Contemplation of the Samantabhadra Sutra (Remaining Path /

Kanfugen-kyo on a Fan: A Painted Heian-Period Sutra Leaf in Osaka

Hidden among the treasures of Osaka’s Fujita Museum is a single, fragile sheet of paper that survived the long centuries of Japanese history. Cut into the shape of a folding fan, painted with delicate colors, and inscribed with sacred Buddhist scripture in fine ink, this work is officially registered as the “Colored-Picture Decorated Paper, Ink-Written Kanfugen-kyo (Fragment / Fan-Shaped Sutra),” a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. It is a precious surviving leaf of the renowned Senmen Hokekyo Sasshi—the “Fan-Shaped Lotus Sutra Booklet”—a luxurious work of devotion produced in twelfth-century Japan. Even as a single fragment, it offers visitors an intimate glimpse into the elegant Buddhist faith and refined artistic culture of the late Heian aristocracy.

What This Cultural Property Is

The work is one of the dispersed leaves from the original Fan-Shaped Lotus Sutra Booklet, a collection of decorated sutras (shoshokukyo) treasured at Shitennoji Temple in Osaka since the late Heian period. The complete set originally consisted of ten volumes: the eight scrolls of the Lotus Sutra plus its two companion scriptures, the Muryogi-kyo (introductory sutra) and the Kanfugen-kyo (concluding sutra). This particular leaf belongs to the Kanfugen-kyo portion—the “Sutra on the Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue,” which serves as the closing scripture of the Lotus Sutra cycle.

The leaf was made by cutting paper into the shape of a Heian-period folding fan, applying mica wash and scattered fragments of gold and silver leaf to the surface, then painting a refined picture in yamato-e style. Over the painting, the sutra text was carefully written in radiating columns of ink, sometimes traced over the colored areas in gold to keep the characters legible. The resulting object is at once a Buddhist scripture, a painting, and a work of craft.

Why It Was Designated an Important Cultural Property

Although now only a single leaf, this fragment carries the same artistic and historical value as the rest of the larger set, several volumes of which are designated as National Treasures. Its designation as an Important Cultural Property reflects several layers of significance.

Highlights and Points of Interest

Visitors who have the rare chance to see this work in person will notice several features that reward close attention.

Visiting and Surrounding Attractions

The fragment is held by the Fujita Museum in central Osaka. Because of its fragility, the leaf is not on permanent display—it is shown only on rare occasions, often as part of special exhibitions of the museum’s Heian-period collection. Even when this specific work is not on view, however, the museum and its surroundings make for a rewarding day of cultural exploration.