Eastern Golden Hall
Statue of Yakushi Nyorai
Important Cultural Property
Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Healing is associated with the curing of illness and the prolonging of life. He leads beings gone astray back to the correct spiritual path, and protects them during religious practice.
The Buddha of Healing serves as the central image of the Eastern Golden Hall. It is seated in full lotus position and depicted with the lower robes draped down over the edge of a high rectangular pedestal. The left hand resting on the knee holds a medicine jar, while the right hand is bent at the elbow with the palm facing outward and the fingers extended.
Made from a copper alloy using an earthen mold, it was cast after the previous image was lost to fire in 1411. During repairs to the building in 1937, the head of the previous image, a statue cast in 685 and moved to Kofukuji from Yamadadera temple in Asuka, was discovered inside the current image’s pedestal. The rediscovered Buddha head, which has been designated a National Treasure as an unusual example of Hakuho-era Buddhist statuary, is now on display in the Kofukuji National Treasure Hall. [See also No 15]