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Fragment of Vol. 157 of Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom (Mahaprajnaparamita sutra; Daihannyaharamittakyō) 大般若波羅蜜多経巻第一百五十七

1383, sixth month (Eitoku 3)
Not on view
This accordion-style book is one volume of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, a foundational Mahayana Buddhist scripture. The six-hundred-volume version that circulated in East Asia was translated into Chinese by the scholar-monk Xuanzang (602–664). The image that opens this sutra shows the Buddha and his attendant bodhisattvas at center surrounded by a host of disparate figures.

Xuanzang himself (carrying a large backpack full of texts) and his fearsome protector Jinja Daishō stand on either side of the central triad. They are surrounded by a collection of demigods charged with protecting this scripture and believers. This same subject can be seen in painted form in a scroll displayed in the adjacent gallery.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 大般若波羅蜜多経巻第一百五十七
  • Title: Fragment of Vol. 157 of Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom (Mahaprajnaparamita sutra; Daihannyaharamittakyō) 大般若波羅蜜多経巻第一百五十七
  • Artist: Unidentified artist Japanese
  • Period: Nanbokuchō period (1336–92)
  • Date: 1383, sixth month (Eitoku 3)
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Woodblock printed book (orihon, accordion-style); ink on paper
  • Dimensions: 10 1/4 × 3 3/4 in. (26 × 9.5 cm)
  • Classification: Illustrated Books
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, 2013
  • Object Number: 2013.740
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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