Government-run workshops making Buddhist statues during the Nara period. Post-9th-century independent and temple-run workshops were called *bussho 仏所. In the Nara period, the government set up a temporary office zōjishi 造寺司, when a temple was to be constructed. Under the supervision of the zōjishi, was the zōbussho, which made statues for the new temple. When construction was finished, the zōjishi and zōbussho were reduced in size or closed down. The head of a zōbussho was known as bettō 別当 and his deputy as shōryō 将領. Sculptors were divided according to specialist skills kō 工 (shikō 司工 and kokō 雇工), or general skills bu 夫 (jichō 仕丁 and kobu 雇夫). Shikō had a permanent position in the workshop and the status of government employee, while kokō were hired for temporary periods. Jichō did a variety of errands, and kobu non-skilled heavy labor. From the late 7th century, important zōbussho were located in Yakushiji 薬師寺, Daianji 大安寺, Kōfukuji 興福寺, and other Nara temples. The largest and longest-working workshop was at Tōdaiji 東大寺, *Zō Tōdaiji Zōbussho 造東大寺造仏所, and was active in approximately 748-89. In 762-3, there were 1619 sculptors recorded as working there. These sculptors were responsible for wood, dry-lacquer, clay statuary and various other artifacts. Metal statues were made in a separate casting workshop chūsho 鋳所. After the closure of Zō Tōdaiji Zōbussho, no new government workshops were set up, and many sculptors became temple employees or worked independently.