After breakfast, we headed to Nara, the capital of Japan from 710 to 784. Nara is home to some of the world’s oldest buildings. We didn’t have time to see everything, but we made sure to check out the Daibutsuden Hall at Todai-ji. This is the largest wooden building in the world, but is still only 2/3 the size of the original. Two of the wooden guardians are over 800 years old. The main attraction though, is the great bronze Buddha. 16 m tall, and originally cast in the 740s. (except for the head and hands, which are newer). Also its nostrils are a pretty tight fit.
I mention the nostrils because there is a pillar in the building with a hole at the base which is said to be the same size as the Buddha’s nostril. Squeezing through this hole is said to bring enlightenment. (It also brings entertainment, as you can watch many adults struggling to fit through, or to get unstuck, and then a kid will just crawl right through.) L and I made it, though I did find it pretty tight (just around the shoulders!) and had my mild claustrophobia reinforced! I suspect enlightenment is to become like a child (or a supermodel…). (Checking details, I just noticed that the Wikipedia article says that squeezing through the hole brings enlightenment in THE NEXT LIFE. That explains why I haven’t really felt any different…)
After dodging the hordes of giant horned rats which infest the park area,
we took a quick look at (and I took a shoddy picture of) a really old pagoda. Not the original, but still quite old (1426 – that’s still before Columbus was born). A lot of feudal Japan’s original structures were wooden, and often built on hills. With tall metal decorations on top. In one of my favourite books about Japan, the author points out that many were (not surprisingly) struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Most of them now have grounding wires to protect the structures.
As usual, photos are on flickr.
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