This set of paintings is the oldest and largest extant illustrated biography of Prince Regent Shotoku (574-622). It depicts places and events related to the traditional account of his life; stemming from the veneration of the prince that began in the Nara period (710-794).

These paintings were originally on fixed doors that adorned the Picture Hall in the East Precinct of Horyu-ji Temple. They were remounted as freestanding screens in the Edo period (1615-1868); and in recent times were again remounted on ten panels.

Records tell us that Hata no Chitei; an artist from Settsu Province (present-day Osaka Prefecture); painted them during the second to fifth month of Enkyu 1 (1069).