Ganjin

The Chinese monk Ganjin made six attempts over twelve years to reach Japan before finally arriving in Nara in 754. The earlier five voyages were defeated by storms, official interference, and one disastrous detour that left him stranded for three years and cost him his eyesight from infection. He arrived blind at age 66 and spent the next decade transmitting Buddhist precepts to thousands of people including the emperor, first at Todaiji and then at Toshodaiji, which he founded. Today the temple holds a dry lacquer statue of Ganjin, considered one of the finest portrait sculptures from the Nara period, shown to the public for just three days each year in late May and early June.