Shoryoin

Long, narrow building east of the Great Lecture Hall at Horyuji, dedicated to the spirit of Prince Shotoku, who died in 622. The name means temple of the sacred spirit. The southern third was renovated in 1121, but the remaining two-thirds retain the character of the original priests' living quarters from the Nara period. Inside are six sculptures, including a statue of Prince Shotoku said to date from 1121, a Jizo bodhisattva from the early Heian period, and a Nyoirin Kannon from the period's end. Veneration of the deified Prince Shotoku was particularly intense during the Kamakura period, when many portraits and icons of him were produced.