The Jingo-ji Tripiṭaka is a Japanese collection of the Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon) composed of over 5400 scrolls made of Indigo dyed paper, and written in golden ink. Created in the twilight of the Heian period, throughout the Genpei War, the compilation of the canon was commissioned by Emperor Toba and Emperor Go-Shirakawa from 1150 to 1185. The scrolls were then deposited in Jingo-ji, Ukyō-ku, Kyoto. In the years since, 2317 scrolls remained with the temple while many others have been scattered into private collections and museums around the world.
History Since the introduction of Buddhism in Japan, handwritten sutra copying was deemed a sacred act of worthy merit. Copying the issaikyo, the Tripitaka, in particular is known to be an ambitious act, which requires the standard handwriting of 5400 scrolls to complete the canon.
During the late Heian period, the speculation of Mappo, the decline of the Dharma and thus Buddhist teaching, circulated widely in the Imperial Court. As such, copies of the issaikyo were commissioned by the royalty and the nobility to improve the chances of entering the Pure Land. From 1149 to 1185, Emperor Toba initiated the Jingo-ji copies until his death in 1156, thereupon Go-Shirakawa commissioned the rest of the Canon over the ensuing decades, completing the transcription in 1185, according to the Jingo-ji Ryakki (Records of Jingo-ji) during the Nanboku-chō period.
The standard format of the Jingo-ji canon is recognized by the indigo paper with silver lines, the dye symbolizing the lapis lazuli of the spiritual realm. The sutra text written in gold, which was defined as the radiant light of the Buddha. The front piece features a gold and silver painting of The Buddha teaching the Dharma at Vulture Peak. A red rectangular stamp on each scroll designates the original ownership at Jingo-ji.
Of the 5400 scrolls copied, by the 18th century, 4722 were inventoried at the temple. In the 19th century, hundreds of scrolls were sold by the temple to finance repairs to the building, some others were stolen. 2317 scrolls remain at Jingo-ji, and on 30 May 1949, they were deemed an Important Cultural Property of Japan under designated serial number 01056.
Extant Scrolls in Outside Collections Due to the dispersion of the scrolls during the 19th century, specimens sometimes appear in the art market and over the course of the past century, different portions of the canon are now owned by museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, British Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and various private collections. +Name/Sutra TextFormatPresent LocationCredit Line & Accession NumberImageJingoji Sutra and Wrapper25.8 cm (28.9 cm with knobs) × 1,289 cmArt Institute of ChicagoPurchased with Funds Provided by the Weston Foundation (2008.157)Hachi dai-bosatsu mandara kyo (八大菩薩曼荼羅経) - Sutra of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas Mandala25.7 cm x 145.80 cmBritish Museumex. Sorimachi Shigeo 反町茂雄 Charles E Tuttle & Co (1958,0510,0.3)Illustrated Sutra (Jingoji)10 x 164 1/4in (25.5 x 417.2cm)BonhamsFine Japanese and Korean Art, 15 September 2015; sold for US$13750Bussetsu daiai dohatsu deionkyo (佛説大愛道般泥洹経)10 1/8 x 150 7/8in (25.7 x 383.4cm) 11 1/2in (29.2cm) height with rollersBonhamsFine Japanese and Korean Art, 15 March 2017; sold for US$17500Avaivartikacakra Sutra10 1/8 x 468 in. (25.6 x 1188 cm.)Christie'sJapanese and Korean Art Auction; 18 April 2018Sutra with Frontispiece Depicting the Preaching Buddha10 1/8 x 134 1/2 in. (25.7 x 341.6 cm)Cincinnati Art MuseumJohn J. Emery Fund (1985.12)Sutra Scroll from Jingo-ji Temple: The Buddha's Teaching at Anupiya10 in × 123 inches (25.4 cm × 312.4 cm)Detroit Institute of ArtsDetroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, L. A. Young Fund, (61.5)Jingo-ji Temple SutraGrolier ClubCollection of Alan FeinsteinIllustrated "Vajra-Sckhara-yoga-homa-kolpa" (J: Kongōchō-yuga-goma) 10 3/16 x 167 in (25.8 x 424.2 cm)Harvard Art MuseumsHarvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Crawford (1961.142)Jingo-ji Sutra (Jingoji-kyō)10 1/8 x 45 7/8 in (25.7 x 116.5 cm)Harvard Art MuseumsHarvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of the Hofer Collection of the Arts of Asia (1985.368)Makasōgiritsu kandaisan mikaeshi-e (摩訶僧祇律巻第三見返絵) Illustrated Frontispiece to the Mahâsângha Vinaya (Great Canon of Monastic Rules), chapter 310 1/4 x 610 1/4 in. (26 x 1550 cm)Honolulu Museum of ArtGift of Robert Allerton, 1952 (1673.1a)Bussetsu Daianhanshuikyo25.8 cm x 1493 cmKyoto National Museumex. Moriya Yoshitaka (BK100)Daichidoron (Commentary on the Great Wisdom Sutra)Kyoto National Museumex. Moriya Yoshitaka (BK101)紺紙金字大方等頂王25.8 x 914.1 cm Kyushu National MuseumIllustrated Frontispiece to the Sutra of Enlightenment through the Accumulation of Merit and Virtue, the So-called Jingoji Sutra10 3/16 in. x 27 ft. 6 9/16 in. (25.8 x 839.7 cm)Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975 (1975.268.17)"Scroll 13"25.8 cm x 610.3 cmMiho MuseumChapter from the Expanded Flower Garland Sutra10 1/8 × 148 11/16 in. (25.72 × 377.67 cm) Minneapolis Institute of ArtDawson's Book Shop until 1964; Mary Griggs Burke and Jackson Burke Foundation (2015.79.21)Makasōgi-ritsu (Mahāsaṅghika-vinaya), Vol.1926 cm x 1386 cmNara National Museum811-1Kimonmokuren-gyō (Kimonmokuren-gyō-sūtra)25.7 cm x 187.8 cmNara National Museum811-2Kongōzanmai-kyō (Vajra-samādhi-sūtra), Vol.225.8 cm x 688.7 cmNara National Museum811-3Dōjinsokumugokuhenge-kyō (Dōjinsokumugokuhenge-kyō-sūtra), Vol.225.9 cm x 1272.5 cmNara National Museum811-4Heart Sutra, Hannyashin-gyō (Prajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya-sūtra)25.7 cm x 74.1 cmNara National Museum928-0Bimosu Jing (鞸摩粛経)National Diet LibraryHosted via the World Digital Library by the Library of Congress (2021667443)Sutra of Incantations for Sustaining the Thunderbolt Life (Kongojumyodarani-kyo)9 1/2 x 47 1/2 in (24.1 x 120.6 cm)National Museum of Asian Art - Smithsonian InstitutionPurchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment (F1985.36a-f)Divisions of Vowed Morality Sutra (J: Konponsetsu issai ubu binya; Skt: Mūlasarvāstivada nikaya vinaya sūtra), Volume 7, Book 3, Chapter 210 3/16 x 348 7/16 in.(25.9 x 885.0 cm.) Princeton University Art MuseumMuseum purchase, Caroline G. Mather Fund (y1959-121)The "Sutra of the Sages with the Five BlessingsTokyo National MuseumGift of Mr. Matsunaga Yasuzaemon (B-2437)
See also
Tripitaka Koreana Taishō Tripiṭaka
References