Saidai-ji

Saidai-ji
西大寺
Saidai-ji; 西大寺
	Main Hall
Religion
Affiliation	Shingon Ritsu
Deity	Shaka Nyorai (Śākyamuni); (Important Cultural Property)
Status	Head Temple
Location
Location	1-1-5 Saidaiji Shibachō, Nara, Nara Prefecture
Country	Japan
Geographic coordinates	34°41′37″N 135°46′46.2″E / 34.69361°N 135.779500°E
Architecture
Founder	Jōtō and Empress Kōken
Date established	765
Completed	1808 (Reconstruction)
Website
	saidaiji.or.jp

Saidai-ji (西大寺) or the "Great Western Temple" is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The temple was first established in AD 765 as a counterpart to Tōdai-ji and it is the main temple of the Shingon Risshu (真言律宗) sect of Buddhism after the sect's founder, Eison (叡尊), took over administration in 1238.^[1] It has undergone several reconstruction efforts since then during the succeeding centuries.

One building, the Aizen-dō, houses a statue of Aizen Myō-ō, while the main image is of Shakyamuni Buddha, erected by Eison in 1249.^[1]

^ ^a ^b Watt, Paul B. (March 8, 1999). "Chapter 7: Eison and the Shingon Vinaya Sect". In Tanabe, George (ed.). Religions of Japan in Practice. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-05789-3.

[tanabe-1] Watt, Paul B. (March 8, 1999). "Chapter 7: Eison and the Shingon Vinaya Sect". In Tanabe, George (ed.). Religions of Japan in Practice. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-05789-3.

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