Folios from a death register (kakocho)

Unknown

Folios from a death register (kakocho), written in gold on blue-dyed paper with inset paintings on silk, created in Japan in the 17th or 18th century. These concertina folios are part of a death register or kakocho (CBL J 1049.1-49) of the Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist tradition. The register is divided into thirty days, each presided over by a Buddha or bodhisattva (awakened being). The names of the dead were recorded by date so prayers could be offered on their anniversary. An attached note suggests an association to a daughter of Iwakura Dainagon. Dainagon is a court title, and may in this case refer to Iwakura Tomomi (1825-1883). The majority of the names written into the manuscript have since been erased, leaving only traces of gold. These folios include a depiction of the bodhisattva of day 22, Senmui Bosatsu, and an inset painting of Prince Shōtoku.