Nara - Yakushiji Temple 
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Begun in 680, during the reign of the Emperor Temmu, Yakushiji Temple - together with Kofukuji - is the principal temple of the Hosso sect.
During the construction of the temple, which lasted until 698, Temmu died and was succeeded by his wife in 687. After the transfer of the capital to Nara, in 718, the temple was moved to its present site by Asuka. It was damaged on several occasions, most severely during the Civil War of 1528. Of the original buildings of the temple, which is one of the "Seven Great Temples of Nara", there survives only the East Pagoda; all the other buildings date from Kamakura period or later. The Kondo (Main Hall; restored 1600; rebuilt on the original foundations 1976) contains the famous Yakushi Trinity - an 8ft/ 2.6m high figure of Yakushi-nyorai (Lord of the Eastern Paradise) flanked by Nikko-bosatsu and Gakko-bosatsu. The statue, originally gilded, was blackened in a fire in 1528, and only the haloes are still gilded.
During the construction of the temple, which lasted until 698, Temmu died and was succeeded by his wife in 687. After the transfer of the capital to Nara, in 718, the temple was moved to its present site by Asuka. It was damaged on several occasions, most severely during the Civil War of 1528. Of the original buildings of the temple, which is one of the "Seven Great Temples of Nara", there survives only the East Pagoda; all the other buildings date from Kamakura period or later. The Kondo (Main Hall; restored 1600; rebuilt on the original foundations 1976) contains the famous Yakushi Trinity - an 8ft/ 2.6m high figure of Yakushi-nyorai (Lord of the Eastern Paradise) flanked by Nikko-bosatsu and Gakko-bosatsu. The statue, originally gilded, was blackened in a fire in 1528, and only the haloes are still gilded.
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