Todaiji

Emperor Shōmu commissioned Tōdai-ji in 743 to bring peace to a nation devastated by plague and disaster. The temple became the head of all provincial Buddhist temples throughout Japan.

In 737 CE, a smallpox epidemic devastated Japan, killing perhaps one-third of the population including four of Emperor Shōmu's chief ministers. Earthquakes, crop failures, and political rebellions followed. The emperor, a devout Buddhist, believed only the Dharma could save his nation. In 743, he issued an edict calling for the erection of a great Buddha—a Vairocana figure representing the cosmic Buddha whose light illuminates all worlds. The scale of response was unprecedented. Over 2.5 million people—half of Japan's population—contributed labor or resources. The statue required nearly all of Japan's copper reserves. When casting began, gold for gilding seemed impossible to find until deposits were discovered in the northern provinces—understood as divine confirmation. The Indian priest Bodhisena, who had traveled from southern India to China to Korea to Japan, performed the eye-opening ceremony in 752 before 10,000 monks and 4,000 dancers. The temple was designated head of all provincial temples throughout Japan, creating a Buddhist network with Tōdai-ji at its center.