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Todai-ji (東大寺), the Eastern Great Temple, is a Buddhist temple in Nara, Japan. Reputedly the largest wooden building in the world, it houses a giant statue of the Buddha Vairocana (Jp. Dainichi), known in Japanese simply as the Daibutsu (大仏, "great Buddha"). The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon school of Buddhism.
During the Tempyo period, people suffered from disasters and epidemics. In 743, Emperor Shomu issued a law that we should make a Buddha to protect ourselves. He believed in Buddha’s power could help us. 420,000 people contributed and 2,180,000 people worked to build it. According to legend, nearly 2,600,000 in total helped construct the Buddha at that time; this number equates to nearly the half of the people in Japan at that time and is probably exaggerated. The Buddha was completed in 751.
The Buddha is made of gold (440 kg) and copper (499 tons) The Buddha has special hair, like a spiral perm. In total, the hair consists of 966 balls whose diameter are 18 cm and whose height are 30 cm each.