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

This set is a fully intact example of a decorated Lotus Sutra produced in the Heian period (794–1185). It is an unusual manuscript, with each of its eight volumes written on a different color of paper. For example, the first volume is written on light blue paper, the third is on light green, the seventh is on light purple, and the eighth is on light brown. The use of these subtle hues reflects the sophisticated tastes of Heian courtiers. Cut pieces of gold and silver leaf are scattered across the entire surface of the paper, and ruled lines are drawn in gold paint.

A colophon at the end of each volume indicates the scrolls were an offering to the Shinto-Buddhist combinatory deity (gongen) enshrined in the Saimyō-in precinc t of Daisenji Temple. The sutra was passed down at Daisenji Temple in Hōki Province (now part of Tottori Prefecture).