Two scrolls from a sutra that once filled eight
What survives of the manuscript known today as the Chikubushima Sutra is a single handscroll at the Tokyo National Museum and one folded section on Lake Biwa. They are all that remains of a copy of the Lotus Sutra that was originally written out across eight scrolls. The Tokyo piece preserves the chapter called the Hōben-bon, or "Expedient Means," the second chapter of the sutra and the one in which the Buddha begins to reveal that every being can ultimately reach enlightenment.
The scroll takes its popular name from where it was kept for centuries: Chikubushima, the small wooded island that rises from the northern waters of Lake Biwa, and its temple Hōgon-ji. The full set has long since been scattered. Only the opening "Preface" chapter (Jo-hon), held by Hōgon-ji and now on deposit at the Nara National Museum, and this "Expedient Means" chapter remain. Both were once part of the first scroll.
This is a shōshokukyō, a decorated sutra. Rather than plain copying, the maker treated the paper itself as a field for ornament. Birds, butterflies, flowering plants, and the auspicious cloud shapes called reishi-un were drawn freely across the sheets in gold and silver pigment, gold lines were ruled to guide the columns, and the sutra text was then brushed in black ink over this quiet undergrowth of metal.
Why it is a National Treasure
The scroll was designated a National Treasure on March 20, 1954. In Japan's system, "National Treasure" is the highest rank within the broader category of Important Cultural Property, reserved for works of exceptional value. What earns the Chikubushima Sutra that standing is partly its age and partly its place in the story of how Japanese sutras came to be decorated.
Lavishly ornamented sutras are usually associated with the very end of the Heian period, the most famous being the Heike Nōkyō dedicated to Itsukushima Shrine in 1167. The Chikubushima Sutra is older and far more restrained. Its calligraphy shows the assured, balanced wayō hand of the mature Heian style, which places the writing in the eleventh century, while the bold gold-and-silver underdrawing belongs to an earlier decorative tradition than the dense, jewel-like sutras of the late twelfth century. Scholars read it as an early high point of the form rather than its climax.
A note added much later sits at the end of the scroll. Shōkadō Shōjō (1584–1639), one of the three celebrated calligraphers of the Kan'ei era, examined the scroll and recorded his opinion that the text had been brushed by the Heian courtier Minamoto no Toshifusa (1035–1121). There is no firm proof for the attribution, and it is best read as the judgment of a connoisseur rather than documented fact.
What to look for
Seen in person, the decoration is gentler than photographs suggest. The motifs are large and spaced with air around them, closer to the design of a poetry album than to a crowded picture. Look for the way the gold ruled lines hold the columns of text steady while the painted birds and grasses drift behind them.
One detail rewards a second glance. The silver passages have oxidized over the centuries and now read as dull grey or black. When the scroll was new, those areas glinted as brightly as the gold, and the paper would have shimmered in lamplight. Reading the blackened silver back into silver is part of seeing the object as its makers intended.
Because it is a work on paper, the scroll is light-sensitive and is shown only for limited periods rather than kept permanently on view. Anyone hoping to see it should check the Tokyo National Museum's exhibition calendar before visiting, since the galleries of calligraphy and classics rotate their displays.
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Q&A
- Why is it called the Chikubushima Sutra?
- Because it was preserved for centuries at Hōgon-ji on Chikubushima, the island in Lake Biwa. The name records its history rather than where it was made.
- Where is the rest of the sutra now?
- Only one other section survives, the "Preface" chapter owned by Hōgon-ji and currently deposited at the Nara National Museum. The remaining scrolls of the original eight are lost.
- How is it different from later decorated sutras?
- It is earlier and simpler. The gold-and-silver drawings are broad and uncrowded, unlike the dense ornament of late-Heian works such as the Heike Nōkyō. It marks an early stage of the decorated-sutra tradition.
- Was the calligraphy really written by Minamoto no Toshifusa?
- That attribution comes from a note by the connoisseur Shōkadō Shōjō, added in the seventeenth century. It is not confirmed, so the calligrapher is best described as unknown.
- Can I see it on display at any time?
- No. As a fragile work on paper it appears only during limited exhibition periods. Check the Tokyo National Museum's schedule before planning a visit.
Basic Information
| Name | Hokke-kyō Hōben-bon (Chikubushima Sutra) |
|---|---|
| Location | Tokyo National Museum, 13-9 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo |
| Designation | National Treasure (Calligraphy and Classics) |
| Date of designation | March 20, 1954 |
| Quantity | One scroll |
| Period | Heian period, 11th century |
| Owner | National Institutes for Cultural Heritage |
| Public access | Shown during limited exhibition periods; confirm the museum's display schedule |
References
- e-Museum (National Institutes for Cultural Heritage): Lotus Sutra, Hōben-bon (Chikubushima Sutra)
- https://emuseum.nich.go.jp/detail?langId=ja&content_base_id=100163&content_part_id=0&content_pict_id=0
- Cultural Heritage Online (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/507004
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/201/706
Last verified: 2026.06.22