Yakushi-ji Temple

Overview

Yakushi-ji (薬師寺, やくしじ) is a Buddhist temple in Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. It was founded in 680, during the Asuka period (538–710), the era in which Buddhism took root at the Japanese court and the first permanent capitals were laid out. The temple belongs to the Hossō school of Japanese Buddhism and serves as its headquarters. It is counted among the Nanto Shichi Daiji (南都七大寺), the Seven Great Temples of Nanto — "Nanto" meaning the southern capital, Nara. It also appears on the rolls of the Yamato Northern 88 Sacred Sites, the Shinbutsu Reijō Junpai no Michi, and the 49 Sacred Sites of Saigoku Yakushi. Since the inscription of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara, Yakushi-ji has formed part of that UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple stands in the Nishinokyō district of Nara, at coordinates 34.6683556, 135.7843111.

History

Yakushi-ji was established in 680, in year 20 of the Hakuhō era (白鳳, はくほう). Its first site lay in Fujiwara-kyō, the old capital, and the temple that preceded it there is remembered as Moto-Yakushi-ji (本薬師寺) — "moto" meaning "original." The main object of veneration, Yakushi Nyorai (薬師如来), known in English as the Medicine Buddha, was among the first Buddhist deities to reach Japan from China, arriving in 680, and it gives the temple its name.

The temple as it stands today was built in 730 and is described as a scrupulous copy of the original foundation. That date places the present complex in the same broad moment as the great temple-building projects of Nara, the city that replaced Fujiwara-kyō as the capital. Over the centuries Yakushi-ji ranked among the most famous imperial and ancient temples in Japan, and its association with the Hossō school gave it a lasting place in the intellectual life of Japanese Buddhism. The temple holds the Bussokuseki-kahi (仏足石歌碑), the "Buddha's footprint stone" bearing a set of poems, and a Kichijōten (吉祥天) image among its possessions.

What Stands There Today

Two structures are singled out among the temple's parts. The first is the East Pagoda (東塔, とうとう), the temple's best-known building and the one most often photographed against the Nara skyline. The second is the Tōindō (東院堂, とういんどう), the East Hall of the eastern precinct. The East Pagoda is the structure most closely tied to the claim that the 730 complex reproduces the Fujiwara-kyō original, since it survived the fires that consumed other parts of the temple over the centuries.

The temple grounds occupy the Nishinokyō district, west of central Nara, and the site is registered within the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara. The Bussokuseki-kahi and the Kichijōten image are kept here, and the temple's role as headquarters of the Hossō school means that it remains an active religious institution rather than a museum piece. Its listing among the 49 Sacred Sites of Saigoku Yakushi reflects its standing as a centre of devotion to the Medicine Buddha specifically.

The Name in Japanese

The temple's name is written 薬師寺. Its kana reading is やくしじ, and its romaji is Yakushi-ji.

Broken down character by character:

• 薬 — read here as やく (yaku). The character means "medicine" or "drug." On its own it is the kanji seen on pharmacy signs across Japan.
• 師 — read here as し (shi). The character means "master," "teacher," or "expert" — a person of trained authority. Combined with 薬, it produces 薬師 (Yakushi), literally "medicine master," the Japanese name for the Buddha of healing.
• 寺 — read here as じ (ji). The character means "temple," specifically a Buddhist temple. It is one of the most common endings in Japanese temple names, and it is what distinguishes a Buddhist foundation from a Shintō shrine, which normally ends in 神社 (jinja) or 宮 (gū).

So the whole name means "Medicine Master Temple." The reading of 寺 shifts depending on the name it follows — here it is ji, the voiced form, rather than the tera heard in names such as 東大寺's neighbour temples or in the standalone word 寺 (tera). The 薬師 element is shared with Yakushi-ji's fellow Yakushi temples across Japan, including Moto-Yakushi-ji, the original foundation in Fujiwara-kyō.

Visiting and Context

Yakushi-ji sits in Nishinokyō, in western Nara, within reach of the other monuments grouped under the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara. The temple's position on the Yamato Northern 88 Sacred Sites and the Shinbutsu Reijō Junpai no Michi places it within two established pilgrimage circuits, one devoted to the northern Yamato region and one tracing the historical overlap of Buddhist and Shintō worship. Its membership in the 49 Sacred Sites of Saigoku Yakushi marks it as a destination for those following the Medicine Buddha across western Japan.

For students of Japanese, the temple offers a compact lesson in how Buddhist vocabulary entered the language. 薬師, the Medicine Buddha, is a Chinese-derived term; 寺 is the standard suffix for a Buddhist temple; and the whole name, 薬師寺, is read with the on'yomi, the Sino-Japanese readings, rather than the native Japanese readings of the characters. The same three characters recur in temple names throughout the country, which makes Yakushi-ji a useful anchor for recognising them elsewhere.