Sanjūsangen-dō Temple in Japan

Kyoto is the cultural capital of Japan and a travel to Kyoto is filled with Temple visits. After visiting the famous temples of Kiyomizu-dera and Kinkaku-ji, I decided to go to Sanjusangen-do only because I had a lot of time at hand. A quick web search suggested that the 1001 wooden statues in the temple will be a unique site to see, reminding me of the Terracotta army in China that I had read about. I might not get an opportunity to visit China, why not see something similar in Japan. Well, that's what I thought. Sometimes the impact of what we do turns out to be much better than the intentions. This was one of those instances.

While most other temples looked and felt touristy, Sanjusangen-do was a but different. Footwear were to be removed before entering the temple, and photography was not allowed.

While the impact of Hinduism is visible in most temples, it was very obvious in Sanjusangen-do. The texts displayed in front of all the idols referred to their original names, mostly in Sanskrit, with some description of their purpose/skill.

The temple was built in 1164 with the main deity Kannon (sounds like the Hindu god Kannan?). Kannon is depicted with a 1000 hands is also called Sahasrabhuja avalokitesvara. The meaning of the name in Sanskrit is the one with 1000 arms who sees and hears the world. (Note: some research shows that Avaloka can directly mean to "glance", but in here Loka is used to mean both Look and World; the word svara represents "sound" and could also be a reference to esavra or God).

The temple has 1000 armed Kannons with a peaceful gigantic Kannon in the middle, sitting on a lotus. I realized in a moment of tranquility that I had my hands clasped in the Hindu way of workshop when I was in front of the central statue - not something that I do in any of the temples outside my area of primary belief. 

Photo: Central statue of Kannon in Sanjusangendo. Photo courtesy Wiki. The photo does not do justice to the feeling that one gets at the temple. 

The temple has 28 guardian deities in front of the 1000 Kannons. wish I could have remembered their names and Indian/Sankarit versions of them. Since I could not, have collated the names from the web. Some had different names across sites, so there is still some confusion.

1. Fujin - Vayu - Wind god
2. Raijin - Varna - Thunder god  
3. Naraenkengo-ou/Guhyapada - Vajrapani - Punisher of evil
4. Nanda
5. Magura - God of music
6. Kinnara - Kinnara - Gods of music; In Hinduism, Kinnaras are half-human, half-bird-horse musicians
7. Karura - Garuda - Bird that guards the law
8. Gandharva - Gandharva
9. Bishamonten - Bishabava - A yaksha
10. General Sanchi
11. Manzenshabachi
12. Manipadhara
13. Bishamonten - Vaishravana/Kubera
14. Head Priest King Raita
15. Basu Sen - Vasu
16. Daibentokuten - Lakshmi
17. Tai shakuten - Sakra deva/Indra
18. Bontennou - Brahma 
19. Birou
20. Birou Hiroshi
21. Mawara - Mahabala/Shiva
22. Golden Peacock King
23. Konpira
24. Bibhagara
25. Ashura - Asura
26. Ibachira
27. Sakra Dragon King
28. Vajrayana