Chapter from the Expanded Flower Garland Sutra, one of the “Jingoji Sutras”

One of several thousand scrolls comprising the Buddhist Tripitaka in its entirety, this scroll is a copy of one chapter of the Expanded Flower Garland Sutra (Avatamsaka-mahavaipulya sutra), which is a discussion of the Six Ways (Satparamitra) of proper conduct on the road to enlightenment. The image on the frontispiece, painted in gold and silver ink, shows the Buddha preaching at Vulture Peak, flanked by bodhisattvas and monks. A red seal designates the previous owner as Jingoji, a temple in Kyoto. Tradition at that temple holds that the commission was initiated by Emperor Toba (1103–1156) and then donated to Jingoji by his son, the Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1125–1192).