The Saidai-ji Vow and Dōkyō's Rise to Power

After the defeat of Fujiwara no Nakamaro in 764, Empress Shōtoku sponsored new Buddhist works and advanced the monk Dōkyō, who had become one of her closest advisers. Her vow to create images of the Four Heavenly Kings helped initiate Saidai-ji at Nara, founded in 765. These protective deities joined the temple's Buddhist worship to the sovereign's concern for the realm.

Dōkyō received the title Daijō-daijin Zenji, combining chief-ministerial and clerical standing, in 765, and Hōō, or Dharma King, in 766. These were exceptional positions conferred by Shōtoku. His authority depended on her patronage and did not give him the imperial throne.

Another undertaking begun after the rebellion was the production of a million small wooden pagodas containing printed dhāraṇī, Buddhist sacred formulas. The Shoku Nihongi records their completion and distribution to temples in 770. The commission followed the rebellion of 764, while production and the recorded completion in 770 occupied a longer period.