Title: Myoho Renge Kyo, not after 1670. A Rare Woodblock Printed Set of the Lotus Sutra, Circa 1550-1670. Eight Scrolls Beautifully Printed on Mulberry Paper, in Eight Volumes
Author: Chinese Translation by Monk Kumarajiva
Condition: Very Good
An extremely rare, Late Muromachi to Early Edo Period, 16th to 17th century woodblock printed edition of the complete Myohorengekyo, or Lotus Sutra in 8 volumes, and 28 chapters. This edition uses the translation of the Qin Dynasty Chinese Monk Kumarajiva.
Arguably one of the most influential and revered Buddhist Mahāyāna sutras, it is the primary scripture upon which the Tiantai school of Buddhism and all of its successors (including the Japanese Tendai and Nichiren, Korean Cheontae, and Vietnamese Thiên Thai schools) were established. It also highly influenced the Zen School of Buddhism. It has been often viewed in Eastern Asia as containing the final comprehensive teachings of the Shakyamuni Buddha, with the two core teachings being the doctrine of the One Vehicle, and the idea that the lifespan of the Buddha is immeasurable, and that due to that, he never truly passed onto Nirvana but still teaches to this day in Dharma.
A Buddhist monk, scholar, missionary and translator from Kucha, Kumarajiva is one of the greatest (if not the greatest), translators of Chinese Buddhism, with his translations continuing to see usage even today, and throughout much of Japanese Buddhist sutras and imprints.
Each sutra has been printed on finely produced paper (likely mulberry). The text has also been printed using a very fine ink in a bushy font.
There is a donation inscription dated 1670, likely from other followers of Nichiren Buddhism.
Eight printed handscrolls, the longest example being 36 feet, or 12 meters in length, each 28.5 cm in height. The knobs are not included as part of the measurement
These handscrolls are in very good shape, with soiling and old staining to the covers. There is some staining throughout, and some of the margins at the end of each scroll have worm tracks.