Sanjusangen-do was built by Taira no Kiyomori for the retired emperor Go-Shirakawa in 1164. Burned in 1249, the temple was restored in 1266. The exterior of the temple's hondo, or main hall (1266), is shown here. Itself a National Treasure, the long (390 feet) hall is divided by interior columns into thirty-three bays, symbolizing the thirty-three incarnations of Kannon. Thus the temple's common name, Sanjusan-gen-do, means "Thirty-three Bay Hall." Its official name, Renge-o-ji, means "Lotus King Temple," and refers to the form of Kannon that is enshrined as the chief statue of the temple.