Late in the 7 th century (A.D. 680), the erection of Yakushiji was planned by Emperor Temmu to pray for the recovery of his Empress from a serious illness.
The construction of Yakushiji on the site of Asuka, the south part of Nara, in the Fujiwara Capital, was not completed before the Emperor's death.
During the long term of the construction, Temmu died, and his Empress acceded to the throne and was called Jito. In fact the actual construction was taken under her reign, and the dedication ceremony for enshrining the chief Buddha, Yakushiji Nyorai, was held in 697.
The whole compound was completed in 698. But it was only in ten years later that the Capital was moved to the north of Nara (in 710), and Yakushiji was also moved to the present site in 718.   The splendid layout of buildings including Kondo (Main Hall) , Kodo (Lecture Hall), the East and West Pagodas was quite the reappearance of the paradise on the ground.
However, Yakushiji was burnt down and destroyed fires, wars, or natural disasters several times, and the largest damage was caused by the civil war in 1528. Today only the Yakushi-Triad in the Kondo, the Sho-Kannon in the Toindo, and the East Pagoda recall the grandeur of its original features.
Yakushiji is one of the seven large temples in Nara and the head temple of the Hosso Sect, the oldest Buddhist sect in Japan.