WHS#78

Horyuji is home to the undisputed oldest wooden buildings left in the world today. The Chumon, Kondo, 5-story pagoda, and the surrounding cloister in the Western Precinct were all built and last rebuilt in the Asuka Period, over 1300 years ago. Other structures, like the Western Precinct's Great Lecture Hall and the Yumedono in the Eastern Precinct were last rebuilt over 1000 years ago, as well. Only a church in England and a few temples in China even come close to being a millenium old. And the whole complex has been around for over 1400 years! Enough about age, though, Horyuji is genuinely a very interesting temple complex to see if you're in the Kansai Region. To me, it's more important than any of the temples in Nara, aside from Todaiji, because it's an impressively large complex with an impressive legacy on temple building in Japan. While Todaiji and even Kofukuji are more visually impressive, I find that Horyuji's beauty is extremely underrated. It's also a breath of literal fresh air being away from the city, the tourist crowds, and yes, even the deer. It's just you, yourself, and the temples. And a few smart tourists, sorry. I was lucky enough to visit in December 2019 by taking a bus from JR Horyuji Station. You approach it through a lane of pine trees, which is apparently part of the WHS, before encountering the Nandaimon, the main gate to the complex. It took around an hour to explore, but it could take longer if you pay more attention at the displays or explore the non-paid areas more extensively. I didn't go to Hokkiji, the other part of the site because it seems that Horyuji holds the oldest buildings of all, as well as most of the interesting things to see and area, while Hokkiji is just a single original building, the 3-story pagoda. Probably the most daunting thing about getting into the core of the complex is the entrance fee, a whopping 1500 yen per person, no student discount, no credit cards accepted, and yet, I tell you, it's worth it. It probably takes a lot to preserve the world's oldest wooden buildings, after all.

Entering the complex is actually free, and you only need to pay for an combination entrance to the Western and Eastern Precincts, as well as the Daihozoin, which is just a museum of Buddhist artifacts. You can somewhat see the Western Precinct by peeping through the Chumon, so I guess paying is optional if you're on a tight budget. It's a lot cooler to enter, though, and see the wooden structures up close. The pagoda and the Kondo are full of art in their interiors, but no pictures are allowed, which is a rule for all building interiors here, unfortunately. I did manage to take a picture of the Lecture Hall's interior from the outside. It's a lot more spacious than the 2 older buildings, and boasts several huge and not-so-huge statues of Buddha. The whole Western Precinct feels like a sanctuary, with raked sand throughout the grounds and each building towering majestically above you. You can see the care the site is given, which is comforting. It's still hard to believe just how long all that wood has been standing there. From there, we proceeded to the Daihozoin, via the Hall of Prince Shotoku's Soul, a Kamakura-era wooden building where you can take pictures inside. The Daihozoin is painted in vermillion and white, reconstructed recently, and I spent just a little time browsing the displays there before proceeding to the Eastern Precinct. This is where the Octagonal Hall, Yumedono, is. The precinct is actually just this hall and the square surrounding it, much smaller than the Western Precinct, but it highlights this single majestic building. The bell tower right outside has a very unique design worth noting too. These buildings, especially the 5-story pagoda and octagonal hall being the first of their kind in Japan, have been a huge influence on all the architectural works done after them. These are the prototypes of the wonders in Nara and Kyoto, where creative genius was able to fully emerge. This single temple complex is no longer the most impressive in Japan, not by a long shot, but it's by far the most important, the original. It isn't swarmed by mobs of tourists, too. It's a peaceful refuge that gives each visitor a closer look at Japanese history, and in the history of the spread of Buddhism as a world religion. And it's just an interesting, beautiful temple to explore.