y The Sangatsu-do Hall z
The name of this hall derives from the
fact that an important ritual is held here
in March, and is the oldest of all the buildings
which were constructed
earlier than the Great Buddha Hall.
This hall houses masterpieces of Buddhist
sculpture from the middle of the 8th
century.Fuku-kenjaku [Amoghapasa]-KannonBon-Ten, Taishaku-Ten, Gakko
[Candraprabha]-Bodhisattiva and Nikko [Suryaprabha]-Bodhisattiva
are included.
eKenjakufmeans rope and snare. This
Kannnon snares and holds fast people who
refuse salvation and act like wild beasts
or fish. eFukuf stresses that beasts
will sometimes escape from traps, and fish
from nets, but this Kannon's snares and
ropes permit no men to escape from salvation.
So, this Kannon helps people who are
harassed by passions through use of this
eKenjakuf. Japanese reverence for
Fuku-kenjaku-Kannon began soon after Buddhism
came to Japan. People began to build
effigies of this Kannon in the 8th century.
The Bodhisattivas, Nikko and Gakko, are
guardians of Yakushi-Nyorai. However,
the Nikko and Gakko images in the Sangatsu-do
Hall of Todai-ji Temple are unique in
several points. First they stand guard for
Fuku-kenjaku-Kannon, not Yakushi-Nyorai.
Second, while the Kannon statue is lacquered,
Nikko and Gakko are done in stucco.
Third, the Bodhisattivas wear armor beneath
their robes. Because of these three
points some authorites claim that the image
are Bon-Ten and Taishaku-Ten, not Nikko
and Gakko. The decisive factor that determined
they are indeed Nikko and Gakko as
the position of their hands.
Todai-ji Map
Nara Map