Nara: Tōdai-ji - Asoka Pillar
This Pillar of Asoka, or the Pillar of Ashoka, located just east of the Daibutsuden at Tōdai-ji, is a replica of a series of columns dispersed throughout the northern Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed by the Mauryan king Ashoka during his reign in the 3rd century BCE--only nineteen of which survive in at least a fragmentary state. The replica was erected on the occasion of the All Japan Young Buddhist Assocation's Thousand-Priests' Service at the Hana Matsuri celebration on April 26, 1988. The service was attended by more than 1,700 priests of different sects.
Nara: Tōdai-ji - Asoka Pillar
This Pillar of Asoka, or the Pillar of Ashoka, located just east of the Daibutsuden at Tōdai-ji, is a replica of a series of columns dispersed throughout the northern Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed by the Mauryan king Ashoka during his reign in the 3rd century BCE--only nineteen of which survive in at least a fragmentary state. The replica was erected on the occasion of the All Japan Young Buddhist Assocation's Thousand-Priests' Service at the Hana Matsuri celebration on April 26, 1988. The service was attended by more than 1,700 priests of different sects.