page_title: Saimyō-ji (Kora)
section_title: Main hall
hierarchical_section_title: Saimyō-ji (Kora) / Architecture / Main hall
caption_attribution_description: English: Saimyō-ji's Main Hall is a Japan's National Treasure in Kora, Shiga prefecture, Japan. 日本語: 西明寺 本堂は国宝, 滋賀県甲良町
context_page_description: Saimyō-ji, also known as Kotō-sanzan Saimyōji or as Ryūōzan Saimyōji is a Buddhist temple of the Tendai sect in Kōra, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Founded at the beginning of the ninth century by the 54th Emperor of Japan, the temple is dedicated to Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of healing. The complex includes several National Treasures and a garden designated as Place of Scenic Beauty of Japan.
context_section_description: Dating to the end of the Kamakura period, the temple's main hall (本堂 hondō), also known as ruriden and classified as a National Treasure, is a hinoki cypress wood construction without any nails. It is a 7×7 ken single-storied, irimoya style construction with a 3 ken step canopy. The roof is covered with bark shingles. The building serves as a place of meditation for the faithful of the Tendai school.
  The building, with an area of approximately 160 m² (1,700 sq ft), houses Kamakura period wooden sculptures of the Twelve Heavenly Generals, three statues forming the Pure Land Triad: Amida Nyorai surrounded by Kannon Bosatsu and Seishi Bosatsu, two gilded statuettes representing Nikkō Bosatsu and Gakkō Bosatsu, terracotta miniatures of the monks Ryōgen and Shinran from the Muromachi period, and several important national cultural objects: an icon of Yakushi Nyorai from the Heian period, statues of Shaka Nyorai (Kamakura period), Fudō Myōō, works of the monk Enchin dating from the beginning of the Heian era, Kōmoku-ten and Tamon-ten (Heian period) , two of the Four Heavenly Kings of Chinese Buddhist Mythology.
  Saimyō-ji is the 32nd step on a pilgrimage route installed in 1989 in the Kansai region connecting 49 holy sites dedicated to the Buddhist deity Yakushi Nyorai. The first is Yakushi-ji in Nara and the last Enryaku-ji in Kyoto. A building near to the main hall is set up to receive the pilgrims and the temple provides each with a certificate stamped with the official seal attesting their passage.
caption: Hondō du temple Saimyō.
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