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

　The Kashiosan Kyozuka (sutra mound) is located on the south slope near the top of Hakusan, a mountain 500 m high at the east end of the Kofu Basin. It was accidentally discovered during the construction of a power plant in 1962: About 70 cm below the surface, there were six natural stone chambers full of charcoal at one to two meter intervals. A copper sutra cylinder and other materials, both of which were in a ceramic container, were found in one of the six chambers. The copper sutra cylinder was cast in copper and bore an inscription comprising 39 characters on the lid and 744 characters on the side. It said that Priest Jakuen, who was born in Ishigami-mura, Otokuni-gun, Yamashiro no Kuni and became a priest at the age of 63, decided to shut himself up in Yonezawa Temple in Makiyamamura, Santo-gun, Kai no Kuni (current Unboji Temple in Makioka-cho, Yamanashi?) and transcribe the Nyoho sutra in front of the temple's Thousand-armed Kannon in 1100. After he completed the transcription over a period of three years, he buried it on Hakusan on April 22, 1103 after holding a Buddhist service at Kashiosanji Ojo-in (current Daizenji Temple in Katsunuma-cho, Koshu). It is a valuable inscription in that it describes the details of the process up to the burial of a sutra and the persons involved. Moreover, it is worth noting that this inscription is the longest among the known inscriptions and that it is written in a mixture of kanji and kana. There were pieces of eight wooden sutra hanging scrolls in the sutra cylinder, suggesting that eight scrolls of the Lotus Sutra had been stored in it.
　The Kashiosan Kyozuka is one of the relatively oldest sutra mounds and the long inscription containing the oldest creation year in eastern Japan constitutes a valuable material not only for the study of kyozuka, but also for the study of the Japanese language.