Text of the Twenty-Fifth Chapter (Kanzeon Bosatsu Fumonbon) of the Lotus Sutra (Myōhō Rengekyō)

The booklets in this case are copies of Buddhist texts that could have easily been carried on the person. At right is a non-canonical text devoted to the deity Jizō, who appears in the guise of a monk to deliver humans from suffering. (A small wooden sculpture of Jizō was also placed inside the Sedgwick Shōtoku and is displayed nearby.) The text in the center has so far defied identification. The booklet on the left contains Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra, arguably the most widely known Buddhist scripture in East Asia. It describes how the compassionate deity Kannon will rescue those in peril if they call for aid. The bottom half of the first page has been worn away, perhaps by the caressing movement of a thumb across the page as the owner chanted the sacred words of the sutra over and over again.