Special public exhibition of stored treasures

Venue

Daihozoden of Horyuji Temple

Every spring and fall at Daihozoden (Treasure House), stored treasures normally kept hidden are displayed to the public. Visitors can see many treasures handed down throughout the history of Horyuji Temple, which goes back 1,400 years.

Special display of normally hidden Kuse Kannon statue in Yumedono

Venue

Yumedono (Hall of Visions),Toin Garan (Eastern Precinct) of Horyuji Temple

The Kuse Kannon (Avalokitesvara the Savior) statue in Yumedono (Hall of Visions), which is in the Toin Garan (Eastern Precinct) of Horyuji Temple, is enshrined in an octagonal miniature shrine placed atop a double-layer stylobate. The Kuse Kannon is the principal object of worship in the Yumedono. The statue is approximately 180 cm tall and is said to have the same body proportions as Prince Shotoku. At some point it began to be withheld from public view, but in 1884 Okakura Kakuzo, American art researcher Ernest Francisco Fenollosa and others persuaded the temple monks to open the door of the miniature shrine. The statue, which was wrapped in white cloth for a long time, is made from a single piece of camphor wood and still has most of its gold leaf.