One of Five Ordination Certificates (ninka) [mounted on a board]

These small squares of paper are ordination certificates (ninka) distributed to those who committed to the Buddhist precepts, or ethical code of conduct. Each is inscribed with the Chinese character 可 (certificate) above the Sanskrit syllable vam., a mystical sound or “seed syllable” associated with the Cosmic Buddha. Identical certificates distributed by reformist monk Eison (1201–1290) have been found inside another sculpture, dedicated on the 13th anniversary of Eison’s death at his headquarters, the temple of Saidaiji, in Nara. These certificates are an important indication that the Sedgwick Shōtoku was probably commissioned by nuns affiliated with Eison’s movement, which advocated a corrective return to the Buddhist code of conduct (Vinaya) and the inclusion of nuns as well as monks in the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha.