"Gyokury-Ji was founded by the monk Gyoki during the Nara period, about 1,300 years ago. Gyoki, who was on a pilgrimage around the country, visited this area and enshrined the Yakushi Nyorai (Medicine Buddha) there, as he felt it was a sacred place. It has been worshipped as a sacred place with great spiritual significance. In the Kamakura period (1185–1333), among other works, a statue of the Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) by Jikaku Daishi was brought to the temple from Kamakura, and a statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha by Eshin Szu was brought from Mount Hiei in Kyoto. Both statues, created by famous Japanese high priests, are more than 1,000 years old."