Q.Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga Taisha — what's the difference?

Temple or shrine, and which school

The first big distinction is two temples and one shrine. Tōdai-ji is the head temple of the Buddhist Kegon school, and Kōfuku-ji is the head temple of the Buddhist Hossō school and one of the Seven Great Temples of Nara. Kasuga Taisha, by contrast, is a Shintō shrine enshrining four deities: Takemikazuchi, Futsunushi, Ame-no-Koyane and Himegami. This Buddhist-versus-Shintō origin directly shapes the architecture and what there is to see.

Each one's history, traced by founding date

Their founding stories differ too. Tōdai-ji's predecessor, Konshu-ji, was built by Emperor Shōmu in 728; after the 743 edict to cast the Great Buddha, construction began in 745. Kōfuku-ji's predecessor, Yamashina-dera, was built in 669, and at the 710 move to the Heijō capital, Fujiwara no Fuhito relocated it to its present site and renamed it Kōfuku-ji. Kasuga Taisha was founded in 768 by the Minister of the Left, Fujiwara no Nagate, by order of Empress Shōtoku. The oldest root is Kōfuku-ji (669); the newest is Kasuga Taisha (768).

The main attractions — Great Buddha, five-story pagoda, four sanctuaries

The highlights also differ. At Tōdai-ji it is the roughly 14.7m Great Buddha and the Great Buddha Hall that houses it (about 49.1m tall, about 57.5m wide), reputed to be one of the world's largest wooden buildings. Kōfuku-ji's emblem is its five-story pagoda, about 50.1m tall (50.937m per Nara Prefecture's official figure), the second-tallest wooden pagoda in Japan after Tō-ji's; first built in 730, the current one was rebuilt around 1426. At Kasuga Taisha the draw is the main sanctuary, four halls (First through Fourth) standing side by side. Sheer scale, soaring height, or a row of sanctuaries — that is how their characters split.

Their place within 'Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara'

All three are component assets of the World Heritage site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara" (inscribed December 1998). The site comprises eight assets: Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga Taisha, the Kasugayama Primeval Forest, Gangō-ji, Yakushi-ji, Tōshōdai-ji and the Heijō Palace Site. Kōfuku-ji and Kasuga Taisha in particular are both tied to the Fujiwara and were historically integrated through the fusion of Shintō and Buddhism, and the Kasugayama Primeval Forest adjoining the shrine's sacred precinct is likewise a component asset. The datasets and related articles below let you explore all eight assets and the spread of National Treasures.

Datasets behind this article

• Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)文化庁
• Nara City Designated Cultural Properties and World Heritage Zone Data奈良市
• Nara Prefectural Designated Cultural Properties奈良県