Though originally devoted to the Shingon sect, beginning in the time of Yōkan (永観, 1033-1111), the seventh head monk, the temple began to shift towards Jōdo-shū, a sect formally established roughly a century later in 1175. Yōkan had trained in a number of temples of different disciplines in Nara, and was a passionate devotee of the Amida Buddha. In 1072, he established a "Yakuō-in" (薬王院) on the grounds, which organized giving to the needy and caring for the ill. He also introduced the practice of "Nenbutsu", a Chinese practice which was quite new in Japan, into the temple, and cultivated its observance among the monks and devotees.