# Jingo-ji Tripiṭaka

The Jingo-ji Tripiṭaka is a Japanese collection of the Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon) composed of over 5400 scrolls made of Indigo dyed paper, and written in golden ink. Created in the twilight of the Heian period, throughout the Genpei War, the compilation of the canon was commissioned by Emperor Toba and Emperor Go-Shirakawa from 1150-1185. The scrolls were then deposited in Jingo-ji, Ukyō-ku, Kyoto. In the years since, 2317 scrolls remained with the temple while many others have been scattered into private collections and museums around the world.

## History

Since the introduction of Buddhism in Japan, handwritten sutra copying was deemed a sacred act of worthy merit. Copying the issaikyo, the Tripitaka, in particular is known to be an ambitious act, which requires the standard handwriting of 5400 scrolls to complete the canon.
During the late Heian period, the speculation of Mappo, the decline of the Dharma and thus Buddhist teaching, circulated widely in the Imperial Court. As such, copies of the issaikyo were commissioned by the royalty and the nobility to improve the chances of entering the Pure Land. From 1149-1185, Emperor Toba initiated the Jingo-ji copies until his death in 1156, thereupon Go-Shirakawa commissioned the rest of the Canon over the ensuing decades, completing the transcription in 1185, according to the Jingo-ji Ryakki (Records of Jingo-ji) during the Nanboku-chō period.
The standard format of the Jingo-ji canon is recognized by the indigo paper with silver lines, the dye symbolizing the lapis lazuli of the spiritual realm. The sutra text written in gold, which was defined as the radiant light of the Buddha. The front piece features a gold and silver painting of The Buddha teaching the Dharma at Vulture Peak. A red rectangular stamp on each scroll designates the original ownership at Jingo-ji.
Of the 5400 scrolls copied, by the 18th century, 4722 were inventoried at the temple. In the 19th century, hundreds of scrolls were sold by the temple to finance repairs to the building, some others were stolen. 2317 scrolls remain at Jingo-ji, and on 30 May 1949, they were deemed an Important Cultural Property of Japan under designated serial number 01056.

## Extant Scrolls in Outside Collections

Due to the dispersion of the scrolls during the 19th century, specimens do pop up in the art market and over the course of past century, different portions of the canon are now owned by museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, British Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and various private collections.
| Name/Sutra Text | Format | Present Location | Credit Line & Accession Number |
| Jingoji Sutra and Wrapper | 25.8 cm (28.9 cm with knobs) × 1,289 cm | Art Institute of Chicago | Purchased with Funds Provided by the Weston Foundation (2008.157) |
| Hachi dai-bosatsu mandara kyo (八大菩薩曼荼羅経) - Sutra of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas Mandala | 25.7 cm x 145.80 cm | British Museum | ex. Sorimachi Shigeo 反町茂雄 Charles E Tuttle & Co (1958,0510,0.3) |
| Illustrated Sutra (Jingoji) | 10 x 164 1/4in (25.5 x 417.2cm) | Bonhams | Fine Japanese and Korean Art, 15 September 2015; sold for 13750 USD |
| Bussetsu daiai dohatsu deionkyo (佛説大愛道般泥洹経) | 10 1/8 x 150 7/8in (25.7 x 383.4cm) 11 1/2in (29.2cm) height with rollers | Bonhams | Fine Japanese and Korean Art, 15 March 2017; sold for 17500 USD |
| Avaivartikacakra Sutra | 10 1/8 x 468 in. (25.6 x 1188 cm.) | Christie's | Japanese and Korean Art Auction; 18 April 2018 |
| Sutra with Frontispiece Depicting the Preaching Buddha | 10 1/8 x 134 1/2 in. (25.7 x 341.6 cm) | Cincinnati Art Museum | John J. Emery Fund (1985.12) |
| Sutra Scroll from Jingo-ji Temple: The Buddha's Teaching at Anupiya | 10 in × 123 inches (25.4 cm × 312.4 cm) | Detroit Institute of Arts | Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, L. A. Young Fund, (61.5) |
| Jingo-ji Temple Sutra | | Grolier Club | Collection of Alan Feinstein |
| Illustrated "Vajra-Sckhara-yoga-homa-kolpa" (J: Kongōchō-yuga-goma) | 10 3/16 x 167 in (25.8 x 424.2 cm) | Harvard Art Museums | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Crawford (1961.142) |
| Jingo-ji Sutra (Jingoji-kyō) | 10 1/8 x 45 7/8 in (25.7 x 116.5 cm) | Harvard Art Museums | Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of the Hofer Collection of the Arts of Asia (1985.368) |
| Makasōgiritsu kandaisan mikaeshi-e (摩訶僧祇律巻第三見返絵) Illustrated Frontispiece to the Mahâsângha Vinaya (Great Canon of Monastic Rules), chapter 3 | 10 1/4 x 610 1/4 in. (26 x 1550 cm) | Honolulu Museum of Art | Gift of Robert Allerton, 1952 (1673.1a) |
| Bussetsu Daianhanshuikyo | 25.8 cm x 1493 cm | Kyoto National Museum | ex. Moriya Yoshitaka (BK100) |
| Daichidoron (Commentary on the Great Wisdom Sutra) | | Kyoto National Museum | ex. Moriya Yoshitaka (BK101) |
| 紺紙金字大方等頂王 | 25.8 x 914.1 cm | Kyushu National Museum | |
| Illustrated Frontispiece to the Sutra of Enlightenment through the Accumulation of Merit and Virtue, the So-called Jingoji Sutra | 10 3/16 in. x 27 ft. 6 9/16 in. (25.8 x 839.7 cm) | Metropolitan Museum of Art | The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975 (1975.268.17) |
| "Scroll 13" | 25.8 cm x 610.3 cm | Miho Museum | |
| Chapter from the Expanded Flower Garland Sutra | 10 1/8 × 148 11/16 in. (25.72 × 377.67 cm) | Minneapolis Institute of Art | Dawson's Book Shop until 1964; Mary Griggs Burke and Jackson Burke Foundation (2015.79.21) |
| Makasōgi-ritsu (Mahāsaṅghika-vinaya), Vol.19 | 26 cm x 1386 cm | Nara National Museum | 811-1 |
| Kimonmokuren-gyō (Kimonmokuren-gyō-sūtra) | 25.7 cm x 187.8 cm | Nara National Museum | 811-2 |
| Kongōzanmai-kyō (Vajra-samādhi-sūtra), Vol.2 | 25.8 cm x 688.7 cm | Nara National Museum | 811-3 |
| Dōjinsokumugokuhenge-kyō (Dōjinsokumugokuhenge-kyō-sūtra), Vol.2 | 25.9 cm x 1272.5 cm | Nara National Museum | 811-4 |
| Heart Sutra, Hannyashin-gyō (Prajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya-sūtra) | 25.7 cm x 74.1 cm | Nara National Museum | 928-0 |
| Bimosu Jing (鞸摩粛経) | | National Diet Library | Hosted via the World Digital Library by the Library of Congress (2021667443) |
| Sutra of Incantations for Sustaining the Thunderbolt Life (Kongojumyodarani-kyo) | 9 1/2 x 47 1/2 in (24.1 x 120.6 cm) | National Museum of Asian Art - Smithsonian Institution | Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment (F1985.36a-f) |
| Divisions of Vowed Morality Sutra (J: Konponsetsu issai ubu binya; Skt: Mūlasarvāstivada nikaya vinaya sūtra), Volume 7, Book 3, Chapter 2 | 10 3/16 x 348 7/16 in.(25.9 x 885.0 cm.) | Princeton University Art Museum | Museum purchase, Caroline G. Mather Fund (y1959-121) |
| The "Sutra of the Sages with the Five Blessings | | Tokyo National Museum | Gift of Mr. Matsunaga Yasuzaemon (B-2437) |