Asuka-dera Temple and the Head Mound of Soga no Iruka

Japan's first true temple

Founded at the wish of Soga no Umako, Asuka-dera was the first full-scale Buddhist temple in Japan. Construction began in 588 and the main buildings were complete by 596.

It was originally called Hōkō-ji and later Gangō-ji. Its formal name today is Torigatayama Angoin, and it belongs to the Buzan school of Shingon Buddhism.

Before this, Japan had no buildings with tiled roofs or pillars set on stone bases. Temple carpenters and tile makers were invited from the Korean kingdom of Baekje, bringing the technology with them. Asuka-dera is where Japanese architecture first learned to build with stone and tile.

The Great Buddha of Asuka

The temple's main image is a seated bronze Shakyamuni Buddha known as the Asuka Daibutsu. It is said to have been made in 609 by the sculptor Kuratsukuri no Tori, and is considered the oldest surviving Buddhist statue in Japan. It stands about 2.75 m tall and is an Important Cultural Property.

Look at the long face, the almond-shaped eyes and the faint smile. The eyes are set at slightly different heights, so the expression changes depending on whether you see it from the front or from an angle. It looks quite unlike the more polished Buddhas of later centuries.

Patched, but never moved

The statue was badly damaged by repeated fires. In 1196 lightning set the hall ablaze, and much of the original bronze was lost in later repairs.

Even so, parts of the upper face and some fingers of the right hand are thought to be original. Above all, the Buddha is believed never to have been moved in 1,400 years, sitting on the same pedestal all that time.

The temple burned, the halls were lost, the capital moved away, and only the Buddha stayed. No other Buddhist statue in Japan has remained in one place for so long.

One pagoda, three golden halls

The original temple had a pagoda at its centre, surrounded on the east, west and north by three main halls. This layout is unknown elsewhere in Japan and is thought to resemble temples of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo.

Today's Great Buddha sits where the central hall once stood. The temple grounds are a National Historic Site, and the base stone that held the pagoda's central pillar still remains.

Moving to Nara, and staying behind

In 718, when the capital moved to Heijō-kyō (Nara), the temple moved with it. That temple is Gangō-ji in Nara today.

But a temple remained in Asuka too, known as the original Gangō-ji. It declined after the fire of 1196, and the present main hall was rebuilt in 1826. Compared with the great complex of the past, only one small hall now stands.

The head mound of Soga no Iruka

In the field just outside the west gate stands a lone five-tiered stone stupa. It is said to mark the grave of the head of Soga no Iruka, who was assassinated in the Isshi Incident of 645, the coup that ended the Soga clan's power.

The glory of the Soga, who built Asuka-dera, and their downfall face each other only a few dozen metres apart. It is one of the most dramatic views in Asuka.

The stupa itself appears to date from the Kamakura period (1185–1333) or later, and no one knows when the legend began.

Visiting

Right by the "Asuka Daibutsu-mae" stop on the Asuka loop bus from Kintetsu Kashiharajingu-mae Station. There is an admission fee, and photography is allowed inside the hall.

Asuka-niimasu Shrine is a five-minute walk away and the Asuka Palace site about ten minutes. Beyond the head mound you can see Amakashi Hill.