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

　The Emperor Gouda (1267–1324; his reign spanned the years from 1274 through 1287) believed devoutly in Buddhism. After becoming a priest in Tokuji 2 (1307), he lived in Daikakuji Temple and exercised diligence in the study of esoteric Buddhism while attending to government affairs.
　This gold-lettered “Golden Light of the Most Victorious Kings Sutra” on purple-dyed paper was transcribed by him according to the discipline after he purified himself on November 15, Einin 2 (1294), seven years after he abdicated the throne in favor of the next Emperor Fushimi. Following in the footsteps of Emperor Shomu, who decided to enshrine a copy of the sutra in the pagoda of each state-sponsored temple, Emperor Gouda distributed the copies of the sutra to each province to pray for the protection of the nation and to cherish the people. He was only twenty-eight years old at that time.
　This copy is written on purple-dyed paper with boundary lines in gold ink (kindei). On one sheet, gold characters are written in twenty-six lines in a solemn style. This copy is a remaining section of the second volume, containing one hundred lines of the opening of the volume. The first volume (an important cultural property), which was dedicated to Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto Prefecture in Hoei 7 (1710), is owned by the shrine.