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Book/Printed Material Bimosu jing 鞸摩粛経

About this Item

Title

  • Bimosu jing

Other Title

  • 鞸摩粛経

Translated Title

  • Buddhist Sutra "Bimashōkyō"

Summary

  • The hand copying of Buddhist sutras was believed to confer great merit and spiritual benefit, so that from the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the sixth century numerous manuscripts were reproduced throughout the country. In the late Heian period, there arose the Mappō (age of Dharma decline) doctrine, which held that Buddhist teaching, and consequently the protection of Buddha, would decline. At a time of religious pessimism coupled with the very real decline of the aristocracy, many court nobles sought to attain the after-death passage to the Pure Land of Buddha (i.e., Heaven) by commissioning elaborately decorated scrolls. Presented here is a volume from the Issaikyō (a Buddhist corpus), commonly known as Jingo-ji kyō, so named because it was handed down in the Jingo-ji Temple in Takao, Kyoto. A premier hand-copy of the late Heian period, it was reportedly donated to the Jingo-ji Temple by the retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127-92) at the request of the retired Emperor Toba (1103-56). The corpus originally consisted of more than 5,400 volumes in total, but only 2,317 still remain as the rest were scattered outside the temple. The scroll is made of dark-blue paper ruled with silver lines. Texts are copied in gold, the cover is designed with a Hōsōge-style arabesque drawn with gold and silver pigments, and the frontispiece is decorated with a picture of the preaching Buddha in the background drawn in gold and silver.

Names

  • Guṇabhadra, 394-468 Translator

Created / Published

  • [Place of publication not identified] : [Publisher not identified], [1100 to 1199]

Headings

  • -  China
  • -  Japan
  • -  1100 to 1199
  • -  Buddhism
  • -  Mahāyāna Sūtras

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 scroll ; 25.7 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: National Diet Library.
  • -  Content in Chinese.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.
  • -  Title revised per Asian Division.--cc28 2023-01-06

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Chinese Books, Manuscripts, Maps, and Prints

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021667443

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Guṇabhadra, 394-468 Translator. Bimosu Jing. [Place of publication not identified: Publisher not identified, to 1199, 1100] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667443/.

APA citation style:

Guṇabhadra, 3. T. (1100) Bimosu Jing. [Place of publication not identified: Publisher not identified, to 1199] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667443/.

MLA citation style:

Guṇabhadra, 394-468 Translator. Bimosu Jing. [Place of publication not identified: Publisher not identified, to 1199, 1100] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021667443/>.