Toshodai-ji Temple, Nara Overview
Founded in 759 by Ganjin, a Chinese priest who failed five times to reach Japan, went blind in the attempt and succeeded on the sixth. Its main hall is the benchmark against which Nara-period architecture is measured, and the whole compound is unusually plain and unrestored next to the vermilion of Kasuga. Quieter than anything closer to the park, and 1,000 yen.
