yakushidō 薬師堂

A Buddhist temple hall housing a statue of *Yakushi 薬師 (Sk: Bhaisajyaguru), the Buddha of Healing, the Master of Medicine. There are about twenty Yakushi halls officially recognized as protected properties. Many are 3 × 3 bays square, ranging from the smallest 4.70 m at Ishidōji 石堂寺 (1575) in Chiba Prefecture, to the largest 8.24 m Kichijōji 吉祥寺 (1428) in Wakayama Prefecture. Only two yakushidō are 3 × 4 bays, the larger at Jōkōji 浄光寺 (1408) is 7.32 m × 10.07 m in Nagano Prefecture; the yakushidō at Shinchōkokuji 新長谷寺 (1520) in Gifu Prefecture is 4 × 3 bays, 7.51 m × 5.64 m. Of the two 5 × 4 bay yakushidō, the most famous is the upper precinct of Daigoji 醍醐寺 (1121) in Kyoto. It is 13.95 m × 10.60 m. Several yakushidō are 5 × 5 bays. The largest is at Jōdoji 浄土寺 (rebuilt 1517) in Hyōgo Prefecture. It measures 18.07 m. The smallest 5 × 5 hall is at Burakuji 豊楽寺 (1151) in Kōchi Prefecture. It received extensive repairs in 1574.

Roofing material is predominantly thatched *kayabuki 茅葺, and a few have been covered by copper sheeting dōbanbuki 銅板葺. The roof type is mainly hipped *yosemune-zukuri 寄棟造. Some roofs, including hip-gable *irimoya-zukuri 入母屋造 and the pyramidal type *hōgyō-zukuri 宝形造, are also covered with copper sheeting. 

Yakushidō vary in style as well as in details, i.e. some halls are strongly Zen style zenshūyō 禅宗様 noticeable especially in the use of closely packed bracket complexes *tokyō 斗きょう. Some Zen style buildings have fan rafters *ōgidaruki 扇垂木; daibutsu style *daibutsuyō 大仏様 yakushidō (more of an amidadō) also have fan raftering. Rafters set parallel to each other are the norm. Among the yakushidō about half have single eaves *hitonoki 一軒, and the rest have double eaves *futanoki 二軒. The hip-and-gable roofs have variations in the gable pediments including lattices *koshigumi 腰組, center struts with diagonal braces *sasugumi 叉首組, rainbow-beams with bottle struts nijūkōryō-taiheizuka 二重虹梁大瓶束, and boarded itabari 板張. 

The types of bracket complexes include: five halls have boat-shaped brackets *funahijiki 舟肘木, four have 3-on-1 right angle brackets *demitsudo 出三斗, four halls have the 1-stepped type *degumi 出組 mainly closely packed in Zen style, three halls have the 3-on-1 non-projecting type which are parallel to the wall plane *hiramitsudo 平三斗 and two halls have the 3-stepped type *mitesaki-tokyō 三手先斗きょう, occasionally with fan raftering. Most interstices *nakazonae 中備 at the top of the various halls between the bracket complexes have strut-capped bearing blocks *kentozuka 間斗束. Frog-leg struts are rare in yakushidō. 

The interior arrangement, or the dividing up of space, is not markedly different from many halls dedicated to a deity or from main halls. Like *amidadō 阿弥陀堂, some have *raigō-bashira 来迎柱, two pillars at the rear corners of the Buddhist altar, and some also have a wall stretched between these pillars *raigō-kabe 来迎壁. The larger halls have pillars that clearly mark off the worship area *gejin 外陣 from the sanctuary *naijin 内陣. Some of these are open between interior pillars, others are clearly separated by latticed screens or sliding doors. Some of the small yakushidō have only an altar *shumidan 須弥壇. The ceilings of yakushidō vary from being completely open to the underside of the roof *keshō yane 化粧屋根, to having a simple board and batten ceiling *saobuchi tenjō 竿縁天井, a centered simple coffered ceiling *gōtenjō 格天井, or the same type placed over the altar surrounded by a ceiling opened to the underside of the roof. The flooring is either made of stone, hard-packed earth *doma 土間 or planks.