Ikaruga. Niepozorne miasteczko kilkanascie kilometrow na poludniowy zachod od Nary. Po dwudziestu minutach marszu od dworca stajemy przed jedna z najwazniejszych swiatyn w tej czesci swiata. To tutaj, na przelomie VI i VII wieku n. e., po tysiacu lat wedrowki jedwabnym szlakiem, dotarl do Japonii buddyzm. Swiatynie najprawdopodobniej ufundowal ksiaze Shotoku - jedna z centralnych postaci japonskiej historii. Ponad trzydziestometrowa pagoda stanowiaca centralny punkt swiatyni jest uznawana za najstarszy drewniany budynek swiata. Drewno potrzebne do jej budowy zostalo sciete ok. roku 594 n. e.
Ikaruga. An inconspicuous town located several kilometers south-westwards from Nara. After twenty minutes of marching we face with one of the most important temples in this part of world. Its here where buddhism got Japan at the turn of the VI and VII A.D., after one thousand migration by the silk road. It is said that prince Shotoku, one of the most significant characters in Japanese history, was founder of the temple. Its central part - thirty meters pagoda - is considered to be the oldest wooden bulding all over the world. Trees it is made of have felled about 594 A. D.
