A Buried Legend

In a time before Tōdai-ji Temple even existed in this world, Daian-ji was the largest temple in Japan. The first temple built by an emperor; a temple which raised the status of Japan itself.
Japan’s capital was moved from Kashihara to spectacular Nara in 710 CE, the first year of the Nara period. At that time, four temples were also relocated: Daian-ji, Yakushi-ji, Kōfuku-ji, and Gangō-ji. The Japanese history text known as “Shoku Nihongi”, records the temples in this order, which is significant to this story. Daian-ji deserved to be listed first, but Daian-ji was also the most important.

Branching north out from Nara’s Suzaku-mon Gate, is Suzaku Avenue, which splits the capital into two sides. Daian-ji is located on the right, whereas Yakushi-ji is on the left. Kōfuku-ji, and Gangō-ji were placed even further left in the outskirts of the capital. Tōdai-ji and Saidai-ji were built toward the end of the Nara period, making Daian-ji and Yakushi-ji the main temples of ancient Nara. Daian-ji was bigger than Yakushi-ji and was considered to be the national temple of Japan. What warranted this esteemed position in Japanese society?

The previous incarnation of Daian-ji was Daikan-Daiji, located in ancient Kashihara. Daiji means “large temple”, whereas Daikan means “Great Emperor”, referring to the temple’s creator. Emperor Jomei went on to built Kudara-Ōtera Temple, which was truly the first imperial temple. The temple was then moved to a city called Takechi and thus renamed Takechi-no-Ōtera Temple, which changed places again and became Daikan-Daiji Temple.

The temple then relocated one more time to the new capital, Nara, in the year 710 and was renamed Daian-ji. This was the beginning of the Nara period, and Fuhito Fujiwara’s rise to power. Being a member of the powerful Fujiwara clan, he wanted to weaken the name of Daikan-Daiji associated with the previous emperor. Regardless of its name change, Daian-ji continued to prosper in the Nara period as a temple that represented Japan.

However, presently, Daian-ji Temple is a considerably plain and simple temple, not well-known, even amongst the Japanese. With the end of the Nara period, the temple went through a period of decline as the capital moved from Nara to Kyoto. It seemed as if for a moment, the temple had disappeared from the world completely.

After World War II, excavations were conducted in what was then just a farming village, and resulted in the revelation of just how large Daian-ji actually was. However, due to the fact that much of the area had become residential, a large enough excavation was impossible, and much of the story, even now, lies buried under your feet.