Pagoda Mandala of the Golden Light Sutra in Gold Characters, Color on Indigo Paper

Sutra Text Written in the Shape of Pagodas

The Pagoda Mandala of the Golden Light Sutra in Gold Characters, Color on Indigo Paper (紺紙著色金光明最勝王経金字宝塔曼荼羅図) is ten Heian-period Buddhist paintings owned by Daichojuin of Chusonji in Hiraizumi Town, Nishiiwai District, Iwate Prefecture, which in 2001 were designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records ten hanging scrolls owned by Daichojuin.

According to the Agency, each has the text of the Golden Light Sutra written in gold on indigo paper in the shape of a pagoda, surrounded by scenes illustrating the sutra, and all ten survive.

Composition

According to the Agency, each scroll has the text written in gold as a pagoda on two joined sheets of indigo paper, with further indigo sheets added at the sides and bottom for scenes in gold, silver and colour, and bands of floral pattern above and below. The pagodas have nine storeys, and the text begins at the top of the finial.

On the first storey of each pagoda sits Shaka preaching, while below and around, figures in Tang dress, princes, nobles and attendants, worship against landscapes. The pagodas are identical in size and shape, suggesting a template, and each scroll contains one of the sutra's ten volumes.

What to Look For

The Agency explains that the Golden Light Sutra is a leading text for protecting the state, promising that the Four Heavenly Kings and Benzaiten will guard any land whose ruler spreads it. The repeated images of these guardians and goddesses of fortune suggest that the Oshu Fujiwara commissioned it for the peace of their domain, possibly a woman of the family. It is thought to predate the mid-twelfth century.

The Agency calls it the representative example of the pagoda mandala, unique in combining gold and silver with colour, and of very high value for Heian Buddhist and Yamato-e painting, with narrative scenes such as the prince feeding the tigress, many female figures and lyrical landscapes.

Visiting the Pagoda Mandala of the Golden Light Sutra in Gold Characters, Color on Indigo Paper

The scrolls are owned by Daichojuin of Chusonji and are not always on display; check Chusonji's announcements.