Sutra Mounds: Stones with Sutra Text Buried in Prayer
-
Stones with Sutra Texts
Found at the Kenchōji Sutra Mound, Kanagawa, Muromachi period, 16th centuryJapanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Japanese Archaeology Gallery
March 11, 2025 (Tue) - September 7, 2025 (Sun)Sutra mounds were created from around the 9th century for the purpose of preserving and handing down Buddhist sutras. Sutras buried in the ground could take various forms, which included stones. Stones inscribed with sutra text are categorized into two types: stones with just one character from a sutra and those with multiple characters, namely a passage, taken from a sutra. The custom of burying stones with sutra text spread throughout Japan from the Muromachi (1392–1573) to the Edo (1603–1868) period.
| Designation | Name | Creation/ Excavation/ Provenance |
Period | Acquisition/ Ownership/ Accession Number |
CMT | ||
| Highlight | Stones with Sutra Texts | Found at the Kenchōji Sutra Mound, Kanagawa | Muromachi period, 16th century | B-2179 | |||
| Highlight | Stones with Sutra Texts | Found in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi | Muromachi period, 16th century | B-2097 |