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

Kunoji-kyo Sutra is a decorated sutra that has been handed down to Kunoji Temple (current Tesshuji Temple) on Mt. Kuno in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka. This is one of the Kechien Ippon-kyo sutra (where the eight scrolls of the Lotus Sutra are divided into 28 chapters and together with the introduction and postscript, a total of 30 chapters are copied by 30 people in 30 scrolls), which became popular in the Heian period. The name of each copier is written at the end of each scroll of the Kunoji-kyo Sutra and according to these names, the copiers of the Sutra centered on Empress Taikenmonin (Fujiwara no Shoko) and included former Emperor Toba, his ladies and female servants.
　Currently, there remain 19 scrolls of Kunoji-kyo Sutra at Tesshuji Temple and they are designated as national treasures. Three scrolls owned by the Tokyo National Museum, two scrolls owned by the Gotoh Museum and four scrolls owned by private individuals are designated as national treasures, whereas the whereabouts of the remaining four scrolls is unknown. The three scrolls owned by the Tokyo National Museum (Muryoji-kyo, Hosshihon, Anrakugyohon) are decorated with kirihaku (gold/silver leaf cut into pieces), sunago (finely cut pieces of gold/silver leaf that look like grains of sand) and noge (gold/silver leaf cut into long thin strips) and divided by gindei (silver leaf ground into a fine powder and mixed with some glue) lines. The Anrakugyohon is a particularly brilliant decorative sutra since it is further decorated with patterns of lotus flowers and arabesque, which are drawn with gold/silver leaf paste and arranged in the upper and bottom parts of each paper.