Overview
At its height the temple held a private army and could dictate to the capital; the Meiji government’s separation of Buddhism and Shinto in 1868 stripped it to almost nothing, and the pagoda was nearly sold for scrap. The Central Golden Hall was rebuilt in 2018 to its eighth-century form after two centuries as an empty platform. The treasure hall’s Ashura statue, a three-faced, six-armed guardian with a boy’s face, is the single most reproduced sculpture in Japanese art.
Highlights
The treasure hall is a plain modern building and is the reason to come; the Ashura alone repays the ticket. The pagoda is closed for a full dismantling and re-roofing that runs to the end of the decade, so expect scaffolding. Nara Park begins directly below, so this is the natural first stop from Kintetsu Nara station.