"The Former Deeds of Bodhisattva Medicine King," Chapter 23 of the Lotus Sutra (Hokekyō)
1150
- Medium
- Handscroll fragment mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on dyed paper decorated with ink, color, silver pigment, scattered gold- and silver-leaf, and cut-gold ruled lines
- Dimensions
- handscroll fragment only: H. 25 x W. 44 cm (9 13/16 x 17 5/16 in.) mounting, including cord and roller ends: 109.2 x 63.5 cm (43 x 25 in.)
- Genre
- Calligraphy
Tags
Japanese
About
In this section of a decorated Lotus Sutra, lines of exactly 17 characters float above a galactic display of silver and gold foil, while in the margins gemlike lotuses bloom spontaneously in response. This mid-12th-century fragment of the sutra (Chapter 23, “The Medicine King”) is an example of the finest paper decoration from the Heian period. The ritual adornment (shōgon) of the text through the attention lavished on the paper demonstrates the extreme care afforded to the words of the Buddha, signaling their status as sacred entities in their own right.