According to Wikipedia
the main hall of the temple (Daibutsuden) was indeed the world's largest
timber building, at least until 1998 when it was overtaken by a Japanese
baseball stadium. Regardless, it is an impressive structure which,
perhaps most importantly you are not only permitted to wander about in
freely, but also to photograph. Like many
sites worldwide which have become national heritage wonders, the 15 metre
high Buddha contained therein weighing in at 500 tonnes, consumed almost the
entire national supply of bronze and virtually bankrupted the nation at the
time it was cast in 750 AD. |