Lit. Illustrations of original lives. The original lives; honjō 本生 or honshō, or former lives of the historical Buddha *Shaka 釈迦, which constitute the subject matter of a genre of Buddhist literature known as honjōtan 本生譚 also read honshōtan (Sk: jataka) or tales of original lives. The jataka stories, as transmitted in the Pali Canon today, number 547, and similar tales are also found in the closely related branch of Buddhist literature called avadana (Jp: hiyu 譬喩) or allegorical tales. These tales, which are generally based on stories that were current in India at the time of the Buddha's earthly existence, have their origin in the belief that Shaka's enlightenment would not have been possible for an ordinary human being, but was the result of various practices performed in his past lives. The enormous popularity of these tales is attested to by the fact that they provided the subject matter for some of the earliest productions of Indian art, and they have remained favorite topics for sculpture and paintings throughout the centuries in all Buddhist countries. Examples of such honjō-zu are found in India at Bharhutand Sanci (2nd century BC), Amaravati (2nd century), and later in the caves of Ajanta; in the murals of Kizil and Dunhuang (Jp: Tonkō 敦煌) in Central Asia; in the bas-reliefs of temples at Borobudur in Java (9th century), Pagan in Burma (13th century), and Sukhothai in Thailand (14th century); and in the caves at Longmen (Jp: Ryūmon 龍門) in China. There are, however, relatively few examples in Japan: the most famous are the two scenes from Shaka's past lives depicted on the pedestal of a household shrine dating from the mid 7th century known as the *Tamamushino zushi 玉虫厨子 preserved at Hōryūji 法隆寺. One of these panels shows the story in which Prince Mahasattva shows his courage and selflessness by sacrificing his life to a tigress and her starving cubs: the second shows the legend of a young ascetic who willingly forfeits his life in exchange for information about the truth of human existence. The first part of the Illustrated Scripture of Cause and Effect *e-ingakyō 絵因果経 is also included in this genre.