S P O T ／ SPOT-264

Shin-Daibutsu-ji Temple (Shunjobo Chogen & Kaikei's Great Buddha)

新大仏寺（俊乗坊重源・快慶大仏）しんだいぶつじ

An old Shingon Chizan-school temple in Tominaga, Iga City, founded as the "Todai-ji Iga Bessho" with Shunjobo Chogen — who directed the rebuilding of Todai-ji's Great Buddha — as its founding abbot. Built in 1196 by imperial wish of Cloistered Emperor Go-Toba with the cooperation of Minamoto no Yoritomo, its name carries the character "shin" (new) out of respect for Todai-ji. The principal image is a seated Rushana (Nyorai) Buddha by the sculptor Kaikei, a colossus about five meters tall. Designated an Important Cultural Property, it transmits the powerful forms of the Kamakura new style. It is one of seven branch sites Chogen established nationwide to rebuild Todai-ji, a precious relic that speaks to the reach of that undertaking. In the hush of a mountain valley sits a giant Buddha directly in the lineage of the Todai-ji Great Buddha — a sight without parallel in the region.