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

The ten-fascicle Golden Light of the Most Victorious Kings Sutra describes how sovereigns can invoke the protection of their states through the Four Heavenly Kings and other benevolent deities. It was translated into Chinese in Chang'an 3 (703) by the monk Yijing (635–713) during the Tang dynasty (618–907) and introduced to Japan 15 years later.

On the 14th day of the 2nd month of Tenpyō 13 (March 5, 741 [Julian calendar]), Emperor Shōmu (701–756; r. 724–749) issued an imperial edict mandating the construction of a state-sponsored temple (kokubunji) and convent (kokubunniji) in each province. A copy of the Golden Light of the Most Victorious Kings Sutra was further mandated to be enshrined in the pagoda of each temple. The full official name for these provincial temples was “Temples for the Protection of the State by the Golden Light of the Four Heavenly Kings.” The name reflects the understanding at the time that these state-sponsored temples would invoke the divine protection of the Four Heavenly Kings in accordance with the sutra’s teachings. This extravagant copy in gold lettering was presumably the ultimate symbol of attaining protection of the state through Buddhism.

Emperor Shōmu’s order specifically called for the use of gold lettering in the creation of the sutras but did not designate the color of the paper. Nevertheless, historical documents from the official Scriptorium for Gold-Lettered Sutras (an imperial office created for copying the texts) reveal that purple paper was used. In fact, most gold-lettered sutras copied in the Nara period (710–794) were brushed on purple paper. To make them, sheets of paper were joined together and ruled lines were added in a type of gold ink made by dissolving powdered gold in a mixture of animal glue and water. The text of the sutra was then copied in gold ink as well. When the copy was finished and the gold ink had dried, a boar’s tusk was used to burnish the letters. This process quickly brought out the luster of the golden paint, transforming its appearance almost instantly into that of gold leaf.

The Nara National Museum’s copy of the Golden Light of the Most Victorious Kings Sutra was reportedly originally enshrined at a state-sponsored temple in Bingo Province (now Hiroshima Prefecture). All ten of the sutra’s fascicles have survived intact. Even today, the gold characters shine radiantly against the dark purple ground with an elegance and grandeur befitting its standing as one of the finest sutra manuscripts of the Tenpyō era (729–749).