Architecture & floor plan

Floor Plan:

The Todai-ji was built on a very large scale for its time. Emperor Shomu, the commissioner wanted the building to establish a sense of spiritual unity and unity under his rule. The architecture and its scale were both meant to impress and display Japan's prestige. The building's main sections include a Hondo, lecture hall, monk's quarters and two nine-story pagodas.

The Great Buddha Hall: Main Hall in Todai-ji. 57m wide, 50.5m long, and 49m high. Built in Nara Period, destroyed twice in 1180+1567. This hall is the largest wooden structure in the world.
Great South Gate: Main gate of Todai-ji. Built using the Daibutsu style. Largest temple entrance in Japan. Double hip and gable roof five bays wide and two bays deep.
Unprecedented Scale: Weighed in great size.
Daibutsu style: A Japanese religious architectural style emerged in the later 12th/early 13th century.

Bracketing: A decorative or weight-bearing structural unit, two sides of which form a right angle with one arm flush against a wall and the other flush beneath a projecting surface, such as eaves or a bay window.
The Daibutsu: A large statue from 1692. Main Buddha of Kegon sect of Buddhism. 15m high and 250 tons.
Pagodas: A related term to the Buddhist complex, being known as a Hindu or Buddhist temple, usually stacked upward in a towering manner.
Pillars: a firm upright support for a superstructure; or an ornamental column or shaft

Style and Influences:

During the restoration and rebuilding of Todai-ji in the Kamakura Era (1185-1333) saw a lot of changes in influence for the building's design. The restoration was led by Shunjobo Chogen, a Buddhist priest with a very unique style. He had been on three trips to China and witnessed many techniques used in the Song Dynasty's Buddhist architecture. He used some of the methods he saw back in Japan. His use of these Chinese styles eventually came to be called the "Great Buddha" style. A key example of the "Great Buddha" style created by Chogen can be seen in Todai-ji's Great South Gate, or Nandaimon. As depicted on the left, an intricate system of brackets holds up the two-tiered roof.

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