[1][2][3] In 1180, during the Genpei War, the Siege of Nara goaded by the Taira clan caused the destruction of the city and its principal temples, Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji.

[5][6] Prominent members of the school includes Kōkei, his son Unkei, and Kaikei, who would later commission his first attributable work, the Boston Miroku in 1189 to Kōfuku-ji, where upon he would spend years carving the pantheon to restore the Nara temples to their former glory.

[2][7] In 1906, the Jizō was de-accessioned by Kōfuku-ji as the temple needed funds due to neglect, a fallout of the Meiji Restoration policy of shinbutsu bunri and haibutsu kishaku.

[1][8] In April 1970, type designer Jackson Burke and his wife, Mary, acquired the statue at the Galerie Janette Ostier, Paris.

[2][12] This style was reflected on the Jizō, involving naturalism as well as linear and simplified decorations, heavily influenced by Song dynasty art, thanks to the abbot of Tōdai-ji, Chōgen.