Sanjusangen-do is a Buddhist temple located in Higashiyama district of Kyoto. It belongs to Tendai sect and close to Kyoto National Museum.
The official name is Renge-oin-hondo which is hardly recognized even by the Kyoto citizens and it is a Japanese National Treasure. The hondo, the main building is 120 meters long and it is the longest wooden building on earth. The temple was built in 1165 by emperor Go-Shirakawa. However the original hondo and annex pagoda were burnt down in 1249 and only the hondo was rebuilt in 1266.
The highlight of this temple is not actually the exterior but the inside. There are 1001 thousand-armed Kannon; the Buddhist statues and Fujin(God of wind)& Raijin(Thunder god) statues.
Please be aware to take off your shoes when entering the hondo. You can either leave your shoes at the shoe rack or put into a plastic bag and take with you. Also no photography /video recording is allowed inside the hondo. Anyway, you will be overwhelmed by the statues and definitely will remember the interior forever.
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