National Treasure Hall
Nihon Ryoiki Manuscript
National Treasure
This is a manuscript copy, dated to 904, of the Nihon Ryoiki, which has been translated as Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition. It is an example of setsuwa, a genre of folktale, myth or legend that can be religious or secular. Written by the monk Kyokai sometime between 787 and 824, the Nihon Ryoiki is a collection of 116 Buddhist tales and is Japan’s oldest setsuwa anthology. Five fragmentary manuscript copies of the Nihon Ryoiki exist today; two of them—including this one—are listed as National Treasures.