Variant title: Mukujōkō daranikyō 無垢浄光陀羅尼經 [無垢浄光陀羅尼経]. Author/compiler: Unknown. Imprint: N.p., n.d. [printed by order of the Empress Shōtoku 稱德 in the years Tenpyō Hōji 8 天平宝字八年-Jingo Keiun 4 神護景雲四年, 764-70] (As recorded in Shoku Nihongi 續日本紀 and Tōdaiji yōroku 東大寺要錄). Description: 4 printed strips, mounted in pairs in 2 glass frames. Three of the strips contain the text of Jishin'in darani 自心印陀羅尼; the fourth contains Konpon darani 根本陀羅尼. Dimensions of the paper strips and of the printed area are as follows:. Jishin'in darani (1). Length of strip: 40.3 cm. Width of strip: 5.8 cm. Printed area: 32.4 x 4.8 cm. Jishin'in darani (2). Length of strip: 40.7 cm. Width of strip: 5.8 cm. Printed area: 32.8 x 4.8 cm. Jishin'in darani (3). Length of strip: 40.4 cm. Width of strip: 5.8 cm. Printed area: 32.4 x 4.8 cm. Konpon darani. Length of strip: 46.6 cm. Width of strip: 5.6 cm. Printed area: 41.9 x 4.7 cm. Edition: The earliest edition of these and all other texts printed in Japan. According to Japanese official records, one million copies of these dhāraṇī were printed, placed inside miniature wooden pagodas and distributed to ten major monasteries of western Japan, at the behest of Empress Shōtoku to appease the Buddhist priesthood. During the period of printing (764-70) a 'standard' edition and a variant edition were produced. Contents: Texts of four of the six dhāraṇī (Buddhist invocations) contained in the work Mukujōkō daranikyō 無垢浄光陀羅尼經. Although written in Chinese characters throughout, the texts consist almost entirely of sounds transcribed phonetically from the original Sanskrit.
[Hyakumantō darani] [百万塔陀羅尼]
This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections
- Reference
- GB 59 Or.60.d.1
- Dates of Creation
- 764-770
- Language of Material
- Japanese
- Physical Description
- 4 sheets Condition: Jishin'in darani (1) : complete and undamaged. Jishin'in darani (2) and (3) : both damaged, fairly severely, along upper edge, with consequent loss of some kanji; both re-backed by urauchi, with paper of later date. Konpon darani: damaged only along lower edge, affecting first 6 lines of text; also re-backed. All damage due to wear and tear or damp, not to worming. Impression: Variable from text to text. Smudged impression of many characters is more likely to be due to uneven inking, at this early stage in the technique of printing, than to worn blocks or plates. Seals of ownership: None. Manuscript notes: A 6-line shikigo at end of text of Jishin'in (2), otherwise none.
Scope and Content
Access Information
Not Public Record(s)
Unrestricted
Acquisition Information
Jishin'in (1) and (2) acquired from Satow, 22 Sept. 1884. Jishin'in (3) acquired by the British Museum from the Hon. Mrs. Walter Levy, 4 April 1930. Konpon darani acquired by the British Museum from Sir Percival David, 17 Feb. 1931.
Other Finding Aids
Kenneth Gardner, Descriptive Catalogue of Japanese books in the British Library printed before 1700 (London and Tenri, 1993). B. Buddhist works 仏書 9. Shingon sect 真言宗
Bibliography
Kokatsujiban no kenkyū 古活字版の研究, pp. 5-9, 674-5; Kyūkan eifu 旧刊影譜, no. 1, pl. 1-3; A note on the Hyakumantō Dhāraṇī, in Monumenta Nipponica, vol. 30, no. 1; Hyakumantō darani mojikō 百万塔陀羅尼文字考, in Tominaga sensei kakō kinen kohan shoshi ronsō 富永先生華甲記念古版書誌論叢, pp. 25-34.