Diamond Sutra Postscript

JAPAN; Edo period

A devout Buddhist, Konoe Iehiro produced a vast collection of sutra transcriptions, which he scripted as part of his daily practice, in addition to occasions such as the anniversaries of his parents’ deaths and as general offerings to temples. This particular piece is a postscript to one of his surviving Diamond Sutra transcriptions and constitutes a prayer expressing the merits of transcribing the sutra, which is said to aid all sentient beings in their attainment of happiness, as well as their aspiring rebirth into the Pure Land.
The exquisite and meticulously formed regular script characters of this calligraphy show that Konoe’s style was firmly rooted in the regular script style of the Tang dynasty (618–907). Slightly prostrated character formations enhance the methodical spacing and add to the sparse and clear composition of the overall piece.
Koneo Iehiro was a high-ranking court official, calligrapher, and painter of the mid-Edo period (1615–1868). After renouncing, he adopted Shinkaku as his Dharma name and was also known as Yorakuin, in addition to a multitude of other pseudonyms.