This is a chapter from the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, a foundational scripture of Mahayana Buddhism. The text is woodblock printed, framed throughout by silver ruling lines, and enclosed in lavishly decorated covers. Added hand inscriptions indicate that it formed part of a commissioned set made for Daijōji Temple in present-day Hyōgo Prefecture (also known as “Ōkyo-dera”, later renowned for fusuma paintings by Maruyama Ōkyo.) Although Daijōji once held a complete set of the sutra, more than a hundred volumes are still preserved there, while others are now dispersed among public collections.
The frontispiece is the earliest known printed illustration in Japan. At its center sits Sakyamuni Buddha, flanked by two attendant bodhisattvas. Surrounding them are the Sixteen Protective Deities, guardians of the sutra and its reciters, together with Kudokuten (Srimahadevi) and Basusen (Vasu). Xuanzang, the Tang-dynasty monk who traveled to India and translated the sutra into Chinese, is depicted standing to the right of a bodhisattva and carrying scrolls of scripture on his back. Opposite him is Jinja Daishō, the General of the Deep Sands, shown with skulls around his neck and traditionally believed to have protected Xuanzang during his journey through the desert.
