Original Hasedera Bronze Plaque
National Treasure
Known as the Hokke Sesso-zu, this bronze plaque contains the only surviving description of the establishment of Hasedera Temple. In 686, a Buddhist priest named Domyo cast the plaque and inscribed it with a scene from the Lotus Sutra as well as a three-story pagoda and many small Buddhist figures. In order to pray for the ailing Emperor Tenmu (631–686), the plaque was enshrined as the main object of worship in the Original Hasedera Temple (Moto Hasedera). The plaque displayed in the temple is a replica; the original plaque is in the Nara National Museum.