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Yakushiji Digital Picture Scroll

FY 2025 Cultural Heritage Multilingual Interpretation Enhancement Project

Welcome to the Story of Yakushiji Temple

Yakushiji Temple, founded by Emperor Tenmu so that his empress might recover from illness, has endured for 1,350 years alongside the prayers of the people.
Although it has withstood many trials, including fires, warfare, and earthquakes, treasures such as the Yakushi Triad and the East Pagoda still retain their original appearance from the time of the temple’s founding.
Now, let us set out on a journey through the historical picture scroll of Yakushiji,
where ancient prayers and the present day intersect.

Chapter 1

Foundation

Prayers of the
Hakuhō Period

Long ago, under the skies of the Hakuhō period,Emperor Tenmu quietly looked up to the heavens.
He prayed with single-minded devotion for his empress to recover from illness.
Out of that wish, Yakushiji was born.
At first, a temple filled with prayer and beauty was established on the site of Right Capital Eighth Ward Third Block in Fujiwara-kyō.
Emperor Tenmu’s vow is recorded in the Nihon Shoki and in the East Pagoda Inscription (satsumei).

Key figure in the founding
Emperor Tenmu
Asuka Period
607 Horyuji Temple founded
680
Emperor Tenmu resolves to establish Yakushiji for the recovery of Princess Uno-no-Sarara (later Empress Jitō) from illness.
Tells the story of
Yakushiji’s beginnings
Tōto Satsumei
(Inscribed Tube in the East Pagoda)
The original site of Yakushiji
Moto-Yakushi-ji site
Site of the East Pagoda
of Moto-Yakushi-ji

Yet destiny is impermanent.
In 686, Emperor Tenmu passed away.
In the midst of grief, the empress, Princess Uno no Sarara (Uno-no-Sarara no Himemiko), ascended the throne as Empress Jitō.
Devoted to her late husband’s wish, Empress Jitō worked to complete the temple precinct and to commission its Buddhist images.

On September 9, 686 CE
Emperor Tenmu died at Asuka Kiyomihara Palace.
On July 29, 697 CE
According to the Nihon Shoki, Buddhist images were created for Empress Jitō, and on July 29, 687, the eye-opening ceremony was held at Yakushiji. The principal image consecrated on that day is thought to have been the Yakushi Triad (National Treasure).
National Treasure
Yakushi Nyorai
With the late
Emperor's will in mind...
Empress Jitō
Chapter 2

Relocating Yakushiji

Moving the Temple to Heijō
and Building the East Pagoda

In 710, the capital was moved to Heijō-kyō.
In conjunction with the move, in 718, Yakushiji was also relocated to the Right Capital Sixth Ward Second Block in Heijō-kyō, the site it occupies today.
The principal image, the Yakushi Triad, is said to have been carried from Fujiwara-kyō to Heijō-kyō over the course of seven days.
Yakushiji also became one of the leading temples in the country as the locus for managing the clergy under the sōgōsho (the office that oversaw monks and nuns).
The assembled monks prayed for the health of the people and for peace in the world.

Nara period
728 Todaiji Temple founded
730
Development of the precincts of Heijō Yakushiji and construction of the East Pagoda (National Treasure).
It's called "frozen music."
National Treasure
Tōtō

During the Tenpyō era (729–749), Yakushiji flourished as a place of prayer for the people.
Even today, Yakushiji conveys the splendid culture of the Hakuhō and Tenpyō periods.

724
By this time, the Princess Kibi had established what would become the East Precinct (the precursor to the Tōindō) in honor of her mother, Emperor Genmei.
Late 7th century – early 8th century
Creation of the statue of Shō Kanzeon Bosatsu (Avalokiteśvara, the Sacred Kannon Bodhisattva)a (National Treasure).
Memories of Hakuho
National Treasure
Shō Kanzeon Bosatsu
753
Bunya-no-Mahito Chinu commissions the Buddha’s Footprint Stone (National Treasure). Around this time, the Bussokuseki Hymn Stele (National Treasure) was also erected.
Japan's oldest theBuddha’s Footprint Stone
National Treasure
the Buddha’s Footprint Stone (right)
the Bussokuseki Hymn Stele (left)
772
The annual Shushō-e rite is instituted at the behest of Emperor Kōnin The creation of the image of Śrīmahādevī (the Kichijōten-nyo Gazō; National Treasure) occurred around this time.
8th century
Creation of the Maitreya Triad in the Great Lecture Hall (Important Cultural Property).
Goddess of Fertility
and Abundant Harvests
National Treasure
Kichijōten-nyo Gazō
Patriarch of the
Consciousness-Only Doctrine
Important Cultural Property
Miroku Sanzon-zō
Chapter 3

Yakushiji Temple
in Heian Period

Hardship and the Beginning
of Reconstruction

Even after the capital was moved to Heian-kyō, Nara remained a city of Buddhism, where prayers were offered for the protection of the nation.
As the syncretic practice of venerating both kami and buddhas developed, Yakushiji became a temple where Shinto deities and Buddhist divinities were worshipped together.

Heian period
830
The Saishō-e is instituted as a national rite for the protection of the country at the initiative of the priest Chūkei.
889
Yasumigaoka Hachimangū Shrine is constructed, with Hachiman Ōkami ritually installed as its enshrined deity. The Hachiman Sanjin-zō (Hachiman Triad; National Treasure) were also fashioned around this time.
A god in the form of a monk
National Treasure
Hachiman Sanjin-zō

During the Heian period, a great fire struck Yakushiji.
The red, flickering flames engulfed the Lecture Hall and surrounding corridors, and the lament of many people echoed through the precincts.
Faced with successive disasters, the monks devoted their sweat and tears to the task of rebuilding the temple.

973, “the Tenroku Conflagration”
In 973, “the Tenroku Conflagration” occurred when a fire broke out in the cross corridor north of the Refectory, consuming the Lecture Hall, the monks’ quarters and surrounding corridor, the Sutra Repository, the Bell Tower, the Middle Gate, and the Great South Gate. The restoration was completed by around 1013.
Half of the temple complex was consumed by fire.
“the Tenroku Conflagration”
989
Strong winds damage the upper story of the Main Hall. Remarkably, the timbers and roof tiles remained intact, and the structure was swiftly repaired. This episode is recounted in the Konjaku Monogatarishū and other narratives.

During this period, as the temple precinct was rebuilt, many Buddhist rites were newly established at Yakushiji.
Several of them continue to this day.

1107
At the behest of Emperor Horikawa, artificial flowers are offered at the Shuni-e ceremony From this time onward, the Yakushiji Shunie came to be known as the Hanae-shiki (Flower Offering Rite).
1061
The portrait of Jion Daishi (National Treasure) is painted.
The Eminent Monk
Who Founded the Hossō School
National Treasure
Jion Daishi-zō
Chapter 4

Yakushiji Endures
the Fires of War

The Aspiration to Restore
the Temple Precinct

Time passed, and the Kamakura period arrived...
At Yakushiji, the Tōindō (East Precinct Hall) was rebuilt, and statues of the Four Heavenly Kings, guardians of the Buddhist Law, were created.
Bearing within them the prayers and craftsmanship of those who lived through that era, they continue to watch over the temple in unchanged form.

Kamakura period
1285
The Tōindō (East Precinct Hall; National Treasure) is rebuilt.
Around 1289
Completion of the Statues of the Shitennō (The Four Heavenly Kings)
They look just like
the Four Heavenly Kings
of the Great Buddha Hall
Zōjōten,
one of the Statues of the Shitennō
Kamakura Wa's Textbook
National Treasure
Tōindō

During the Muromachi period, Yakushiji once again suffered calamity.
Struck by earthquakes, violent winds, and human conflict, the temple was left in ruins,
prompting some of the great names of history to act to restore the wounded Yakushiji.

Muromachi period
1361
The Nankai Earthqake causes the upper level of the Main Hall to sag. The central gate and other structures collapse. Of the East and West Pagodas, one loses its nine-ringed finial, while the finial assembly of the other is warped.
Around 1455
Strong winds cause the collapse of the Main Hall and Nandaimon (Great South Gate).
Around 1466
Ashikaga Yoshimasa dispatches a vessel to Korea to solicit contributions for the reconstruction of Yakushiji’s Main
Hall, requesting support from the Joseon King.
Around 1528, “the The Kyōroku Fire.”
Conflict between the Tsutsui and Ochi clans results in a fire that engulfs the Main Hall, Lecture Hall, Middle Gate, West Pagoda, monks’ quarters, and other structures. The is the largest fire in Yakushiji’s history to date.
The Buddha Images ofthe Burned West Pagoda
Important Cultural Property
Fragments of Clay Sculptures Excavated
from the West Pagoda Site

Even after the ravages of war, the monks never abandoned their hope of reconstruction.
Their efforts would carry forward across many generations.

Azuchi-Momoyama period
1600
A provisional Main Hall (the former Main Hall) is built through a donation by Mashita Nagamori.
1603
The shrine buildings of Yasumigaoka Hachimangū (Important Cultural Property) are rebuilt through a donation by Toyotomi Hideyori.
Provisional Main Hall
(former Main Hall)
Important Cultural
Property
Yasumigaoka
Hachimangū
Edo period

In the Edo period (1603–1867), Yakushiji repeatedly petitioned the shogunate for permission to conduct fundraising campaigns for the restoration of the temple precinct.
Monks traveled widely to solicit donations, leading to gradual progress with the reconstruction and repairs.
All the while, they held to the hope of recovering the temple’s former appearance.

1644
When the East Pagoda begins to lean, repairs are carried out through a donation from Honda Masakatsu.
1808
Repairs are undertaken on the damaged finial assembly of the East Pagoda, which is causing rainwater to leak into the building’s interior.
Yakushiji Temple in the Edo Period
The Stricken East Pagoda
Copy of the Petition
for Repairs (1807)
1852
After nearly three hundred years, the Kōdō (Lecture Hall) is rebuilt.
Forty-Five Years of Hardship
Kyū-Kōdō (Former Lecture Hall)
Chapter 5

The Thousand-Year
Temple Wavers

Turmoil and Ruin
in the Meiji Era

With the Meiji Restoration came the confiscation of temple lands and the separation of Shinto and Buddhism...
Yakushiji was once again visited by severe trials.
Even basic repairs to the temple complex could not be carried out, and the temple quietly marked time in desolation.

Meiji era
1872
The first cultural property survey in the modern era, the Jinshin Survey, is conducted.
The East Pagoda with
Eave-Support Poles
Yakushiji in the Meiji
and Taishō Periods
Chapter 6

The Era of Hakuhō Revival

Prayer Sustained Through
Sutra Copying

In the Shōwa era, two successive chief abbots poured their lifeblood into Yakushiji:
the scholar-monk Hashimoto Gyōin, feared as an oni, and his disciple Takada Koin.

Showa era
1939
Hashimoto Gyōin became chief abbot. In the harsh years during and after the war, he devoted his whole being to training disciples.
The scholar-monk
feared as an oni
Hashimoto Gyōin
1967
Takada Koin becomes chief abbot. While serving as vice-abbot, he began giving Dharma talks to school excursion groups and pressed ahead with fundraising through sutra copying in order to restore the original Main Hall.
Restoring
Yakushiji Temple
Takada Koin
1968
The restoration of Yakushiji’s temple complex begins, driven by the campaign to rebuild the Main Hall through one million copied sutras.

Facing the task of restoring the temple complex, Takada Koin looked for an approach in which anyone could take part.
That approach was O-shakyo, the copying of sutra texts.
He devised an unprecedented plan that allowed visitors to participate directly in the restoration by copying sutras and dedicating their offering fees to the project.
To bring people together through one million copied sutras, Takada Koin traveled widely, sowing the seeds of the Buddha-heart.

1976
Restoration of the Main Hall after reaching the one-million-sutra goal the previous year
1981
Restoration of the West Pagoda
1984
Restoration of the Middle Gate
Main Hall
West Pagoda

The restoration advanced through the power of the sutra-copying fundraising effort continues today, nearly five hundred years after the Kyōroku fire.
Even now, the grand Hakuhō-style temple complex continues to be restored through the power of people’s prayers.

Heisei era
2003
Restoration of the Great Lecture Hall
2015
Restoration of the Refectory
2023
A dedication ceremony is held to mark the completion of repairs to the East Pagoda (National Treasure)
Great Lecture Hall
Chapter 7

A Temple Fostering
a New Culture

Carrying the Ancient
Spirit into the Future

At Yakushiji, inscribed as a World Heritage Site, many people continue to visit and press their palms together in prayer before the Buddhas.
Yakushiji is more than a guardian of cultural treasures; it remains a living temple sustained by the prayers of people today.

1991
Construction of the Genjō Sanzō-in, which enshrines a cranial relic of Xuanzang (Genjō Sanzō).
1998
Yakushiji is inscribed as part of the World Cultural Heritage site “Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.”
Genjō Sanzō-in

Within the restored temple complex, Buddhist services and performing arts that had long fallen into disuse have been revived, adding a touch of ancient culture.

Creative Gigaku
“Sanzō Hōshi Kyūhō no Tabi”
Saishō-e

Yakushiji is a place where contemporary culture is created and transmitted.
Works dedicated by modern artists transmit the prayers of the present to the future.

Ikuo Hirayama,“Saihō Jōdo Shumisen”
“Daitō Saiiki Heiga ”
Morihiro Hosokawa
“Higashi to Nishi no Yūgō ”
Toshio Tabuchi“Amida Sanzon Jōdo-zu”
“Bukkyō Denrai no
Michi to Yakushiji ”
Shinya Nakamura
Bodhisattva Asanga (right)
Bodhisattva Vasubandhu (left)
Shinya Nakamura
Shaka Hassō-zō
“Enlightenment”

Yakushiji Temple Today

How did you find the story of the Yakushiji Picture Scroll?
Beneath the skies of the Hakuhō era, the story of Yakushiji began with the vow of a single emperor Again and again it was consumed by fire and cast down by wind, yet each time people raised it up anew.
Across thirteen centuries, prayer has endured, changing its form yet never falling silent.across time into a new age.
Even now, it echoes within the stillness of the temple complex. Now that you have followed this scroll to its close,
may your own thoughts also be carried across time into a new age.

Reiwa era

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The content of the Yakushiji Digital Picture Scroll is based on academic research as of 2025.
It also includes content for which no established theory has yet been found.

intro

In the finial of the East Pagoda, a National Treasure, there is a section known as the satsukan, which protects the central pillar, and it bears an inscription (satsumei) describing the origins of Yakushiji Temple’s founding. The inscription preserves a text recounting the temple’s establishment by Emperor Tenmu (d. 686) and Empress Jitō (645–703) and praising the merits of Yakushi, the Medicine Buddha.
This is the former site of Yakushiji Temple founded in the ancient capital of Fujiwara-kyō by Emperor Tenmu (d. 686) and Empress Jitō (645–703). The temple fell into ruin in the medieval period, and today, the foundation stones of the buildings can still be seen in the Kidono neighborhood of Nara Prefecture’s city of Kashihara.
Yakushi Sanzon-zō (Yakushi Triad Statues)
Honzon Daiza (Principal Pedestal)
Yakushiji Temple was founded in 680 when Emperor Tenmu (d. 686) vowed to build a temple to pray for the recovery of his consort, Empress Jitō (645–703). Construction of the temple complex was completed under the rule of Empress Jitō, and the Nihon Shoki records that the consecration of the Buddhist images took place in 697. These images are believed to depict the Yakushi Triad. According to the Yakushiji Engi, the traditional record of the Temple’s founding, the triad was ceremonially transferred over seven days from Moto-Yakushiji, the Temple’s original location in the ancient capital of Fujiwara-kyō, to Yakushiji, once the ancient capital of Heijō-kyō. The triad centers on Yakushi, the Medicine Buddha, flanked by Nikkō and Gakkō, the attendant bodhisattvas of sunlight and moonlight, respectively. Enshrined on a marble pedestal, the group is regarded as a masterpiece of ancient Japanese sculpture and embodies an unbroken tradition of prayer that has continued since the temple’s founding. Although the Main Hall was destroyed during warfare in 1528, the Yakushi Triad survived and has been carefully preserved to the present day.
The pedestal on which Yakushi sits is richly decorated with grapevine arabesques, floral motifs, the Four Divine Beasts, and supernatural guardian figures. Grapevine arabesques run along the sides of the upper frame, while oval, square, and diamond-shaped floral tiles are inset across the upper frame, the waist of the pedestal, and the lower frame.
The middle tier contains six openings on each side, from which bare-bodied guardian deities peer outward. On the north and south faces, column-like forms representing Mt. Sumeru and the earth deity Kenrō Jishin are depicted, bearing the seated Yakushi above. On the lower frame, the Four Divine Beasts are placed in each cardinal direction: the Azure Dragon (east), Vermilion Bird (south), White Tiger (west), and Black Tortoise (north). These designs, along with the Yakushi statue, are influenced by Greco-Roman art, as seen in the grapevine arabesque, as well as by ancient Near East, India, China, and other cultures of the Silk Road. Furthermore, they embody the Hakuhō style tradition preserved from the time of the temple’s founding.
This three-story pagoda is the only structure at Yakushiji Temple that has survived from the time of the temple’s construction in the eighth century. Historical records state that it was constructed in 730. It is the oldest surviving building of the ancient capital of Heijō-kyō and the third oldest pagoda in Japan. A distinctive feature is the pagoda’s additional pent roof (mokoshi) below each main roof, giving the appearance of a six-story structure. The pagoda is said to exemplify the Hakuhō style and retains a uniquely graceful and unparalleled form. The cylindrical tube (satsukan) in the finial assembly, which protects the central pillar, bears an inscription recording the circumstances of the temple’s founding. The decorative water-flame finial (suien) at the top of the pagoda depicts celestial beings flying and dancing.
Bussokuseki (Buddha Footprint Stone)
Bussokuseki-ka-hi (Bussokuseki Hymn Stele)
Buddha Footprint Stones (bussokuseki) were objects of worship created after the Buddha’s passing into nirvana. Rather than fashioning images of the Buddha in human form, early Buddhists represented him symbolically through sacred traces such as his footprints. According to the inscription engraved on the stone, its lineage can be traced to a footprint originally copied by Wang Xuance, a Chinese envoy to India, from a Buddha footprint at Deer Park (Mṛgadāva) near Sarnath, India. That image was then traced at Puguang Temple in Chang'an by Kibumi no Honjitsu, a Japanese monk studying in Tang China, who later brought it back to Japan. The inscription also records that the stone was commissioned by Funya no Mahito Chinu in 753 to pray for the rebirth of his wife, Manda no Gunshu. The artist was Koshida no Yasumaro, and the calligrapher was Miwa no Ishide.
Few ancient bussokuseki survive, and this is the oldest known example in Japan.
This stele, carved from slate, bears 21 hymns inscribed in Man'yōgana, a script that uses Chinese characters phonetically to represent the Japanese language. Most of the verses are bussokuseki hymns, which praise the spiritual merit of carving the Buddha’s footprints in stone and worshiping them. They follow a distinctive poetic structure, now known as the bussokuseki style, which extends the classical tanka poem (5–7–5–7–7) by one additional seven-syllable line, creating a 38-syllable verse (5–7–5–7–7–7). These verses were likely recited during rituals venerating the Buddha’s footprints and offer a rare glimpse into Nara-period (710–794) devotional life. Alongside the Man'yōshū, they stand testament to the literary and spiritual culture of the time.
Kichijōten (Śrīmahādevī) is a goddess who bestows blessings and prosperity, appearing in scriptures such as the Sovereign Kings of the Golden Light Sutra. During the Nara period (710–794), the Kichijō Repentance Ritual—a rite centering on her worship—was widely practiced in provincial state temples, where she was enshrined as the principal deity. At Yakushiji Temple, it is said that this ritual began in 771 by the imperial order of Emperor Kōnin (708–782). Traditionally, the ritual was performed at the Hachiman Shrine from the first to the seventh day of the New Year and at the Main Hall from the eighth to the fourteenth. This image of Kichijōten is believed to have been created as the principal icon for this ritual.
Kanzeon (Avalokiteśvara) is a principal bodhisattva of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name appears as “Kanzeon” (観世音, “Perceiver of the World’s Sounds”) in Kumārajīva’s translation and “Kanjizai” (観自在, “Perceiver of Freedom”) in the Chinese monk Xuanzang’s (602–664) translations, but it is commonly abbreviated to “Kannon.” The deity can take many forms, but its standard form is known as “Shō Kannon” or “Shō Kanzeon.” The Shō Kanzeon statue enshrined as the principal image of the Tōin-dō (East Precinct Hall) is a defining Buddhist sculpture of its era and known as a representative ancient Kannon image, alongside the Yakushi Triad in the Main Hall. The figure stands upright facing forward, with symmetrical drapery reflecting the archaic style of the Asuka period (552–645), while its full-bodied form and flowing expression show characteristics of a later period. The date of creation remains a subject of ongoing scholarly debate.
It is believed that the bodhisattva Miroku (Maitreya) will descend into this world as the Future Buddha, Miroku Buddha (Maitreya Tathāgata), 576 million years (5.67 billion years according to some traditions) after the passing of Śākyamuni Buddha. It is said that he will preach the Dharma three times beneath the Dragon-Flower Tree (Ryūge-ju), bringing salvation to all beings. He is also said to have expounded the Discourse on the Stages of Yogic Practice (Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra), one of the foundational texts of the Yogācāra (Consciousness-Only) school—known in Japan as the Hossō school—and to have transmitted its teachings to the bodhisattva Asaṅga. The Maitreya Triad enshrined in the Great Lecture Hall consists of gilt-bronze images cast at jōroku scale in the Nara period (710–794). While they were once enshrined as the Yakushi Triad, conservation and restoration were carried out from 1993 to 1997, followed by the completion of the Great Lecture Hall in 2003. This established the group in its present form as the Maitreya Triad, consisting of Miroku Buddha(Maitreya Tathāgata), Hōonrin (the Bodhisattva of the Grove of the Dharma Garden), and Daimyōsō (the Bodhisattva of Great Sublime Marks).
吉祥天は『金光明最勝王経』などに登場する福徳を授ける天女であり、奈良時代には諸国の国分寺で吉祥天を本尊とする吉祥悔過が行なわれ、広く信仰されていました。薬師寺では宝亀3年（772）から光仁天皇の勅願により吉祥悔過が始められたとされて、かつては正月1日より7日は八幡宮で、8日より14日は金堂で吉祥悔過が行なわれていました。吉祥天女画像はその本尊として造立されたと考えられています。
The Hachiman Triad enshrined at the Yasumigaoka Hachimangū Shrine is a symbolic form of shinbutsu-shūgō, in which Hachiman is depicted in the guise of a monk. This image of Hachiman, together with those of Empress Jingū and Nakatsu-hime no Mikoto, is thought to have been created in the Kanpyō era (889–898), when Yasumigaoka Hachimangū Shrine was founded, and is one of the oldest surviving examples of sculpture of Shinto deities. Although the figures are all under 40 centimeters tall, they have a dignified presence. Each figure is carved primarily from a single piece of wood, with some parts made of separate wood pieces, and the triad shows modes of expression commonly seen in ninth-century Buddhist sculpture.
On February 27, 973, a fire broke out in the Jūjirō (cross corridor) north of the Jikidō (Refectory), destroying the Kōdō (Lecture Hall), the Sanmen Sōbō (three-sided monks’ quarters), the Kairō (covered corridors), the Kyōzō (Sutra Repository), the Shōrō (Bell Tower), the Chūmon (Middle Gate), and the Nandaimon (Great South Gate). Fortunately, the blaze left the Main Hall and the East and West Pagodas unharmed. In the “Yakushiji Engi Emaki,” we see people trying hard to rescue Buddhist statues and treasures and extinguish fires, as well as a guardian deity trying to protect the temple.
Jion Daishi (632–682), also known as Kuiji, was born in Tang-dynasty China. He became a monk as a disciple of Xuanzang (602–664) and engaged in the translation of Buddhist scriptures. He studied under Xuanzang and produced commentaries amounting to 25 works in 120 scrolls, for which he came to be known as the “Master of a Hundred Commentaries.” Because he brought the teachings of the Yogācāra school to completion, he is positioned as its founding patriarch. At Yakushiji Temple, the Jion-e, a memorial service held on the anniversary of Jion Daishi’s death, is said to have begun in 1061, and this portrait is thought to have been created around that time.
These were known as the Three Great Assemblies of Nara (Nankyo San-e), of which the Saishō-e was a primary rite. The ceremony was performed to pray for national stability and abundant harvests while also functioning as a monastic qualifying examination.
Shuni-e (“Second-month Service”) is a spring observance held at the great temples of Nara, during which prayers are offered for national prosperity, abundant harvests, and the well-being of all people. Because ten kinds of artificial flowers are displayed, it is also known as the Hanae-shiki (Flower Offering Rite)
The West Pagoda once contained clay sculptures depicting the Eight Phases of the Buddha’s life. These were destroyed by a fire set during an attack in 1528. Portions of the sculptural group were hardened by the flames and survived in fragmentary form. Based on these remains, the sculptor Shinya Nakamura later reconstructed the Eight Phases as gilt-bronze images.
Efforts to rebuild the Main Hall began immediately after the Kyōroku fire, and a temporary structure was completed by around 1557. Later, with a donation of 500 koku from Mashita Nagamori, lord of Yamatokōriyama Castle, the temporary structure was refitted with a tiled roof and formally designated a provisional Main Hall.
Yasumigaoka Hachimangū, the tutelary shrine of Yakushiji, was founded in the Kanpyō era of the Heian period (889–898), when Eishō, the temple’s bettō (chief administrative monk), invited and enshrined the Hachiman deity. The name Yasumigaoka (“Hill of Rest”) derives from the tradition that when the monk Gyōkyō of Daianji Temple transferred the Hachiman deity from Usa Hachimangū, the deity rested at this hill. The Konjaku Monogatarishū records a legend that when Yakushiji was struck by fire in 973, a dove, said to be a messenger of Hachiman, flew from Yasumigaoka Hachimangū and protected the temple precinct from the flames. The present shrine buildings were reconstructed in 1603 through a donation from Toyotomi Hideyori. In the main sanctuary are enshrined the Three Hachiman Deities depicted in monastic form, and in the north and south auxiliary sanctuaries are twenty-two painted deity images on wooden panels.
An illustration depicting Yakushiji in the Edo period shows that the West Pagoda and Lecture Hall, which were destroyed in the Kyōroku fires, were absent, while smaller halls stood in their place. Only a few buildings remained unchanged from today, including the central East Pagoda and the Tōindō to its right (From Yamato Meisho Zue, vol. 3, 1791).
This is a copy of the petition submitted by Yakushiji requesting repairs and reconstruction of the temple precinct. The severely damaged East Pagoda is depicted first, its finial assembly listing dramatically. The document records that rainwater entering through gaps had reached the first story (from On-tazune ni tsuki tatematsuri sōrō yōyō no negai-gaki hikae [“Copy of the Petition Submitted in Response to an Official Inquiry Concerning Necessary Matters”]).
The reconstruction of the Lecture Hall, which had been destroyed in the Kyōroku fires, was a long-cherished aspiration of the temple through the Edo period. A petition for its reconstruction was submitted to the shogunate in 1807, and fundraising efforts conducted across the country required 45 years before the reconstruction could begin.
The Tōindō, also known as Tōzen'in, is said to have been founded by Imperial Princess Kibi (686–729), consort of Prince Nagaya (684–729), in memory of her mother, Empress Genmei (660–721). It is believed that three buildings once stood here—the Main Hall, a narrow hall, and a monks’ quarters—but the present structure was rebuilt in 1285 and is a representative example of Kamakura-period (1185–1333) Buddhist architecture. The interior follows the traditional Japanese (wayō) style, while the exterior incorporates newer Kamakura-period elements, such as penetrating tie beams (nuki) passing through the pillars instead of horizontal rails (nageshi), latticed double doors (sanga karado), and decorative wooden nose brackets (kibana) on the head tie beams. At the time of its initial reconstruction, it faced south, but it was reoriented to face west during another restoration undertaken in 1733.
The Shitennō, or Four Heavenly Kings, are guardian deities who protect the four cardinal directions from midway up Mt. Sumeru, the cosmic mountain at the center of the Buddhist universe. Jikokuten (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) protects the east, Zōjōten (Virūḍhaka) the south, Kōmokuten (Virūpākṣa) the west, and Tamonten (Vaiśravaṇa) the north. The statues of the Four Heavenly Kings enshrined in the Tōin-dō (East Precinct Hall) are superb examples of the “Great Buddha Hall style” (daibutsuden-yō), modeled after the Kamakura-period (1185–1333) Four Heavenly Kings of the reconstructed Great Buddha Hall (Daibutsuden) at Tōdaiji Temple. An inscription on the underside of Tamonten’s pedestal reveals that the statues were created in 1289 by Hōgen Ryūken and Suruga Hōkyō Jōshū. The paintwork on Tamonten and Jikokuten was executed by Kanshunbō Hōkyō Keiin of Kōfukuji Temple, while that of Zōjōten and Kōmokuten was done by Iga Hōkyō Yūgen.
An old photograph taken during the Jinshin Survey, the first modern cultural property survey conducted in 1872, shows the East Pagoda with support poles under its eaves.
A view of Yakushiji from the southwest during the Meiji and Taishō periods. From right to left: the South Gate and East Pagoda; behind the tree shade in the center, the former Kondō is visible. At left appear the Azazu-no-mon and the roof of the Bussokudō, which housed the Bussokuseki (Buddha's Footprint Stone) and the Bussokuseki Hymn Stele (from Yakushiji Ehagaki [Yakushiji Postcards], First Collection).
Born in Nara Prefecture in 1897. In 1904, he entered Hōryūji Temple, where he studied under Saeki Jōin. After graduating from the Religious College (Shūkyō Daigaku, now Taishō University), he studied at the Faculty of Letters of Tokyo Imperial University and took part in compiling works such as the Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō (the Taishō-era [1912–1926] edition of the Tripiṭaka) and the Bussho Kaisetsu Daijiten (an encyclopedic dictionary of Buddhist literature). In 1939, he became chief abbot of Yakushiji Temple, and in 1941, he assumed leadership of the Hossō school. In 1967, he stepped down and assumed the title of Elder. Observing monastic discipline strictly, he neither ate meat nor married. Deeply versed in Yogācāra doctrine, he lectured in Japan and abroad, trained many disciples, and set the restoration of the Hakuhō-period (645–710) temple complex on course. He also worked to protect Nara’s cultural properties and contributed to the nationalization of the Heijō Palace site. He died in 1978.
Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1924. In 1935, he entered Yakushiji Temple and studied under Hashimoto Gyōin. Appointed vice-abbot in 1949, he explained the teachings in a lively, accessible style to school excursion students visiting the temple. In 1967, he became chief abbot, and in 1968, he assumed leadership of the Hossō school. At his formal installation as chief abbot, he vowed to restore the Main Hall and launched a fundraising campaign for its reconstruction based on the copying of one million sutras. Through these efforts, the Main Hall, West Pagoda, Middle Gate, and other structures were restored, retaining the temple complex’s original appearance. He died in 1998.
The original Main Hall is said to have been a two-storied, double-tiered structure adorned with agate balustrades, lapis-lazuli paving, safflower-colored railings, and sandalwood ceiling panels. Although it survived the Tenroku fire of 973, the upper structure tilted during an earthquake in 1361 and finally collapsed in a violent storm in 1445. Reconstruction efforts began, but the hall was ultimately destroyed by fire during warfare in 1528. After its destruction, a smaller Main Hall was rebuilt, and in 1600, Masuda Nagamori (1545–1615), Lord of Kōriyama Castle, replaced the roof with ceramic tiles.
Restoring the Main Hall to its original form became the temple’s long-cherished aspiration. In 1968, Abbot Takada Kōin (1924–1998) initiated a campaign to reconstruct the Main Hall by allowing the general public to copy sutras for a small fee. This fundraising campaign proved successful, and in 1976, the Main Hall was completed in the Hakuhō style and consecrated. The upper level houses a sutra repository where copied scriptures dedicated from across Japan are preserved.
The symmetric arrangement of pagodas, with one standing to the east and another to the west, is known as the Yakushiji-style temple layout and is a defining feature of Yakushiji Temple. At the time of the temple’s construction, the East and West Pagodas enshrined clay statues representing the Eight Phases of the Buddha’s life. The West Pagoda was destroyed by fire during warfare in 1528. The pagoda could not be rebuilt for a long period, but archaeological excavations conducted in 1934 and 1976 revealed its original dimensions. Detailed study of the East Pagoda informed the reconstruction design, and, in 1981, the West Pagoda was finally completed and rededicated after 453 years. Lattice windows were installed, and wind bells and ornamental metal fittings were restored, faithfully recreating Yakushiji’s original architecture.
The Great Lecture Hall is a building where Buddhist assemblies are conducted for the scholarly training of monks. At the time of its original construction, it is said to have housed an embroidered image of Amida Buddha commissioned by Empress Jitō (645–703) in 692, the sixth year of her reign, in memory of her late husband, Emperor Tenmu (d. 686). As the center of scholarship at Yakushiji Temple, the Great Lecture Hall hosted the inaugural observance of the Saishō-e ceremony in 830—one of the three great ceremonies of the Southern Capital during the Heian period (794–1185). However, the hall was destroyed by fire in 973, and although it was later rebuilt, it was again destroyed during warfare in 1528. Fundraising efforts to rebuild the hall continued for many years, and in 1853, it was reconstructed at half its original scale. Yakushiji then resolved to restore the hall to its original form, and in 2003, the present Great Lecture Hall was reconstructed and the long-discontinued Saishō-e ceremony revived.
The Jikidō Refectory is the building where monks took their ritual meals. Archaeological excavations have shown that the original refectory was large enough to accommodate 300 people at one time. The refectory was destroyed by fire in 973 and rebuilt in 1005, but it eventually fell into disuse and disrepair. It was reconstructed in 2017 with an exterior design based on scholarly research and interior design by architect Toyo Ito. In honor of the Amida Triad traditionally enshrined in the hall, the painting Pure Land of the Amida Triad by the painter Toshio Tabuchi (b. 1941) was enshrined here, and the building was reborn as a new gathering place for visitors.
Genjō Sanzō-in (Xuanzang Memorial Hall)
Genjō Sanzō-zō (Statue of Xuanzang)
The Chinese monk Xuanzang (602–664) left Tang-dynasty China for India in 629 in search of Buddhist teachings. After returning in 645, he devoted his life to the Chinese translation of the 75 scriptures in the 1,335 fascicles that he brought back. Alongside his translation work, he transmitted the teachings of the Hossō school to many disciples, including Jion Daishi (632–682), also known as Kuiji. The Japanese priest Dōshō (629–700) of Hōkōji Temple traveled to Tang China in 653, studied under Xuanzang, and later introduced the Hossō teachings to Japan. Xuanzang passed away in 664 at Yuhua Palace and was buried at Xingjiao Temple outside Chang'an. His remains were lost during repeated periods of warfare, but in 1942, a stone reliquary containing Xuanzang’s cranial relic was discovered by chance in Nanjing, and a portion was transferred to Japan. At Yakushiji, which carries on the Dharma lineage of Xuanzang, Kuiji, and Dōshō, the cranial relic was enshrined in the Xuanzang Pagoda built in 1991. In 2000, the mural The Great Tang Western Regions by painter Hirayama Ikuo (1930–2009) was dedicated in the hall. Displayed at the Xuanzang Pagoda are the two characters Futō (“Never Turning Back”), inscribed by Abbot Takada Kōin (1924–1998) to express the unwavering resolve with which Xuanzang undertook his journey in search of the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha.
The statue of Xuanzang (602–664) enshrined in the Genjō Sanzō-in was created by Buddhist sculptor Ōkawa Teiichi (1899–1992) and is placed above the stone chamber where Xuanzang’s cranial relic (a portion of his remains) is interred. Depicted translating scriptures, Xuanzang holds a writing brush in his right hand and a palm-leaf manuscript brought back from India in his left. His features convey the resolute will of one who completed a 16-year quest for the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha.
These were known as the Three Great Assemblies of Nara (Nankyo San-e), of which the Saishō-e was a primary rite. The ceremony was performed to pray for national stability and abundant harvests while also functioning as a monastic qualifying examination.
Gigaku was a masked dance-drama of the Nara period. It was frequently performed at major temples in Nara, including on the occasion of the Eye-Opening Ceremony of the Great Buddha at Tōdaiji. At Yakushiji, gigaku was performed in the forecourt of the Main Hall on the occasion of a visit by the Retired Empress Kōken. After falling into disuse following the Heian period, gigaku was revived on the occasion of the completion ceremony marking the Shōwa-era restoration of Tōdaiji. Since 1992, Yakushiji has staged an original gigaku production titled “The Tripiṭaka Master’s Journey in Search of the Dharma,” based on the travels of Xuanzang.
The Murals Hall at Genjō Sanzō-in houses The Great Tang Western Regions murals, dedicated by painter Hirayama Ikuo (1930–2009). From the east, seven scenes trace the Chinese monk Xuanzang’s (602–664) journey in search of the Dharma from China to India: “Dawning over the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Chang'an,” “Through Jiayuguan Pass,” “Ruins of Gaochang,” “Mt. Sumeru of the Western Pure Land,” “The Bamiyan Caves,” “Evening on the Deccan Plateau,” and “Moon over Nalanda.” Overhead, the ceiling features “Ultramarine Sky of the Silk Road,” richly colored with the moon, the sun, and a star-filled night sky. Hirayama worked on the murals for about 20 years, traveling repeatedly along the Silk Road in reflection on Xuanzang. Having experienced the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as a third-year middle school student, Hirayama prayed that the twenty-first century would be an age of peace. The work was dedicated and consecrated on December 31, 2000.
The walls of the Refectory are painted with a mural entitled The Path of Buddhist Transmission and Yakushiji. Nearly 50 meters long, the mural was dedicated by the painter Tabuchi Toshio (b. 1941). The theme echoes the theme of The Great Tang Western Regions murals dedicated by Hirayama Ikuo (1930–2009). While Hirayama’s murals depict the quest for the Dharma from India to China, Tabuchi portrays the transmission of Buddhism from China to Japan. Over 14 panels, the mural shows Japanese envoy ships departing from China, arriving in Japan, and the flourishing of Buddhist culture from the Asuka capital through Fujiwara-kyō to Heijō-kyō.
To adorn Jion-den, a study hall for learning the Hossō doctrine of “Consciousness-Only” (yuishiki), Hosokawa Morihiro (b. 1938) dedicated the sliding-door and wall paintings known as The Fusion of East and West, created over approximately six years. Spanning about 157 meters, the panels depict exchanges between Eastern and Western cultures. The technique he used involved applying white clay over Japanese paper and painting over it using a fresco-like method. At the center, in the Buddha chamber, a bodhi tree is depicted. Surrounding it are eminent monks led by the Hossō patriarch Jion Daishi (632–682), heavenly maidens and kalaviṅka (celestial birds with human heads and flowing tails) flying through the sky, and people from the lands along the Silk Road, all gathered in praise of the Buddha’s teaching.
Asaṅga and Vasubandhu were Buddhist monks active in northern India in the fourth and fifth centuries. They systematized the Yogācāra (Consciousness-Only) doctrine of Mahāyāna Buddhism. At Yakushiji Temple, a vow was made to undertake the creation of images of Asaṅga and Vasubandhu to install beside the statue of Miroku Buddha. Sculptor Nakamura Shinya carried out field research in Pakistan to complete the statues, which were dedicated in 2007. The image of the bodhisattva Asaṅga is depicted carrying a stūpa on the shoulder, while the bodhisattva Vasubandhu holds palm-leaf scriptures, atop which rests a flower of the Dragon-Flower Tree, the sacred tree associated with Miroku.
In earlier centuries, both the East and West Pagodas housed clay statues depicting the Eight Phases of the Buddha’s life. The four at the East Pagoda were damaged by wind and rain and removed in 1644, leaving only internal wooden cores and fragmentary remains. The four statues at the West Pagoda were destroyed by fire in 1528. Several fragments were unearthed during excavations in 1976.
Based on these findings, sculptor Nakamura Shinya recreated four phases for the West Pagoda in 2015 and four for the East Pagoda in 2023. For the first time in approximately 500 years, the full Eight Phases of the Buddha’s life are enshrined again at Yakushiji.