YAKUSHI-JI
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The Yakushi-ji was founded in 690 in Fujiwara-kyō, and dedicated to the Healing Buddha to cure the emperor's illness Jitō. Later transferred to Nara at Nishinokyō in 718, it represents one of the best artistic examples of the period Hakuhō. As such, it is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the heart of the temple, which takes the form of a main building and two symmetrical pagodas, several treasures can be seen.
The main pavilion
(Kon-dō). It contains a bronze trinity representing the Yakushi Nyorai (Healing Buddha) and his attendants Nikkō and Gakkō. The latter are admirable sculptures.The Eastern Pagoda
(Tō-tō). 35 m high, it was built in 730 in the style of wa-yō. It has only three floors, but the mokoshi in between seem to give it double that.The Zen pavilion
(dō-dō). Dating from 1285, it exposes the statue of Kadura Kannon and other statues of guardians dating from the Muromachi period. It is the oldest zen pavilion in Japan.Bussoku-dō. Behind the pagoda, a room preserves a stone in which the Buddha's imprint (753) is engraved. It also has a stone writing desk where one can read a Chinese text readable only in phonetic symbols called man'yō-gana, i.e. used to superimpose Japanese readings on Chinese concepts or images. They are at the origin of today's Hiragana and are called man'yō-gana in reference to the collection of poems, the man'yō shū.
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