Chusonji Sutra
- Date
-
制作年 AD12
- Title
- コンシキンギンコウショコウグミョウシュウ（チュウソンジキョウ）
- Materials, techniques and shape
- 紺紙金銀泥交書
- Collections
- Century Akao Collection
- Depository
- Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko) Campus Mita
- Ref. number
- AW-CEN-000281-0000
- License
- CC BY Images license
- Creditline
-
慶應義塾（センチュリー赤尾コレクション）
- URL
- Classification
- Art
- AI Tagging
- Handwriting Rectangle Slope Font Electric blue
The exhibited scriptures, rendered in alternating gold and silver writing on dark-blue paper, was made at the votive wish of Fujiwara-no-Kiyohira (1056-1128). The copying work began in 1117 and was completed in March 1126. Kiyohira had invited dozens of monks, headed by Priest Renko, over to Mutsu Province from Kyoto to undertake his commission. In 1126, the sutra handscrolls were dedicated as the consecration of Chusonji Temple in Hiraizumi (Iwate Prefecture). As such, the manuscript is named the Chusonji Sutra but is sometimes called the “Kiyohira Sutra”.With the alternating lines of gold and silver ink, the calligraphic style is spectacular. In addition, thecover is decorated with gold mud, depicting peonies and lotus flowers in a Chinese arabesque pattern, while the title of the sutra is rendered in gold. The flyleaf depicts the preaching Buddha, other sutra, and genre paintings. And, the gilt bronze roller of the scroll has a plectrum shape, whose edges are decorated with hair-line carvings. In the manuscript’s every attribute, one cannot fail to marvel at the artistic levels attained by the craftsmen.Of this product of the Heian aristocracy’s aesthetic passion and religious fervor, some 4500 handscrolls are known to exist today, including the 4296 scrolls dedicated to Mount Koya by Toyotomi Hidetsugu (1568-95), the 15 scrolls preserved at Chusonji, the 116 scrolls at Kanshinji Temple (Osaka), and the 12 scrolls at the Tokyo National Museum.The exhibited Chusonji Sutra copy is Volume 12 Chapter 8 “Chinese Apologetics Part Two” of the Collection for Propagating and Elucidating Buddhism (Ch. Guang Hongming Ji), the compilation of which was completed in 664 in Tang Dynasty China by Priest Dosen (Ch. Daoxuan). This collection professes Taoism tenets, contrasting those of Buddhism. The kanji script, stylized into a Japanese form during the Heian Period, is graceful, with the writers strictly abiding by the sutra coping format. Naturally, it was written by consummated sutra artists.
Overview
Rights
Depository and ID
Components
OPEN DATADESIGN
Keio Object Hub makes data on cultural objects open and tries designing various experiences using open data.
Details
Identifiers
- Title (EN)
- Chusonji Sutra
Physical description
- Weights and quantities
-
Quantity 1巻
As a prototype feature, the Keio Object Hub uses AI (machine learning) to generate keywords for searches and filtering.
For the first launch, Google Cloud's Vision API will be used to analyze the images of each object and automatically generate keywords.