One of Four Sheets of Paper inscribed with Religious Texts, Poems, Charms [mounted on a board]

The fragmentary texts displayed here include a section of Chapter 9 of the Lotus Sutra (second from right). This section describes the Buddha’s prediction that both Ananda (his cousin) and Rahula (his eldest son) would attain Buddhahood. Rahula had entered monastic life at just nine years old and was venerated as the protector of monks in training. Ananda was revered by women, having persuaded the Buddha that women should be able to become nuns. Services in honor of both figures became part of the liturgical calendar of the reformist movement led by the monk Eison (1201–1290) in the mid-13th century. The inclusion of this carefully selected section of the Lotus Sutra supports the theory that the sculpture of Shōtoku was commissioned by a group of nuns associated with Eison’s order.