Tangzhaotiji Temple Introduction: Tangzhaotiji Temple was founded by Jianzhen, a monk from the Tang Dynasty. Monk Jianzhen accepted the invitation of Emperor Shomu and came to Japan to promote Buddhism and innovate Japanese Buddhism. However, it went through 5 times. It took him 12 years to finally reach Nara, despite being in danger at sea and suffering from blindness. In order to thank this determined monk of the Tang Dynasty, in 759 AD, the Japanese built the current Tangshodai Temple based on the old residence of the seventh prince of Emperor Tenmu.