Great Shomu: Section of the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish

8th century

Japanese, 701 - 756

This five-column fragment is part of a transcription of the Buddhist sutra The Wise and the Foolish. It was originally part of a 17-volume set of handscrolls, but the scrolls were dispersed and some were even cut into smaller sections and mounted as hanging scrolls. Since the 15th century, this scroll has been attributed to Emperor Shomu (r. 724–749), a devoted Buddhist. Its calligraphy style was novel in Japan at the time, and some scholars suspect the calligraphy was brushed by a Chinese scribe in Japan or the scroll was imported from China.

Ink on paper

image: 10 3/4 x 5 1/2 in. (27.3 x 14 cm)

overall: 51 x 16 3/4 in. (129.5 x 42.5 cm)

Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles

2020.23.1

Provenance: [Shibunkaku Gallery, Kyoto, Japan]; purchased from gallery by Cheney Cowles, Seattle, Washington, 2013; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2020

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view Dec. 10, 2021 - July 24, 2022].

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