The Universal Gate Chapter from Hokekyo (Lotus Sutra)

This decorated sutra is Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (J., Kanzeon Bosatsu Fumonbon), from the Lotus Sutra (Skt., Saddharma pundarika Sutra; J., Myôhôrengekyô or simply Hokekyô), which explains how the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (J., Kanzeon or Kannon) saves all beings in need of help by taking on thirty-three manifestations. The frontispiece is painted in ashide (“reed”) style, which incorporates characters and motifs set within a vibrant yamato-e (Japanese-style) landscape. The morning sun rises into the clear sky from a softly undulating hillside, below which is a lotus pond. Following this landscape is the text, which was copied alternately on white, cloud-designed, purple, light blue, and light brown colored papers. At the end of the scroll, written in ashide style, is a verse in three stanzas: “Pure, immaculate light, the blessed sun breaks through the darkness, always shining upon the world.”

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