Nara era (8th century)
Important Art Object
Donated by the Homma family
The Buppon Gyōjitsu Kyō is a large compilation of the lineage and biography of the Gautama Buddha (called Shaka in Japan). The object featured here is one part of the full sixty scrolls of that collection. It is known as “The Wishful Scripture of Empress Kōmyō,” and is also called “The Scripture of the First Day of the Fifth Month,” based upon the date in the twelfth year of the Tenpyō era (740 CE) when the recorded spiritual vow was made. This refers to when Empress Kōmyō (701 –760 CE) prayed for the repose of the souls of her father, Fujiwara no Fuhito, and mother, Tachibana no Michiyo, as well as the long life and happiness of Emperor Shōmu, and for the loyalty of his retainers. The Chūō Shakyō-sho Soshiki organization put its full efforts into transcribing the scrolls, and spent approximately fifteen years creating more than 7,000 copies.
The style of the calligraphy here brings to mind early-period Chinese-style handwriting, and is often said to be the most outstanding example amongst the hand-copied sutras of the Tenpyō era.
This piece was handed down to the Homma family from the local Sakata historian Shirasaki Ryōya in 1919.