National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

This set’s inner sutra case is shaped like a pagoda. Its parasol-like lid has a domed roof and finial-shaped knob. The case itself is made of four cylindrical sections and a two-tiered base shaped like a six-petal flower. Seven sets of lines encircle the case’s body from bottom to top. Its entire surface is incised in flowing depictions of figures from the “Dharani” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, including the bodhisattva Fugen (Skt. Samantabhadra), the Ten Protective Demonesses (the Ten Rākṣasīs), the bodhisattva Yakuō (Skt. Bhaiṣajyarāja), the bodhisattva Yūze (Skt. Pradānaśūra), the deva Jikokuten (Skt. Dhṛtarāṣṭra), and the deva Bishamonten (Skt. Vaiśravaṇa). An inscription is incised down one side of the images, revealing it was made in Hōen 7 (1141) to be buried using funds solicited by a priest at Enryakuji Temple.

The lid of the cylindrical outer container is shaped like a disk with a slightly rounded surface. The top of the lid and the sides of the body are inscribed with the Sanskrit seed syllables of the Lotus Sutra Mandala and the sutra’s seven-line mantra beginning with “homage to the Lotus Sutra.”

This type of four-part cylindrical sutra container is found often in northern Kyushu, and all that is known about this one is that it was reportedly found in Fukuoka Prefecture. Equipped with an inner and outer case, the work is an exceptional example with decorations befitting its role of safeguarding the Lotus Sutra.