Hokekyō (Lotus Sutra), sponsored by the monk Sōshō of Tōdai-ji in Kenji 2

This copy of the Lotus Sutra was commissioned by Sōshō, a scholar-monk of Tōdai-ji Temple, on behalf of Rikimyō-maru, a child acolyte who had been murdered the previous year. The sutra was copied with the assistance of local monks and dedicated on the first anniversary of the boy’s death. The colophon in Sōshō’s own hand reveals his adoration of Rikimyō-maru and his profound grief. {i=>[Lotus Sutra, Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra, Fahua jing, Hoke kyō], content=>[This copy of the , (Skt. , ; Ch. , ; J. , ) was dedicated by Sōshō (1202–1278), an eminent scholar-monk at Tōdaiji Temple. In 1275 (Kenji 1), his beloved young male attendant Rikimyōmaru had been killed, and Sōshō retreated to Kasagi in grief. He and the priests in his circle copied this sutra on the one-year anniversary of Rikimyōmaru’s passing.]}

— Museum description: Nara National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.