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

This commentary on Konkômyô saishôôkyô (Golden Light Sutra of the Most Victorious Kings) by Myôitsu (728-798) of Tôdai-ji Temple is based on passages from an earlier Chinese commentary entitled Jin guangming zuishengwang jing shu (J., Konkômyô saishôôkyô sho), written by Huizhao (650-714). However, the text also includes Myôitsu’s own remarks, making it an important work in understanding Buddhist thought in the Nara period (710-794). The number of characters per line is irregular, with nineteen to twenty characters in most lines and as many as twenty-five small characters in some lines. It is also a rare example of a complete ten-volume set.