Variant title: Ninnō hannya-kyō 仁王般若經 [仁王般若経]. Variant title: Ninnō-gyō 仁王經 [仁王経]. Author/compiler:. Translator: Kumārajīva, 4th-5th century. Imprint: N.p., n.d. [Kan'ei period, c. 1624-30] . The blockprinted kanki at end of maki 下, reading Tenshō 18 (1590) 天正十八年三月重梓, is a spurious later addition. For Kan'ei date, see under manuscript notes below. Description: 2 kan, 2 rolls (巻子本), in a box. Roll 1 (maki 上), 900 x 27.4 cm; roll 2 (maki 下), 845 × 27.3 cm. Blockprint. Printing frame (height) 20.7-21 cm. No borders. No vertical rules between columns. Kanbun text, with reading marks (shōten 声点) and some kunten added in red ink, probably in late-Edo period. 17 characters to line. Original pale fawn end covers, decorated on outer surface with floral and cloud design in gold paint (rubbed away in part) and on inner surface sprinkled with kirihaku. Gedai in siddham characters on both rolls, with small red title slips pasted over the latter at lower left. These bear the following gedai in an early-Edo hand: Ninnō-gyō maki jō (ge) 仁王經巻上 (下), with the spurious Tenshō date (天正十八年) added later. Title from naidai. Text printed on maniai 間似合紙 ganpi paper. Dark hinoki wood rollers. Edition: Undated early-Edo reprint of the edition printed at the Tōji monastery (Tōji-ban 東寺版) in Bun'an 1 文安元年, 1444. Either printed from re-cut blocks or (more probably) from the original blocks, omitting the kanki dated Bun'an 1. For a transcription of this kanki, see Kōya-ban no kenkyū 高野板之研究, p. 239. This edition appears to have been published in orihon as well as roll form. An earlier edition was printed at Kōyasan in Shōō 6 正応六年, 1293, with the object of warding off the Mongol invasion. For the long kango of this 1293 edition, see Kōya-ban no kenkyū, pp. 9, 63 and 658. Contents: Sutra from Prajñāpāramitā literature concerning a benevolent king who protects his country from danger.
Ninnō gokoku hannya haramittakyō 仁王護國般若波羅蜜多經 [仁王護国般若波羅蜜多経]
This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections
- Reference
- GB 59 Or.70.bbb.4
- Dates of Creation
- [1624-1630]
- Language of Material
- Japanese
- Physical Description
- 2 scrolls Condition: Excellent. No trace of worm damage or stains. Impression: Shozuri, sharp and clear. Seals of ownership: Oblong red seal at beginning and end of each roll: Hōbenchiin 方便智院. This seal is not genuine. Manuscript notes: A note dated Kan'ei 18 (1641) in red ink recording collation of text with another copy appears at end of each roll. Note reads: 寛永十八年十二月六日 (maki 上); 極月八日 (maki 下). Kawase casts some doubt on the authenticity of this note and is inclined to date all inscriptions in red to late-Edo or early-Meiji period.
Scope and Content
Access Information
Not Public Record(s)
Unrestricted
Acquisition Information
Acquired from Ernest M. Satow, 22 Sept. 1884.
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 12. Miscellaneous scriptures 雑経
Bibliography
Bussho kaisetsu daijiten 仏書解説大辞典, vol. 8, pp. 391, 397; Kokatsujiban no kenkyū 古活字版の研究, pp. 37, 104; Kōya-ban no kenkyū 高野板之研究, pp. 9, 30, 63, 107, 239, 658 and passim; Ryūmon bunko zenpon shomoku 竜門文庫善本書目, p. 123 (Bun'an 1 edition in roll form); Daitōkyū kinen bunko kichōsho kaidai 大東急記念文庫貴重書解題, vol. 2, p. 132 (same edition in orihon form).