Tōshōdai-ji (唐招提寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Risshū sect in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. The Classic Golden Hall, also known as the kondō, has a single story, hipped tiled roof with a seven bay wide facade. It is considered the archetype of "classical style".
It was founded in 759 by the Tang dynasty Chinese monk Jianzhen during the Nara period. Jianzhen was hired by the newly empowered clans to travel in search of funding from private aristocrats as well.
Jianzhen (688–763), also known by his Japanese name Ganjin (Japanese pronunciation: [ɡaꜜɲ.dʑiɴ]), was a Tang Chinese monk who helped to propagate Buddhism in Japan. In the eleven years from 743 to 754, Jianzhen attempted to visit Japan some six times, arriving in the year 753 and founding Tōshōdai-ji in Nara. When he finally succeeded on his sixth attempt, he had lost his eyesight as a result of an infection acquired during his journeys. Jianzhen's life story and voyage are described in the scroll, "The Sea Journey to the East of a Great Bonze from the Tang Dynasty."
Nara (奈良市, Nara-shi; Japanese pronunciation: [naꜜ.ɾa, na.ɾaꜜ.ɕi] ) is the capital city of Nara Prefecture, Japan. As of 2022, Nara has an estimated population of 367,353 according to World Population Review, making it the largest city in Nara Prefecture and sixth-largest in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara is a core city located in the northern part of Nara Prefecture bordering the Kyoto Prefecture.
Nara was the capital of Japan during the Nara period from 710 to 784 as the seat of the Emperor before the capital was moved to Nagaoka-kyō, except for the years 740 to 745, when the capital was placed in Kuni-kyō, Naniwa-kyō and Shigaraki Palace. Nara is home to eight major historic temples, shrines, and heritage sites, specifically Tōdai-ji, Saidai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga Shrine, Gangō-ji, Yakushi-ji, Tōshōdai-ji, and the Heijō Palace, together with Kasugayama Primeval Forest, collectively form the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Nanto Shichi Daiji (南都七大寺), literally "the seven great temples of the southern capital (meaning the city of Nara)", is a historical common name generally referring to the powerful and influential seven Buddhist temples located in the Nara prefecture. There have been some changes as to which temples are included over the years, since there have been fluctuations in power. The following is a list as it stood at the early stage, all of which were originally built by imperial order:
Sometimes the temples were called "the fifteen great temples of the southern capital" too, including other prestigious temples such as Tōshōdai-ji (唐招提寺) and Hokke-ji (法華寺).
Risshū (律宗), also Ritsu-shu, is one of the six schools of Nara Buddhism in Japan, noted for its use of the Vinaya textual framework of the Dharmaguptaka, one of the early schools of Buddhism; Risshū is the Japanese term for Vinaya.
The Ritsu school was formally established in China during the Tang dynasty by Daoxuan, founder of the Nanshan Vinaya school. Daoxuan completed the scholastic system of Vinaya studies with his Commentary on the Four-Part Vinaya (四分律行事鈔). He belonged to the lineage of Huiguang (468–537), a disciple of the Dilun school, and trained prominent monks such as Wengang, Zhuxiu, Daoshi, and Hongjing.
Shichidō garan is a Japanese Buddhist term indicating the seven halls composing the ideal Buddhist temple compound. This compound word is composed of shichidō (七堂), literally meaning "seven halls", and the abbreviated form of sangharama (伽藍, garan). The term is often shortened to just garan. Which seven halls the term refers to varies, and 七堂 may be a misinterpretation of "complete temple" (悉堂, shitsudō). In practice, shichidō garan often simply means a large temple with many buildings.