A Guide to Strolling through the

Temple’s of Nara’s Saki District

The Main Hall of Saidaiji was built entirely of wood and measures 28 meters by 21 meters. It was erected in 1752 just north of where the temple’s Eastern Pagoda once stood. Believed to have been seven stories tall, the octagon-shaped pagoda’s stone ruins are still visible today.

The principal object is a statue of Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, made in 1249 at the request of the priest Eison (1201–1290). On the wall behind it is a painting of 16 Buddhist sages with a range of lively, almost comical expressions. The other great treasure in the Main Hall is a magnificent statue of Monju, the bodhisattva of wisdom, seated on a lion and surrounded by his four servants. Eison’s followers created this work in 1213, after their master’s death, to honor his legacy and strong faith in Monju.

Every October, the Main Hall is used for two special Shingon Ritsu religious services: Komyo Shingon Dosha Kaji Daiho-e (the Mantra of Light and the Sand Consecration Ceremony). These solemn rites allow the public a rare chance to witness the essence of esoteric Shingon Buddhism.

There were made in 1302(showa 4 -Kamakura Period), thirteen years after Kosho-Bosatsu's death by his disciples.Monju-Bosatsu was one of the Buddha's whom Kosho-Bosatsu had believed in very earnestly, but very few images remain in existence today. this is an important example of the crystallization belief in Monju. Many scrolls of the sutra and other documents were placed inside the statues as offerings.

Aizen Myo-o is one of the Wisdom Kings in Buddhist belief. The Wisdom Kings are usually represented as angry deities who serve as guardians of the teachings of Buddhism. Carved by the Buddhist priest Zen’en in 1247, this six-armed statue has a wrathful expression and is set off against a circular background by its red color.

In the 8th year of the Tenpyo-Hōji era (764), Empress Kōken vowed to create statues of the Four Heavenly Kings in hopes of subduing the rebellion of Fujiwara Nakamaro . After the rebellion was successfully suppressed, the statues were cast the following year as promised. The statues have suffered repeated damage over time, and it is believed that they were repaired during the Muromachi period. However, the evil demons trampled by the Four Heavenly Kings are the original ones from the Nara period when the statues were first created. These statues are a valuable example of the original sculptures from the founding period, and they are the only surviving pieces of such early carvings at Saidaiji.

This statue represents Kannon, also known as the bodhisattva of mercy. Kannon is believed to protect people from illness and help them secure food and wealth. The eleven heads set atop the statue’s main head have a range of expressions, but the largest radiates compassion and tranquility. There are several interpretations of why there are eleven heads, including the belief that the lower ten represent the stages on the path to enlightenment, while the uppermost represents buddhahood.

This Kannon statue was modeled after the Kannon of Hasedera Temple in Nara Prefecture. It was commissioned by the Retired Emperor Toba (1103–1156) and made in 1145 in the latter part of the Heian period (794–1185), and in 1289 it was brought to Saidaiji from Kyoto on the order of Retired Emperor Kameyama (1249–1305). It has been housed in the Shio-Do since the Kamakura period.

The Main Hall of Saidaiji was built entirely of wood and measures 28 meters by 21 meters. It was erected in 1752 just north of where the temple’s Eastern Pagoda once stood. Believed to have been seven stories tall, the octagon-shaped pagoda’s stone ruins are still visible today.

The principal object is a statue of Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, made in 1249 at the request of the priest Eison (1201–1290). On the wall behind it is a painting of 16 Buddhist sages with a range of lively, almost comical expressions. The other great treasure in the Main Hall is a magnificent statue of Monju, the bodhisattva of wisdom, seated on a lion and surrounded by his four servants. Eison’s followers created this work in 1213, after their master’s death, to honor his legacy and strong faith in Monju.

Every October, the Main Hall is used for two special Shingon Ritsu religious services: Komyo Shingon Dosha Kaji Daiho-e (the Mantra of Light and the Sand Consecration Ceremony). These solemn rites allow the public a rare chance to witness the essence of esoteric Shingon Buddhism.

The Buddhist priest Eison (1201–1290) revived Saidaiji Temple in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) after centuries of neglect. His disciples commissioned the sculptor Zenshun to create this statue when the priest turned 80. The highly realistic rendering shows Eison to be a vigorous, deeply sincere teacher.

Eison’s generosity and care for the less fortunate is reflected in the origin of the Ochamori-shiki Tea Ceremony, in which groups of people share tea from outsized bowls. As the story goes, in the first month of 1239, after finishing a prayer service at Saidaiji’s Chinju-Hachiman Shrine, Eison offered tea to the gods. He then distributed the remaining tea to local parishioners. At the time, as tea was considered an expensive form of medicine, most people had never had the opportunity to enjoy it with others. This grew into a tradition of people young and old gathering to drink matcha green tea from an exceptionally large bowl measuring over 30 centimeters in diameter and weighing some 7 kilograms. The term ochamori is a play on sakamori, or drinking party, and signifies a convivial enjoyment of drinking tea (cha) rather than alcohol, which was proscribed in Buddhism.

More than 750 years after Eison introduced it, the Ochamori-shiki Tea Ceremony continues to be a popular event at Saidaiji. It reinforces the ties between the temple and its parishioners, as well as bonds between family, friends, and Buddhists from everywhere. It is also a reminder of Eison himself and his generosity toward all people.