Oka-dera

This guide to Oka-dera in Nara centers on Nyoirin Kannon, a seated clay Buddha nearly five meters tall that has stood since the Nara period despite being built from nothing sturdier than mud. It follows the hall's many reconstructions around him, including a full rebuild in the early 1800s, while the statue itself was only ever patched, never replaced. Temple tradition credits the sculpting to the monk Kukai, said to have kneaded clay carried from Japan, China and India. You'll also hear the temple's gentler origin story, of a marauding dragon sealed beneath a pond behind the hall.