Medicine Master Buddha

This volume illuminates the primacy of icons in disseminating the worship of the Medicine Master Buddha (J: Yakushi Nyorai) in Japan. This devotional cult, one of the first to reach Japan from the continent, became most influential during the Heian period (794 1185), when it began to spread to different levels of society and geographical locales. The large number of Heian-period Yakushi statues found all across Japan demonstrates that Yakushi worship was an integral component of Heian religious practice. The focal point of the volume is the ninth-century Tendai master Saich (767 822), his personal worship of Yakushi, and the Tendai school 's critical role in popularizing the cult, which, analyzed further, offer a fresh perspective on sculptural representations of Yakushi.