Variant title: Kongōchōkyō 金剛頂經 [金剛頂経]. Variant title: Kongōchō daikyōōgyō 金剛頂大教王經 [金剛頂大教王経]. Variant title: Kongōchō yugakyō 金剛頂瑜伽經 [ 金剛頂瑜伽経]. Translator: Bukong 不空, also known as Amoghavajra, 6th master in the lineage of esoteric Buddhism in China, 705-74. Imprint: [Kōyasan] , Kongōbuji 金剛峰寺, Kōan 2, 1279. Copyist: Nōkai 能海. Ganshu: Adachi Yasumori 安達泰盛. Kango / ganmon on last fold (recto and verso) of maki 3 reads: 弘安二年己卯七月十七日於金剛峯寺書訖 ／ 權少僧都能海 ／ 爲續三寶慧命於三會之出世 ／ 廣施一善利益於一切之衆生 ／ 是則守大師之遺誡偸令遂 ／ 小臣之心願謹以開印板矣 ／ 弘安二年己卯十二月日 ／ 從五位上行秋田城介藤原朝臣泰盛. Description: 3 kan, 3 jō 帖 in a modern wooden box. (jō 1) 261 / 2 folds; (jō 2) 23 folds + bidai; (jō 3) 25 folds. 26 x 15.6 cm. Originally an orihon, now bound in senpūyō style with cloth reinforcement along spine. Blockprint. Printing frame 22 x 15.2 cm. (average). No borders or vertical rules. Kanbun text, with handwritten okurigana in black. 8 lines to each half-fold, 17 characters to line. Renewed dark blue covers without title slips. Gedai handwritten in gold paint on left: Kongōchō daikyōōgyō maki dai 1 (2, 3) 金剛頂大教王經巻第一 (二, 三). Title from naidai at head of each maki. Bidai: 金剛頂瑜伽經. Printed on greyish paper. Edition: This edition of Kōan 2 弘安二年 (1279) is the earliest traceable in reference works. It is a fine example of an early Kōya-ban. As stated in the ganmon quoted above, this edition was sponsored at the expense of Adachi Yasumori 安達泰盛 (1231-85), who is known to have commissioned the printing of at least six other Shingon works at Kōyasan between Kenji 3 (1277) and Kōan 3 (1280). Contents: Text of the Vajraśekhara-sūtra, commonly known as the Kongōchōkyō 金剛頂經 in Japan, translated from the Sanskrit in 753 by the Indo-Chinese monk Bukong. This work, one of the three major scriptures of Shingon Buddhism, sets forth the teaching that the universe is a manifestation of Vairocana Buddha, whose image is reflected in the heart of every living being.
Kongōchō issai nyorai shinjitsu shōdaijō genshō daikyōōgyō 金剛頂一切如來眞實攝大乘現證大教王經 [金剛頂一切如来真実摂大乗現証大教王経]
This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections
- Reference
- GB 59 Or.81.c.10
- Dates of Creation
- 1279
- Language of Material
- Japanese
- Physical Description
- 3 volumes Condition: Very good. Aclean copy, with only minimal worm damage in a few places. Impression: A good, early impression from little-worn blocks. Seals of ownership: None. Manuscript notes: Besides the okurigana noted above, there are interlinear textual notes in maki 1, and kutōten and some shōten throughout the work, all written in red ink.
Scope and Content
Access Information
Not Public Record(s)
Unrestricted
Acquisition Information
Acquired from Kōbunsō, 6 Dec. 1979.
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, p. 36; Bussho kaisetsu daijiten 仏書解説大辞典, vol. 3, pp. 476, 485; Butten kaidai daijiten 仏典解題事典, p. 102; Kōya-ban no kenkyū 高野板之研究, p. 653 and passim; TT, vol. 18, no. 865.