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

This scroll is the Chinese translation of Srimala-simha-nada-sutra (The Sutra of Queen Srimala of The Lion's Roar, Shōmangyō), made by Guna-bhadra of the Song dynasty, China. In this sūtra, Srimala, daughter of King Prasenajit of Kosala, elucidates the truth of the one-vehicle doctrine in Buddhism and of the dharma-body of tathāgata-garbha (Buddha-nature), with Shakyamuni Buddha's endorsement. The Commentary on Srimala-simha-nada-sutra by Prince Regent Shōtoku is a commentary on this sutra, being one of The Three Commentary Works of Shōtoku; the other two are The Commentary on Lutus-sutra and The Commentary on Vimalakirti Sutra. The cover is decorated with colored paintings of human figures and other motifs, the end paper with the richly-colored painting of the scene of Shōtoku's lecture on Srimala-simha-nada-sutra. Ornamental designs such as mist in gold powder and colored images of falling petals (sange) are on the scroll paper, which show the characteristic of the decorative sutra-scrolls in the early Kamakura period.