Japan Day 7, Part 4: The World's Largest Wooden Building, Todai-ji's Daibutsu-den

It is fitting that the largest wooden statues I've ever seen guard the largest wooden building in the world: Todai-ji's main hall, Daibutsu-den. The building is set in an enormous courtyard, and dominates the view from every part of it.

Inside is a bronze Buddha that itself is not particularly small. 

In fact, it is one of the largest bronze statues in the world. Lonely Planet says it weighs in at 437 tonnes and 130 kg of gold. 

There are guardian statues in the hall as well, and they are just as expressive as the ones at the gates, if about an eighth the size, which is to say human sized.

Apparently the world's largest building is merely a two-thirds the size replica of the original hall. It looks fancier than its larger predecessor, though, judging by the models:

A hole in a pillar is the size of one of the giant Buddha statues nostrils, and it is supposed to be good luck if a child can crawl through it. I wouldn't consider the ability to crawl into a nostril lucky, but to each their own.

Also, it seems that an ancient version of Dr. Seuss was allowed to do some of the decorations.

The hall was just as big and imposing after I walked out of it. 

Standing in the hall's shadow, I could see the gorgeous lattice of wooden eaves was required to hold up the enormous roof. 

Daibutsu-den is a hard building to walk away from, but with only a single day to tour Nara I pressed onward.