# Yakushi Nyorai

- By: Japan
- Date: 10th/11th century
- Medium: Wood with traces of polychromy
- Classification: Sculpture
- Dimensions: 88.9 × 50.8 × 50.8 cm (35 × 20 × 20 in.)
- Culture: Japan
- Credit line: Samuel M. Nickerson fund
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/80886)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/ffdcd9b4-eebd-eff1-7b22-d6aaf5baa3f8/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The spiritual ideal of the late Heian period (794–1185) is revealed in serene religious images such as this statue of Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of healing. Traditionally invoked to cure both physical and spiritual afflictions, Yakushi lifts his right hand in a gesture of reassurance and protection while he cups a medicine bottle in his left hand. The gentle modeling and precisely folded drapery of this work express the elegance of Buddhist sculpture commissioned by the Heian aristocracy.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0