3) Sutras--religious texts--are traditionally written in a Classical Chinese (or kanbun). They could be read aloud in something resembling Chinese, or "translated" into a special style of Japanese. The Detroit Institute of Arts owns a twelfth-century sutra from Japan! Please click on the Anoku Sutra to look at this breathtaking example. We also have sutras (and a sutra container) in our museum, too. When you look at these texts, think about the material again. The way text and image are arranged. If you had to supply two adjectives to describe these sutras, what would they be? Why?
Japanese Sutra Fragment, Calligraphy in Block Script gold and silver ink on indigo-dyed paper 12 5/16 in. x 6 1/8 in. ( 31.2 cm x 15.5 cm ) Gift of Ellen and Richard Laing
Japanese Sutra Scroll Container with Cover stoneware with gray (?) glaze 11 1/4 in. x 5 3/4 in. x 5 3/4 in. ( 28.58 cm x 14.61 cm x 14.61 cm ) Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund