Murals in Main Hall
The murals in the Main Hall are believed to date from the seventh century, when the temple was completed. The paintings have long fascinated scholars with their synthesis of Indian, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese influences. They are evidence of the intellectual cross-pollination that followed Prince Shotoku’s dispatch of envoys and student priests to China and Korea, and of the cosmopolitan character of Japanese culture at the time. After miraculously surviving for over a thousand years, most of the murals were damaged or incinerated in a disastrous fire in 1949. The damaged murals are preserved in the storehouse.
In 2015, the temple began working with the Agency for Cultural Affairs to preserve the paintings and the storehouse from future damage.