Konpon Chudo

Yamadera's main hall and oldest building, originally constructed in 860 by monk Ennin who founded the temple complex. The current structure, rebuilt in 1356 by the first lord of Yamagata Castle, is one of Japan's oldest beechwood buildings. Inside, a wooden statue of Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Healing, is displayed publicly only once every 50 years. The hall is illuminated by a flame Ennin carried from Enryakuji temple on Mt. Hiei, which has been shared and mutually rekindled between the two sites over more than 1,200 years so that neither flame has ever permanently gone out.