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Nara Todaiji and the Great Buddha: A Guide to Nara Period Faith and Historic Sites

Todaiji's Great Buddha, built by Emperor Shomu for national peace, is the supreme symbol of Nara period state Buddhism. This guide covers the world's largest wooden building, the Daibutsu (Great Buddha), Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji, and Horyuji.

| Samurai History

Todaiji’s Great Buddha (Vairocana/Rushana-butsu), commissioned by Emperor Shomu in 743 CE and consecrated in 752, is Japan’s supreme symbol of Nara period state Buddhism. The current Great Buddha Hall is the world’s largest wooden building at 48.74 meters tall, rebuilt in 1709. Together with Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji, and the nearby Horyuji (Japan’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, 607 CE), Todaiji forms the core of the Nara pilgrimage circuit — a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1998.

Last updated: May 20, 2026

Todaiji Daibutsuden — world's largest wooden building at 48.74m

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Kasuga Taisha — head shrine of the Fujiwara clan's patron deity

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Kofukuji five-story pagoda — 50.1m, National Treasure rebuilt in Muromachi era

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Horyuji Western Precinct — world's oldest wooden architecture, UNESCO 1993

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Todaiji Rushana-butsu (Great Buddha) — 14.98m, National Treasure commissioned 743 CE

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

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Samurai History

Toku editorial team — samurai history. Insists on primary sources and castle-layout diagrams, walking battlefields from Yoritomo's Izu exile sites to the late-Edo battlegrounds.

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Visit Related Places

History truly comes alive when you visit in person. Choose your next destination from the related sites and pilgrimage courses below.

Emperor Shomu's World Heritage masterpiece — the Great Buddha and the world's largest wooden hall

2. Kasuga Taisha

Tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara clan founded by Fujiwara no Nagate in 768 — head of all Kasuga shrines, a World Heritage site illuminated by 3,000 lanterns

Fujiwara clan temple and World Heritage Site — the Ashura statue and 50m pagoda are icons of ancient Nara

World's oldest wooden structures, founded by Prince Shotoku — Japan's first UNESCO World Heritage Site and the apex of Asuka Buddhist art

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