National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

This emaki (painting that illustrates a narrative) tells the story of the origin of the Yakushi Nyorai (medicine Buddha) statue, which is the honzon (the main image of worship) of Inba-dō of Byōdō-ji (Inaba Hall of Byōdō Temple, in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto) and that of the Inba-dō. It was created in the 14th century at the end of the Kamakura period. In Chōtoku 3 (997), Tachibana no Yukihira went down to Inaba Province from Kyoto, and there he became ill. He was told in a dream of a piece of wood with spiritual power on the shore of Karunotsu in Inaba. He went to the place and found a Yakushi Nyorai (medicine Buddha) statue. He built a temporary hall and enshrined the statue. After Yukihira returned to Kyoto, the statue flew to his house. He donated his house and made it into a temple. This is the origin of Inaba-dō. The story says that Yukihira became the provincial governor of Inaba in Kanko 2 (1005), and Inaba-dō prospered from that time.
It is a historical fact that Yukihira became the provincial governor of Inaba in that year, based on records such as Midō Kanpaku Ki. There is also the interesting suggestion that Yukihira's intention to make the management of Inaba easier may lie behind this story. This emaki in its present form consists of text for eight scenes and pictures for nine scenes. With some parts damaged by fire, it is not perfect, but still enables us to hypothesize the unknown original further back from this one. It is important material for the study of the origin of Inaba-dō.