Sanjūsangen-dō

Sanjūsangen-dō
Sanjusangen-dō in 2022
Religion
AffiliationTendai
DeityThousand Armed Kannon (Sahasrabhuja-arya-avalokiteśvara)
Location
Location605-0941, Sanjusangendomawari, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture 675
CountryJapan
Architecture
FounderTaira no Kiyomori
Completed1164

Sanjūsangen-dō (三十三間堂; Temple of thirty-three bays) is a Buddhist temple of the Tendai sect in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto, Japan.

The temple was founded in 1164 by Taira no Kiyomori for the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa. It is officially known as Rengeō-in (蓮華王院; hall of the Lotus King) and belongs to the Myōhō-in temple complex.

Sanjūsangen-dō is most famous for its massively long hondō (main hall) dating from 1266 (Kamakura period) and designated a National Treasure of Japan, and the collection of sculptures it houses, including 1001 standing Thousand-armed Kannon, 28 standing attendants, a statue of Fūjin and a statue of Raijin, and the principal image of the temple, a big seated statue of Thousand-armed Kannon, all of them designated National Treasures in the category of sculptures, most of them dating to the Heian to Kamakura periods.

34°59′16″N 135°46′18″E / 34.98778°N 135.77167°E / 34.98778; 135.77167