On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Section of the Sutra on the Contemplation of Immeasurable Life, one of the “Rengeōin Fragments” (Rengeō’in-gire)
Traditionally attributed to Emperor Shirakawa Japanese
Not on view
Over the centuries, sutra handscrolls were often cut up into sections and remounted as hanging scrolls to make them more suitable for display. This section is from a manuscript of the Sutra on the Contemplation of Immeasurable Life (Amitayurdhyana), in which the Buddha describes thirteen subjects of reflection to guide adherents to the Pure Land paradise. The text in this fragment describes the attributes of Kannon.
Although traditionally attributed to Emperor Shirakawa, the fragment is more likely the work of an unknown scribe. The text is executed in gold and malachite in the shakyōtai (sutra-copying) script of the Heian period. Motifs of birds and butterflies—drawn with silver pigment in the upper and lower registers, though now oxidized to a darker hue—enhance the manuscript’s elegance.
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