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

This letter by Emperor Ogimachi (1517-93) orders Priest Gyojo of Risho-in Temple at Daigo-ji Monastery to solicit contributions from the various provinces for the restoration of Shoho-ji Temple in Omi (now Otsu city) after its destruction in the eighth month of 1577 (Tensho 5). As the twelfth station on the pilgrimage route of the Thirty-three Sacred Kannon Sites of Western Japan, Shoho-ji Temple has attracted the devotion of many from all walks of life from ancient times. It was also a temple built at the order of an emperor. According to the inscription on the original scroll axis by the mounter Tominaga Tanomo, the missive here was mounted as a hanging scroll in the second month of 1753 (Horeki 3) and publicly shown during the unveiling of the Thousand-armed Kannon, the central deity of the temple, in the following month.