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

This segment comes from thirty verses on the Buddhist concept of "consciousness only" (J., yuishiki; the idea that all existence is subjective and nothing exists outside of the mind) that was transcribed by Emperor Fushimi (1265-1317). According to the prayer inscription by the emperor (Important Cultural Property, now owned by the Kurokawa Institute of Ancient Cultures), in the third month of 1314 (Showa 3), after receiving notice that the sacred tree of Kasuga was entering the capital of Kyoto, he spent over two hundred days transcribing the thirty verses in 276 volumes and donated this set along with a copy of the Lotus Sutra in gold lettering on indigo paper in fifty-six volumes to Kasuga Shrine to pray for the safe return of the tree. This fascinating historical source shows us the emperor's handwriting at the end of his life and his devotion. The courtier Ichijo Kaneyoshi (1402-1482) added a postscript at the end of the scroll in 1473 (Bunmei 5).