It was permitted that the taxes collected in Suo Province could be used to cover the reconstruction costs of Todai-ji Temple but Chogen personally assembled and organized fundraising monks, civil engineers and artists as well as soliciting donations to raise the funds required to rebuild the temple before proceeding with reconstruction work.
東大寺の再建については、周防国の税収を再建費用に当てることが許されたが、重源自らも勧進聖や勧進僧、土木建築や美術装飾に関わる技術者・職人を集めて組織して、勧進活動によって再興に必要な資金を集め、それを元手に技術者や職人が実際の再建事業に従事した。