Title: Mokuhan he, or Kyōgire (Ancient Manuscript Sutra Fragments), Circa 900-1400. A Surprisingly Varied Collection of 15 Sutra Leaves, Including Illuminated, Indigo Dyed Examples, and a Piece Purportedly Written in Blood and Ink
Author: Nun Jō-Amidabutsu; Monk Shin'a; Monk Wei Yi; Others
Condition: Very Good
A rather intriguing and rare Early Heian to Muromachi Period, 10th to 15th century collection of 15 manuscript leaves, which I’ve dubbed Mokuhan he, or Kyōgire, also known as Ancient Sutra Fragments.
As entailed, these leaves are surviving sections from a various collection of sutras fascicles, including the Sutra of Immeasurable Life, The Lotus Sutra, the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, and even the Flower Ornament Sutra. Most of the fragments have been written on various types of mulberry paper, with thick bushy brushstrokes and ruling for the columns and borders. Two leaves are written using gold ink, on indigo dyed leaves, likely from the Heian to Early Kamakura Period. One leaf is particularly unique, being written on a bright, white paper, and using a red pigment purported to be blood, though this has not been proven. On their own, each piece is an interesting piece of Medieval Japanese history and Buddhism, and as a collection they make an astounding series of materials for study and further preservation.
Rather interestingly, at least six sister fragments appear to be housed at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. Those fragments include the following:
Shikan Guketsu (Shikan bugyôden guketsu; Chinese, Zhiguan fuxing zhuan hongjue; 止觀輔行傳弘決), fascicle 5 - Circa 10th-11th Century
Fragment of the Lotus Sutra (Myôhô rengekyô; Sanskrit, Saddharmapundarika-sutra), fascicle 4, chapter 8: “Buddha Disciples”; copied for the protection of the Shingû Castle (present Wakayama prefecture) – Period of Manufacture Unknown
Fragment of the Flower Ornament Sutra (Daihôkô butsu kegonkyô; Sanskrit, Buddhâvataṃsaka-mahāvaipulya-sūtra), fascicle 4; so-called "Blood Sutra" - Nanbokuchô period (1336-1392) to Muromachi period (1336-1568)
Fragment of the Lotus Sutra (Myôhô rengekyô; Sanskrit, Saddharmapundarika-sutra), fascicle 3, chapter 6, "Bestowal of Prophecy" - Nanbokuchô period (1336-1392)
Fragment of the Great Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom (Dai hannya haramitta kyô; Sanskrit, Maha-prajna-paramita sutra), originally part of the "Tôdaiji Hachiman Sutra" - Circa 1228-1240
Fragment of the Great Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom (Dai hannya haramitta kyô; Sanskrit, Maha-prajna-paramita sutra), initially in the collection of Konda Hachiman Shrine, Osaka prefecture, Japan - Circa 12th Century
Each sutra fragment has been loosely mounted onto a modern cardboard sheet, with title slips and the extremely outdated price tag still on the cardboard.
Fifteen sutra fragments on paper, 18.3 x 8.3 cm smallest to 28 x 8.8 cm largest
These manuscripts are in very good shape, with minor worming to 12 of the leaves, and minor soiling to all of them.