Recorded Joy·Rakusai / Saga

Seiryo-ji (Saga Shaka-do)

The temple's principal image is a standing Shakyamuni Buddha, a National Treasure that the Tōdai-ji monk Chōnen brought back from Northern Song China. By tradition the figure was carved in China in 985 and reached Japan in 987. In a 1953 investigation, silk-made internal organs and other deposits were found sealed inside the body, and the image has long been revered as a "living Buddha." It is also spoken of as a statue "transmitted through three countries"—India, China and Japan.

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These notes come from desk research. Local traditions vary.