Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani

Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani

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Title: Hyakumanto Darani (The One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), Circa 764-770. A Rare, Surviving Example of the Oldest Traceable Publication in the World, with the Original Pagoda, and Provenance of the Horyu-ji Temple Gifting. Worn Dharani
Author: Commissioned by Empress Shōtoku; Gifted by Horyuji Temple
Publisher: Nara

An extraordinarily rare, late 8th century three-tier wooden pagoda made of hinoki (Japanese cypress), and printed sutra of the Viśuddhaprabhā Dhāraṇī, as commissioned by Empress Shotoku (718-770) from the years 764-770. Together, they are most famously known as the Hyakumantō Darani, representing the oldest, traceable publication in the world, pre-dating Guternberg’s Western publications in Europe.

The Viśuddhaprabhā Dhāraṇī, also known as the Raśmi-vimala-viśuddhaprabhā-dhāraṇī, or Dhāraṇī of the Pure Stainless Light Rays, is a Buddhist ritual text which is part of the dhāraṇī genre of protective and transformative formulas. The core idea is that a dharani contains the accumulated blessing of the buddha, and that constructing a stūpa (a domed structure containing various relics) and enshrining within it a dhāraṇī is said to generate merit equivalent to building stūpas for a buddha relic.

First arriving into Central Asia in the Kingdom of Khotan from India, it was copied at Gomati Monastery, a major Buddhist stronghold of its time. From there, it was translated into Chinese in 704 CE by Monk Mituoshan, and prominent Huayan master Fazang during the final year of Empress Wu Zetian's reign. As the empress was deathly ill and seeking curatives on top of a positive path of rebirth, she became a patron for the text, and numerous copies were produced and enshrined during her reign, with researching indicating the sutra may have been spread throughout Eastern Asia as part of a propaganda campaign to serve the Empress’s dynasty.

Following Wu Zetian's death, her son, Emperor Zhongzong began spreading printed copies of the dhāraṇī widely around China and in neighboring states to ensure her with a good rebirth, and to help pacify the nation. The text rapidly spread, making it to Korea in a few years, and then of course, Japan.

During her second reign, and following a period of general instability, political struggle and depression, Empress Shōtoku commissioned the production of one million miniature wooden pagodas and dhāraṇī (the actual number is disputed, though certainly hundreds of thousands were produced), each containing a printed scroll of the dhāraṇī, and distributed to the ten major temples around Nara, with presumably one hundred thousand pagodas going to each one. Those temples were: Sadai-ji, Daian-ji, Shitennô-ji Yakushi-ji, Tôdai-ji, Hôryu-ji, Sûfuku-ji, Kôfuku-ji, Genkô-ji, and Kôfuku-ji

It is unknown just how many were lost at a time, but by the modern period, only one temple, Hôryu-ji still possessed a collection of the donated Hyakumantō Darani, and of the original figure, there were still 43,930 pagodas and only 1,771 dhāraṇī. However, in 1908, as thanks to their supporters who donated funds towards the maintenance of the temple, a vast number of Hyakumantō Dāraṇi were given as gifts, and today, as noted by Yiengpruksawan in One Millionth of a Buddha, Hôryu-ji now owns a scant 102 pagodas and 100 dhāraṇī.

The present Hyakumantō Darani presents itself as a rare artifact on multiple facets, both as one pointing to the beginning of printing, and as a testament to Buddhism’s lasting impact within Japan.

This example bears the rare, noted, earlier provenance, stating that in Meiji 41 (1908), there was an accompanying Certificate of Presentation, and that it was clearly documented as a Horyu-ji Temple example of a Hyakumantō Darani. As is with this example, it is contained in an early twentieth-century box with the Horyu-ji Temple gifting stamp to the box, and a sticker denoting this information. There are also photocopies of the original certificates and documents that would have been provided, displaying the same temple stamp. A surprising rarity that it is seen here, as many of the deaccessioned examples seem to have lost their gifted box at some point or another.

The pagoda still appears to display some of the original white gesso wash.

The dhāraṇī has been printed in a 24-line format, with up to 5 characters of text per line.

The pagoda has been restored in places at an earlier point, though I am not able to discern all the repair points except in places where chipped areas have been cleaned up.

The dhāraṇī ritual text has been neatly placed under plexiglass for protection, with removable screws to take the paper out for closer study if needed.

One miniature wooden pagoda (tō) and dhāraṇī ritual text, 21.4 x 10.4 cm for pagoda, 6 x 41 cm for the dhāraṇī ritual text

The pagoda has some chipping to the rings, and there is general wear to the surface overall. The text of the dhāraṇī has partially faded in places, and there is worming, causing some character loss.

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