Shaka Nyorai (Asuka Great Buddha)

Shaka Nyorai, known in English as Shakyamuni Buddha, represents the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, revered as the founder of Buddhism and the source of its teachings on enlightenment and liberation from suffering. The Asuka Great Buddha, housed at Asuka-dera in Nara Prefecture, is traditionally regarded as Japan's oldest surviving Buddhist image, cast in the early seventh century under the patronage of the Soga clan. As a foundational icon of Japanese Buddhism, it holds deep historical and cultural significance tied to the introduction of Buddhism to Japan and its early ties to imperial and clan authority.