end of Tokugawa rule in the mid-1800s, the temple was receiving extensive funds from the shogunate on a regular basis. Furthermore, the temple grew and maintained close relations with the Hossō sect throughout the Edo period.
Beginning in the early years of the Meiji period, significant political shifts in Japan brought new challenges for Hōryū-ji. Shinto was instated as the official state religion in 1868, resulting in government confiscation of many Buddhist lands, strict government supervision and categorization of Buddhist temples, and a steep decrease in financial support for Hōryū-ji itself. The recategorization of officially recognized Buddhist sects by the government, which occurred soon after the start of Meiji rule, did not recognize the Hossō sect as a formal institution of Japanese Buddhism. When the seat of the Hossō sect, Kōfuku-ji, was shut down for a time during the Meiji restoration, Hōryū-ji became affiliated with Shingon Buddhism. However, after the government changed its position and allowed Buddhist temples to choose their own affiliated sect in the late 19th century, Hōryū-ji renewed its affiliation with the Hossō school.
Due to the lack of resources during the early Meiji period, the monks at Hōryū-ji decided to donate many of the temple's treasures for museum display. They were able to secure compensation for this donation, improving the financial situation of the temple. Conservation work at the site began in 1895, but culminated in 1934, when a massive restoration project at Hōryū-ji began. The project was interrupted during the Second World War, when large portions of the temple itself were dismantled and hidden in the hills surrounding Nara. However, due to the policy of the United States of America regarding the preservation of cultural sites in Nara and Kyoto, the entire site was spared from bombings during the war. The restoration project resumed after the war and concluded in 1985. Much of the temple complex was repaired from centuries of environmental damage. During the restoration, older paintings of the temple were used to determine the original layout of the complex, and many of the living quarters built during the intervening years were demolished.
Today, the temple can be identified as the headquarters of the Shōtoku sect, and is a popular site for pilgrimage. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hōryū-ji is also an attractive site for tourists. According to the temple's website, it is currently home to over 180 of Japan's designated National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, and was the first structure in Japan to become a World Heritage Site. Hōryū-ji also still holds frequent events in a variety of locations in the complex, and many of its structures are open to the public. In January of 2026, the temple was chosen as the place to tour during Korea's President Lee Jae Myung's visit with Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as Lee wished to visit Takaicihi's hometown of Nara, and because the temple's architecture was influenced by Korean culture, signifying the two countries' historical connections.
Architecture
Present complex
The current temple is made up of two areas, the Sai-in in the west and the Tō-in in the east. The western part of the temple contains the Kondō and the temple's five-story pagoda. The Tō-in area holds the octagonal Yumedono Hall and sits 122 meters east of the Sai-in area. The complex also contains monk's quarters, lecture halls, libraries, and dining halls.Characteristics
The reconstructed buildings embrace significant cultural influences from the Three Kingdoms of Korea, particularly those of Baekje, and from Eastern Han to Northern Wei of China.The reconstruction has allowed Hōryū-ji to absorb and feature a unique fusion of early Asuka period style elements, added with some distinct ones only seen in Hōryū-ji, such as the extremely small proportions of the fifth story of the pagoda, which buildings constructed in later years lack. It is also home to unique examples of early Japanese architecture, such as the Tamamushi Shrine.
There are many features that suggest the current precinct of Hōryū-ji is not entirely related to the Asuka period style in the same way as other works from the period. Scholars note that the style of Hōryū-ji is more "conservative" than other examples from the period, such as Yakushiji.
Pagoda
The five-story pagoda, located in Sai-in area, stands at 32.45 meters in height and is one of the oldest extant wooden buildings in the world. The wood used in the central pillar or axis mundi of the pagoda is estimated through a dendrochronological analysis to have been felled in 594. The axis mundi rests three meters below the surface of the massive foundation stone, stretching into the ground. At its base, a relic believed to be a fragment of the bones of the Buddha is enshrined. Around it, four sculpted scenes from the life of the Buddha face in the four cardinal directions. The pagoda is five-storied but, as is customary for pagodas, there is no access to the interior.Kondō
The kondō, located side by side to the pagoda in Sai-in, is another one of the oldest wood buildings extant in the world. The hall measures 18.5 meters by 15.2 meters. The hall has two stories, with roofs curved in the corners. Only the first story has a double roof. This was added later in the Nara period with extra posts to hold up the original first roof because it extended more than four meters past the building.Due to a fire that broke out on January 26, 1949, severe damage was caused to the building, mainly its first floor, and the murals. As a result of the restoration, it is estimated that about fifteen to twenty percent of the original seventh century Kondo materials is left in the current building, while the charred members were carefully removed and rebuilt to a separate fireproof warehouse for future research.
Through a recent dendrochronological analysis carried out using the materials preserved during the restorations done in the 1950s, it has turned out that some of them were felled prior to 670, suggesting a possibility that the current kondō was already under construction when "the fire in 670", as recorded in the Nihon Shoki, burned the former Wakakusa-garan down.
The hall holds the famous Shaka Triad, together with a bronze Yakushi and Amida Nyorai statues, and other national treasures. The wall paintings shown today in the Kondō are a reproduction from 1967.