Artworks

Hokkedō (Sangatsudō), Tōdaiji

Artwork · Anonymous · first half of the 8th century · building · Tōdai-ji Temple

The Hall of the Lotus Sutra, or Third Month Hall: the oldest building of Tōdaiji, the Konshōji that Emperor Shōmu built in 733 for Rōben, the first abbot. In the thirteenth century a worship hall was added in front and the two roofs were joined. On its altar the Fukūkenjaku Kannon among clay and dry-lacquer guardians and attendants — a mixture of images made for it and “guest” sculptures. 1 Mason 2005, p. 69, fig. 80, 106. ↩ Literatur Mason 2005: Penelope E. Mason, History of Japanese Art, 2nd, Pearson Education LTD. 2005.