A workshop or school of Buddhist sculptors *busshi 仏師. Bussho usually refers either to workshops active from the 10th century on run by a temple or to independent workshops, as opposed to government-run workshops *zōbussho 造仏所 of the late 7th-8th century.
Jōchō 定朝 (?-1057, see *Jōchōyō 定朝様) is regarded as the founding father of Japan's most important 11th-12th century bussho, which are the En school *En-pa 円派; In school *In-pa 院派; and Kei school *Kei-ha 慶派. The En and In schools were situated in Kyoto *kyoto busshi 京都仏師; the En school had a large workshop in *sanjō bussho 三条仏所, and the In school had large workshops in Shichijō-Ōmiya *shichijō ōmiya bussho 七条大宮仏所, and Rokujō madenokōji *rokujō madenokōji bussho, 六条万里小路仏所. The Kei school was based at Kōfukuji 興福寺 in Nara *nara busshi 奈良仏師, with another workshop in Kyoto Shichijō *shichijō bussho 七条仏所. During the Heian period, all these bussho based their sculptural style on that of Jōchō, and produced works commissioned by the court, nobility, and temples. Most busshi were also Buddhist priests, and the position of bussho head *daibusshi 大仏師, was normally passed on from father to son. Under the daibusshi's supervision were a team of artists *shōbusshi 小仏師, who had specialized skills. For example *saishiki busshi 彩色仏師 painted the haloes and pedestals on statues, and *hakushi 薄師 applied gold leaf. This enabled a division of labor that was efficient for large projects. Jōchō is said to have had 120 sculptors working in his studio. His only surviving work is Amida Nyoraizō 阿弥陀如来像 (1053) in Byōdōin *Hōōdō 平等院鳳凰堂, Kyoto. In the 13th-14th century, bussho subdivided and opened new workshops. The Kei-ha flourished at that time, through the patronage of the Kamakura government. Shichijō bussho, for example, expanded to three workshops: shichijō naka bussho 七条中仏所, shichijō higashi bussho 七条東仏所, and shichijō nishi bussho 七条西仏所. New schools of Nara sculptors *nanto busshi 南都仏師 were particularly important: *Zen-pa 善派 was set up in the 13th century, *tsubai bussho 椿井仏所 in the 14th century, and *takama bussho 高間仏所 and *shukuin busshi 宿院仏師 were active in the 15th-16th century. Shukuin was one of the first bussho where sculptors worked as laymen without assuming the status of monks. Other so-called commercial workshops of this kind were active during the 17th-19th century, and the bussho system itself survived until the 19th century. Regional workshops outside Kyoto and Nara, established since the Heian period, also followed the bussho model established by Jōchō.