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Medicine Master Buddha:The Iconic Worship of Yakushi in Heian Japan; Copyright; Dedication; Content; Acknowledgments; A Note to the Reader; Prologue; 1 THE FORMATION OF THE YAKUSHI CULT; Textual Transmission of Yakushi Belief; Yakushi Worship from the Late Seventh Century; The Formation of a State-Centered Yakushi Cult in Nara; The Rise of Yakushi Repentance Rituals; The Founding of Shin Yakushiji; 2 THE MAGICAL YAKUSHI: SPIRIT PACIFIER AND HEALER-GOD; Yakushi Keka Rituals in the Ninth Century; Yakushi Worship in the Distant Provinces; 3 SAICHŌ'S STANDING YAKUSHI AND ITS ICONIC LEGACY

Saichō's Early Training and Establishment of HieizanjiDid Saichō's Yakushi Icon Really Exist?; Saichō's Yakushi and the Danzō Tradition; The Standing Pose; New Ritual Significance; 4 REPLICATING MEMORY: EXTANT IMAGES OF THE SAICHŌ-ENRYAKUJI LINEAGE; Direct Replication at Enryakuji's Central Hall; Saichō's Yakushi as a Secret Image; The Mystery of the Mudrās; Extant Replications Beyond Enryakuji; The Current Standing Yakushi Image in Enryakuji's Central Hall; 5 REFLECTIONS ON THE JINGOJI YAKUSHI AND THE SAICHŌ CONNECTION; Competing Theories: Jinganji and Takaosanji

Jinganji's "Unsuitability" as a Ritual SiteThe Meaning of Takaosanji's Jōgakuji Status; The Standing Yakushi Icon; Saichō and the Wake Clan; 6 THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: SHICHIBUTSU YAKUSHI ICONS AND RITUAL; Shichibutsu Yakushi Images at Kokōkaku and Matsumushidera; The Shichibutsu Yakushi in Enryakuji's Central Hall; The Esoteric Shichibutsu Yakushi Ritual; Fujiwara no Michinaga's Shichibutsu Yakushi Worship; A Morphology of the Shichibutsu Yakushi Ritual; Epilogue; Appendix; Endnotes; List of Characters; Bibliography; Illustration Credits; Index

Through analysis of sculptural representations of the Medicine Buddha (J: Yakushi Nyorai), this book offers a fresh perspective on the seminal role played by Saich? and the Tendai school in disseminating this devotional cult throughout Japan during the Heian period.