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

The Miracles of the Diamond Sutra (Ch. Jingang bore jing jiyan ji) contains miraculous tales of the efficacy of the Diamond Sutra. It was compiled in Kaiyuan 6 (718) by Meng Xianzhong (dates unknown) during China’s Tang dynasty (618–907). The text’s three volumes include 70 chapters in six parts. The first volume is comprised of the parts “Salvation” and “Longevity;” the second volume contains “Expiation” and “Miraculous Power;” and the last volume contains “Buddhist Merit” and “Sincerity.” It is an invaluable historical source telling of religious beliefs surrounding the Diamond Sutra in the early Tang dynasty. The Miracles of the Diamond Sutra became a widely known text early on in Japanese history and exerted great influence on narrative literature. Its title is mentioned in the Record of Miraculous Events in Japan (J. Nihon ryōiki) along with Chronicles of the Afterworld (Ch. Mei bao ji; J. Meihōki), and tales derived from the text can also be found in Tales of Times Now Past (J. Konjaku monogatari).

A colophon by Fujiwara no Morokuni (dates unknown) indicates he produced this copy in the 4th month of Jōryaku 3 (1079). According to Lineages of the Noble and the Humble (J. Sonpi bunmyaku), Morokuni was the son of the deputy middle counselor Yasunori (dates unknown) or his younger brother Kunimichi (dates unknown; the governor of Kazusa Province) and was appointed governor of Sagami Province, the vice-minister of the Board of Censors, and held the junior fifth rank.

The beginning and the end of this booklet are stamped with the red square seal of Kōsanji Temple. The cover has the notation “Box 55” in red ink, which is further evidence that this volume was handed down at Kōsanji Temple because it matches an entry in the Index of Scriptures at Kōsanji Temple.

The oldest partial copies of the Miracles of the Diamond Sutra are the first volume owned by Ishiyamadera Temple dating to the early Heian period (794–1185) and part of an accompanying volume owned by Tenri University. This work, however, is the oldest extant copy to retain all three volumes in their entirety. A type of pasted butterfly binding is used, and a bamboo stave is attached to the cover.