Overview

This edition of the "Darani" (Dharani) and "Fugen Bosatsu Kanhotsu" (Encouragement of the Bodhisattva Universally Worthy) chapters from the Lotus Sutra (J., Hokekyô) was written in the cursive kana script of the phonetic Japanese alphabet, combined with Chinese characters. This was done so that women could read the scripture, based on the principle that women were capable of attaining enlightenment (J., nyonin jôbutsu). The phonetic readings of the Chinese characters were written in katakana script as reading aids beside the Chinese characters. This copy was thought to have been made during the Muromachi period (1392-1572).

In general, the chapters of a sutra are copied without any space between them. The space of one line before the chapter titles in this copy indicates that it was originally part of a so-called ippon gyô ("single-chapter sutra"), a single sutra copied with each chapter in a separate volume, and later compiled into a single scroll.