Part of the "Sutra on the Wise and Foolish" (Called "Ōjōmu") 賢愚経残巻（大聖武）けんぐきょうざんかん　おおじょうむ

Description

Kengu kyo sutra, which is also called the Sutra of the Wise and Foolish, or the Damamuka-nidsna-sutra in Sanskrit, is a sutra that recounts 69 metaphorical stories about wise and foolish people. This handscroll consists of Chapter 8's 'Vajra, the Daughter of King Pasenadi', Chapter 9's 'Golden Wealth', Chapter 10's 'Heavenly Flowers', Chapter 11's 'Heavenly Treasures,' and the final lines of Chapter 48's 'Upagupta.' It is known as the 'Yamato-gire', or the 'Yamato Edition', because it was kept at Todai-ji, a temple located in the Yamato region, which lies in present-day Nara prefecture. The calligraphy has been attributed to Emperor Shomu, so it is also called the 'Ojomu,' or the 'Great Shomu.'
　The paper seems speckled with tiny, grain-like particles. This type of paper is called 'dabishi', or 'cremation paper.' It is said to be made from the cremated ashes of the historical Buddha Sakyamuni. It is actually a thick, high-grade paper containing powder made from fragrant wood. The whiteness is accentuated by a whitewash coat made from ground, roasted seashells.
　Sutras from the Nara period usually feature 17 characters per line, but this transcription uses 11 to 14 characters per line. This work is also characterized by the exceptional size of the characters. The voluminous, powerful brush strokes imbue the writing with a sense of constrained vigor. This style is reminiscent of the High Tang calligraphy of 8th century China, as epitomized by the famed calligrapher Yan Zhenqing.
　Surprisingly, the different shades of black ink reveal that a number of sections have been written over. The vigor of the brushstrokes is an important aspect of calligraphy, so the writing is usually done in one go, with no rewriting or touching up afterwards. With this work, though, we can tell the calligrapher has focused more on the form of the Chinese characters. Perhaps he wanted to create a work of calligraphy to be appreciated in its own right, rather than only as a transcription.
　In Japan, tekagami are albums featuring excerpts of exemplary ancient calligraphy. Torn-out sections of the Kengu kyo sutra were often placed at the front of these albums and admired for their authority. This reveals the esteem to which this superlative work was held as a representative example of ancient Japanese writing. It typifies the fragrant dynamism of calligraphy from the Nara period.

[Sutra on the Wise and Foolish] is a collection of Buddhist stories about wise and foolish people. The scroll on display here is a partial copy of the sutra dating to the 8th century.
For centuries, people believed this copy had been written by Emperor Shōmu (701–756), a devout supporter of Buddhism. The copy was named Ōjōmu (Great Shōmu) in honor of the emperor and came to be regarded as an exceptional work of calligraphy. Originally consisting of sixteen or seventeen scrolls, it was stored at Tōdaiji, a historic Buddhist temple in Nara.

This scroll contains a Buddhist sutra of allegories about wise and foolish people. The dignified calligraphy is attributed to Emperor Shōmu (701–756), a great patron of Buddhism. Originally, this scroll was purportedly part of a set of 16 or 17 scrolls that were stored in Kaidan'in Hall of Tōdaiji Temple in Nara.