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At the instance of Prince Shotoku and for the better performance of Buddhist services, various privileges were granted to the professors of the art. They were exempted from the discharge of official duties and their occupation became hereditary. These masks were introduced by Mimashi and are still preserved in the temple Horyu-ji. *The Horyu-ji Shizai-cho, composed in A.D. 747.
*The oldest ideographic inscription extant in Japan is carved on a stone in Iyo province dating from A.D. 596. Next in point of antiquity is an inscription on the back of an image of Yakushi which stands in the temple Horyu-ji. It is ascribed to the year A.D. 607. None of the religious edifices then constructed has survived in its integrity to the present day.
One, however, the Horyu-ji, at Nara since all its restorations have been in strict accord with their originals, is believed to be a true representative of the most ancient type. It was founded by Shotoku Taishi and completed in 607.
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