Two Bodhisattvas Japan Embroidered Buddhist images were first made in India and then introduced through central Asia to China. They were of great importance during the Six Dynasties and the T'ang period, when Buddhism was introduced to Japan. Embroideries, often quite large, were prominent among the icons of the Asuka and Nara periods, from the sixth through the ninth centuries and were used mainly as wall hangings in temple lecture halls. Because of the popularization of belief in Amida's saving vows during the Kamakura period and into the fourteenth century, embroidered images many times copies of paintings in temple collections, were revived for use as devotional icons. They were often the product of pious groups seeking to perform meritorious works. Kamakura embroideries are distinguished by their rich variety of subject matter and colors, small size and intricate stitching technique. By the Muromachi period (1392-1568), these embroidered Buddhist images (shbutsu) became more conv