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Fire drill at World Heritage-listed Horyuji

IKARUGA, Japan, Jan. 26 Kyodo - A fire drill is held at the World Heritage-listed Buddhist temple Horyuji in Ikaruga in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, on Jan. 26, 2024. (Kyodo)

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Fire drill at World Heritage-listed Horyuji

A fire drill is held at the World Heritage-listed Buddhist temple Horyuji in Ikaruga in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, on Jan. 26, 2024.

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Fire drill at World Heritage-listed Horyuji

A fire drill is held at the World Heritage-listed Buddhist temple Horyuji in Ikaruga in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, on Jan. 26, 2024.

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Fire drill at World Heritage-listed Horyuji

A fire drill is held at the World Heritage-listed Buddhist temple Horyuji in Ikaruga in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, on Jan. 26, 2024.

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Ancient grave found near World Heritage-listed Japan temple

Photo taken Sept. 8, 2023, shows a roof tile discovered in an ancient grave recently found at a parking lot near the World Heritage-listed Horyuji temple in Ikaruga in Nara Prefecture, western Japan. The grave dates back to the late sixth century.

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Ancient grave found near World Heritage-listed Japan temple

Photo taken Sept. 8, 2023, shows an ancient grave found at a parking lot near the World Heritage-listed Horyuji temple in Ikaruga in Nara Prefecture, western Japan. The grave dates back to the late sixth century.

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Fire drill at Horyuji Temple

Monks pray at World Heritage-listed Horyuji Temple in Ikaruga in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, on Jan. 26, 2023, ahead of a fire drill. Jan. 26 was designated in 1955 as a day for raising awareness about protecting cultural assets from fire after one of the temple buildings burned down on Jan. 26, 1949.

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Fire drill at Horyuji Temple

Monks and firefighters participate in a fire hose exercise during an annual drill at World Heritage-listed Horyuji Temple in the Nara Prefecture town of Ikaruga, western Japan, on Jan. 26, 2023. Jan. 26 was designated in 1955 as a day to raise awareness of protecting cultural assets from fire after one of the temple buildings burned down on Jan. 26, 1949.

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Fire drill at Horyuji Temple

Monks and firefighters participate in a fire hose exercise during an annual drill at World Heritage-listed Horyuji Temple in the Nara Prefecture town of Ikaruga, western Japan, on Jan. 26, 2023. Jan. 26 was designated in 1955 as a day to raise awareness of protecting cultural assets from fire after one of the temple buildings burned down on Jan. 26, 1949.

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Fire drill at Horyuji Temple

Monks and firefighters participate in a fire hose exercise during an annual drill at World Heritage-listed Horyuji Temple in the Nara Prefecture town of Ikaruga, western Japan, on Jan. 26, 2023. Jan. 26 was designated in 1955 as a day to raise awareness of protecting cultural assets from fire after one of the temple buildings burned down on Jan. 26, 1949.

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Fire drill at Horyuji in Nara Pref.

NARA, Japan - Firefighters discharge water during a fire drill at Horyuji, a Buddhist temple in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, on Jan. 26, 2010. Some 100 monks and firefighters took part in the drill, which has been conducted annually on Jan. 26 after a fire took place at the temple's Kondo (Golden Hall) the same day in 1949. Horyuji was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

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Fire prevention drill held at Horyuji Temple

NARA, Japan - Firefighters sprinkle waters at Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture in a drill on Jan. 26, the Fire Prevention Day for cultural assets, to protect the temple from fires.

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Buddha statues at Horyuji Temple cleaned in year-end event

NARA, Japan - Monks clean dust from three statues of the healing Buddha in an annual year-end event at Horyuji Temple, a World Heritage site, in Nara Prefecture on Dec. 8.

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao (R in front) walks in the grounds of Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture with the temple's chief priest Genmyo Ono (2nd from R in front) on May 10.

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao (R in front) walks near the five-story stupa of Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture on May 10 with the temple's chief priest Genmyo Ono (C in front).

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao (C) is greeted by Horyuji Temple chief priest Genmyo Ono (R) on his arrival at the temple in Nara Prefecture on May 10. Ono guided the Chinese president through the temple grounds including the Kondo main hall, the oldest surviving wooden building in the world.

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) joins his palms together in a Buddhist prayer and greeting gesture as he is met by Horyuji Temple chief priest Genmyo Ono (R) in Nara Prefecture on May 10. Ono guided the Chinese president through the temple grounds including the Kondo main hall, the oldest surviving wooden building in the world.

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao waves to well-wishers as he visits Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture on May 10.

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Graffiti found on nat'l treasure building at Horyuji Temple

NARA, Japan - Graffiti have been found on a pillar (L) of the Todaimon building designated as a national treasure at Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, police said April 19.

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Nat'l treasure building damaged, Buddha statue stolen in Nara

NARA, Japan - The Nishimuro building (in photo), a national treasure building at Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, was found damaged and a replica of a Buddha statue stolen on Feb. 5. Police said a male employee at the temple found wooden frames of a window in the Nishimuro building cut and removed, and a 74-centimeter-tall replica of a Buddha statue stolen.

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Firefighting drills conducted at Horyuji Temple in Nara

IKARUGA, Japan - Monks and firefighters participate in firefighting drills conducted at Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, on Jan. 26 to prevent recurrence of the 1949 fire that destroyed wall paintings at its Kondo main hall.

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(1)Pieces of possibly oldest colored wall painting found at Horyuji

KASHIHARA, Japan - Charred pieces of what may be the oldest colored wall painting in Japan have been excavated from the remains of what is believed to be the original monastery of Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, a local board of education said on Dec. 1. The biggest of the fragments (top left) measures 5 cm by 4 cm. It is the first time for wall painting fragments to be excavated from the monastery, said to have been built in 607 by Prince Shotoku (574-622) in the town of Ikaruga and destroyed by fire 63 years later.

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(4)Pieces of possibly oldest colored wall painting found at Horyuji

KASHIHARA, Japan - Masahiko Hirata, of the Ikaruga Board of Education, Nara Prefecture, speaks of charred pieces of what may be the oldest colored wall painting in Japan that have been excavated from the remains of what is believed to be the original monastery of Horyuji Temple in the prefecture. ''It is a valuable discovery that will have great impact on fields such as art history and architectural history,'' he said.

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(3)Pieces of possibly oldest colored wall painting found at Horyuji

KASHIHARA, Japan - Photo taken on Dec. 1 shows the remains of what is believed to be the original monastery of Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, where about 30 charred pieces of what may be the oldest colored wall painting in Japan have been excavated.

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(2)Pieces of possibly oldest colored wall painting found at Horyuji

KASHIHARA, Japan -Photo taken on Dec. 1 shows the remains (bottom right) of what is believed to be the original monastery of Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, where about 30 charred pieces of what may be the oldest colored wall painting in Japan have been excavated. Seen on the top are (1) the temple's five-storied pagoda and (2) main hall, believed to date from the 7th century. Horyuji Temple, the world's oldest wooden building, is designated as a World Heritage site.

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(1)Horyuji Temple confirmed built after 668 A.D.

NARA, Japan - Pointing to growth rings of the timbers used, two officials of the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties brief reporters on Horyuji Temple on July 15. They said the temple's main hall in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture has been found to have been built after 668, evidence against the theory that the famous temple was rebuilt between 708 and 714 after it was destroyed by a fire.

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(2)Horyuji Temple confirmed built after 668 A.D.

NARA, Japan - File photo shows the main hall (R), middle gate (bottom), five-storied pagoda (L) and lecture hall (top) of Horyuji Temple in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture. The Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties said on July 15 that the main hall has been found to have been built after 668, evidence against the theory that the famous temple was rebuilt between 708 and 714 after it was destroyed by a fire.

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Fire drill held at world's oldest wooden building

NARA, Japan - Firefighters hold a fire drill Jan. 26 at the temple of Horyuji in the town of Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is the oldest wooden structure in the world. Some 100 firefighters and five fire engines took part.

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One of Japan's oldest Buddha statues found in Otsu

OTSU, Japan - The Nara National Museum says Aug. 3 it has found inside a principal statue at Ishiyama Temple in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, four small Buddha statues overlaid with gold. They were made between the seventh and eighth centuries, covering Japan's Asuka, Hakuho and Nara periods. One of the four (far R) is judged to have been made in the Asuka era and is believed to be one of the oldest Buddha statues made in Japan, together with those at Asuka Temple and Horyuji Temple.

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Dating of wood in Horyuji pagoda challenges rebuilding theory

NARA, Japan - Archeologists said Feb. 20 that wood used for a central pillar of the five-story pagoda (front) at Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture was felled in 594, a finding that challenges the prevailing theory that the temple was rebuilt after a fire in 670. The Nara National Cultural Properties Research Institute said its discovery lends support to the hypothesis that the original compound of the world's oldest wooden building remains intact to this day.

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Horyuji Yumedono (Dream Hall)

Horyuji is a monastery temple located in the town of Ikaruga, some distance north of the Asuka region, Nara Prefecture. Originally it was a modest temple said to have been built in the early 7th century by order of Prince Shotoku, the prince regent, whose palace, Ikaruga no Miya, was being erected nearby. In time Horyuji was enlarged into a monastery famous for Buddhist studies, especially the doctrines of the Hosso Sect. Yumedono (Dream Hall) was buit on the site of Shotoku's chapel. According to legend, the prince was instructed by a golden being who appeared to him in a dream.

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Wall paintings in Golden Hall of Horyuji Temple

Photo taken on Nov. 1, 2022, shows wall paintings in the Golden Hall of World Heritage-listed Horyuji Temple in the Nara Prefecture town of Ikaruga, western Japan. The murals from around the late seventh century and early eighth century, which were damaged in a 1949 fire in the Golden Hall, were unveiled to the media the same day ahead of their Nov. 2-30 exhibition for people who joined a crowdfunding drive to preserve them.

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Wall paintings in Golden Hall of Horyuji Temple

Photo taken on Nov. 1, 2022, shows wall paintings in the Golden Hall of World Heritage-listed Horyuji Temple in the Nara Prefecture town of Ikaruga, western Japan. The murals from around the late seventh century and early eighth century, which were damaged in a 1949 fire in the Golden Hall, were unveiled to the media the same day ahead of their Nov. 2-30 exhibition for people who joined a crowdfunding drive to preserve them.

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Wall paintings in Golden Hall of Horyuji Temple

Photo taken on Nov. 1, 2022, shows wall paintings in the Golden Hall of World Heritage-listed Horyuji Temple in the Nara Prefecture town of Ikaruga, western Japan. The murals from around the late seventh century and early eighth century, which were damaged in a 1949 fire in the Golden Hall, were unveiled to the media the same day ahead of their Nov. 2-30 exhibition for people who joined a crowdfunding drive to preserve them.

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(4)Pieces of possibly oldest colored wall painting found at Hory

KASHIHARA, Japan - Masahiko Hirata, of the Ikaruga Board of Education, Nara Prefecture, speaks of charred pieces of what may be the oldest colored wall painting in Japan that have been excavated from the remains of what is believed to be the original monastery of Horyuji Temple in the prefecture. ''It is a valuable discovery that will have great impact on fields such as art history and architectural history,'' he said. (Kyodo)

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(1)Pieces of possibly oldest colored wall painting found at Hory

KASHIHARA, Japan - Charred pieces of what may be the oldest colored wall painting in Japan have been excavated from the remains of what is believed to be the original monastery of Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, a local board of education said on Dec. 1. The biggest of the fragments (top left) measures 5 cm by 4 cm. It is the first time for wall painting fragments to be excavated from the monastery, said to have been built in 607 by Prince Shotoku (574-622) in the town of Ikaruga and destroyed by fire 63 years later. (Kyodo)

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(3)Pieces of possibly oldest colored wall painting found at Hory

KASHIHARA, Japan - Photo taken on Dec. 1 shows the remains of what is believed to be the original monastery of Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, where about 30 charred pieces of what may be the oldest colored wall painting in Japan have been excavated. (Kyodo)

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao (R in front) walks in the grounds of Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture with the temple's chief priest Genmyo Ono (2nd from R in front) on May 10. (Kyodo)

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao (R in front) walks near the five-story stupa of Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture on May 10 with the temple's chief priest Genmyo Ono (C in front). (Kyodo)

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao waves to well-wishers as he visits Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture on May 10. (Kyodo)

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao (C) is greeted by Horyuji Temple chief priest Genmyo Ono (R) on his arrival at the temple in Nara Prefecture on May 10. Ono guided the Chinese president through the temple grounds including the Kondo main hall, the oldest surviving wooden building in the world. (Kyodo)

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) joins his palms together in a Buddhist prayer and greeting gesture as he is met by Horyuji Temple chief priest Genmyo Ono (R) in Nara Prefecture on May 10. Ono guided the Chinese president through the temple grounds including the Kondo main hall, the oldest surviving wooden building in the world. (Kyodo)

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Fire drill held at world's oldest wooden building

NARA, Japan - Firefighters hold a fire drill Jan. 26 at the temple of Horyuji in the town of Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is the oldest wooden structure in the world. Some 100 firefighters and five fire engines took part. (Kyodo)

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(2)Pieces of possibly oldest colored wall painting found at Hory

KASHIHARA, Japan -Photo taken on Dec. 1 shows the remains (bottom right) of what is believed to be the original monastery of Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, where about 30 charred pieces of what may be the oldest colored wall painting in Japan have been excavated. Seen on the top are (1) the temple's five-storied pagoda and (2) main hall, believed to date from the 7th century. Horyuji Temple, the world's oldest wooden building, is designated as a World Heritage site. (Kyodo)

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One of Japan's oldest Buddha statues found in Otsu

OTSU, Japan - The Nara National Museum says Aug. 3 it has found inside a principal statue at Ishiyama Temple in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, four small Buddha statues overlaid with gold. They were made between the seventh and eighth centuries, covering Japan's Asuka, Hakuho and Nara periods. One of the four (far R) is judged to have been made in the Asuka era and is believed to be one of the oldest Buddha statues made in Japan, together with those at Asuka Temple and Horyuji Temple. (Kyodo)

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Fire drill at Horyuji Temple

Photo taken Jan. 26, 2016, in the western Japan town of Ikaruga shows a fire drill at Horyuji Temple, a world cultural heritage site. Around 100 monks and firefighters took part. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Fire drill at Horyuji Temple

Photo taken Jan. 26, 2016, in the western Japan town of Ikaruga shows a fire drill at Horyuji Temple, a world cultural heritage site. Around 100 monks and firefighters took part. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Graffiti found on nat'l treasure building at Horyuji Temple

NARA, Japan - Graffiti have been found on a pillar (L) of the Todaimon building designated as a national treasure at Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, police said April 19. (Kyodo)

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Nat'l treasure building damaged, Buddha statue stolen in Nara

NARA, Japan - The Nishimuro building (in photo), a national treasure building at Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, was found damaged and a replica of a Buddha statue stolen on Feb. 5. Police said a male employee at the temple found wooden frames of a window in the Nishimuro building cut and removed, and a 74-centimeter-tall replica of a Buddha statue stolen. (Kyodo)

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Buddha statues at Horyuji Temple cleaned in year-end event

NARA, Japan - Monks clean dust from three statues of the healing Buddha in an annual year-end event at Horyuji Temple, a World Heritage site, in Nara Prefecture on Dec. 8. (Kyodo)