The roof tiles were made in Korea over 1,400 years ago and brought to Nara in 718.
The oldest roof tiles in Japan are still in place on the roof of the Hall of Bliss: made in Korea over 1,400 years ago for the predecessor temple in Asuka, they were taken down and brought to Nara in 718 to be reused here. It is the temple from which the whole Naramachi neighbourhood, which surrounds it, takes its name.
Gangō-ji came into being in 718 when an older temple founded in Asuka was moved to Nara; it is part of the UNESCO site ‘Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara’, inscribed in 1998. The Hall of Bliss (極楽堂) and the hall known as the Zenshitsu (禅室) are both National Treasures.
ℹ️ Open 9:00–17:00. Tickets 700 yen for adults, 800 during the autumn exhibitions.
🚉 Kintetsu Nara · 12 min walk
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