This is one of the world’s oldest extant prints with a clearly specified date of production. It was produced at the order of Empress Shōtoku (稱德天皇, 718-770) as a prayer offering in the Nara period. These prints, detailing four mantras, consisting of the Dharani of the Fundamental (根本陀羅尼), the Dharani of the Final (相輪陀羅尼), the Dharani of Introspective Reflection (自心陀羅尼), and the Dharani of the Six Perfections (六度陀羅尼), were derived from the tenets of the Dharani Sutra of Immaculate and Pure Light (無垢淨光陀羅尼經), a scripture that wishes for longevity and wards off disasters. These four dharanis were said to have been printed, placed in a million small pagodas respectively, and enshrined in ten national Buddhist temples including Horyuji Temple (法隆寺). Only the one in Horyuji Temple, however, remains extant today. Our library houses three dharanis among the aforementioned four, with the exception of the Dharani of the Six Perfections, and a small pagoda. The three-storied stone pagoda was built out of a potter’s wheel, made from Japanese cypress as the main body of the stupa, and nine circular wheels, made from laurel and cherry tree. The surface of the pagoda is said to have been covered with white clay originally. Theories vary as to whether the scriptures were made using copperplate print or woodblock print, which has yet to be ascertained.(en)
