Lotus Sutra - Chapter on Skillful Means

JAPAN; Heian period

Comprised of 11 sheets of paper, this piece of calligraphy was listed as a National Treasure in 1952. According to the postscript, the scroll was written by Minamoto Toshifusa. However, the sutra illustrations and decorations suggest that the work was produced before Minamoto’s time, therefore it is thought to be an 11th century work. At present, only the “Introductory Chapter” and the “Chapter on Skillful Means” remain. This particular sutra chapter describes what the Buddha taught after being urged thrice by Sariputra to teach him the highest and most profound Dharma. In response, the Buddha employed examples of various expedient means, karma stories, and parables to enlighten sentient beings.
The characters are long in shape, which is a tendency likely influenced by writings in earlier clerical script. The occasional implicit link echos succeeding strokes between characters. Regular script is employed in general, and this work is thought to have been modeled after the style of Tang dynasty (618–907) calligrapher Chu Suiliang. Many areas were in fact executed with a strong similarity to characters used in Chu’s work, Preface to Sagely Teachings at Dayan Pagoda. The use of clerical strokes is integral to Chu’s calligraphy, which perhaps gives reason for the use of square and gridded characters in this sutra manuscript.