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 part of an inset painting on the obverse, and multiple dedications to Amida Buddha (‘Namu Amida Butsu’, the Nembutsu) in stele on the reverse.