There are approximately 40 temples whose construction work started in the Asuka period in the areas from the Tokai region up to the Sanyo region, most of which concentrated in Nara Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture, and are considered to be the first Japanese full-fledged garan.
飛鳥時代に着工された寺院は東海地方から山陽地方にかけ40余寺ほどあるが、その大多数は奈良、大阪、京都にあり日本の本格的伽藍の最初のものと考えられる。