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

　　Miracles of the Diamond Sutra (three scrolls) is legendary stories of Diamond Sutra (Skt. Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) compiled in Kaigen 6 (718) by Mo Kenchu (孟献忠) in the Tang dynasty of China. It is composed of six parts within three scrolls; the first volume is comprised of two parts about “Relief (救護)” and “Longevity (延寿),” the second volume is of two parts about “Exoneration (滅罪)” and “Miraculous Power (神力)” and the last volume is of two parts about “Buddhist merit (功徳)” and “Sincerity (誠応).” There are seventy chapters in total and it is valuable historical material telling the religious faith in the Diamond Sutra in the early period of the Tang dynasty. The Miracles of the Diamond Sutra spread from ancient times in Japan and it had a large influence on the legendary literature (setsuwa) as its title can be seen in The Collection of Buddhist Tales (Nihon Ryoi ki) along with The Collection of Buddhist Tales in China (Meiho ki) and the legendary tales that were derived from this book can also be found in The Anthology of Oral Literature (Konjaku Monogatari).
　　There is a colophon written by Fujiwara no Morokuni indicating that this document was copied by him in April, Joryaku 3 (1079). According to The Collectino of Family Trees (Sonpi Bunmyaku), Morokuni was the son of a Gon Chunagon Yasunori or his younger brother Kunimichi (the head bureaucrat of Kazusa Province) and was appointed as the head bureaucrat of Sagami Province (Sagami no kami), the sub-leader of the audit bureau (Danjo Shohitsu) and the 14th rank of courtiers (ju go i).
　　The beginning and the end of this booklet are stamped with a square seal “Kosanji Temple” in red ink. On the cover, the letters “fifty-five boxes” are written in red ink, proving that this volume was handed down in Kosanji Temple because it corresponds to the description in The Indexes in Kosanji Temple.
　　The oldest copy of Miracles of the Diamond Sutra is the first volume owned in Ishiyamadera Temple that was copied in the first half of the Heian period (794–1185) and the remains of the accompanied volume of the first volume that is owned by Tenri University. As a copy preserving the three volumes completely, however, this document is the oldest. Butterfly binding (deccho so) is used, and a stave made of bamboo is on the cover.