“The Golden Sutra” Opens October 24 at Onojo City Museum; 33 National Treasure Bronze-Plate Sutras Shown Together

The fiscal 2026 autumn special exhibition “The Golden Sutra: The National Treasure Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates and Sutra Containers from the Sacred Mt. Shioji” will be held at Onojo City Museum (Onojo Kokoro no Furusato-kan) in Onojo, Fukuoka Prefecture, from Saturday, October 24 to Sunday, December 13, 2026. Centered on the National Treasure “Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates,” dedicated at the Fugen Cave on Mt. Kubote, which straddles Buzen City and Chikujo Town in Fukuoka Prefecture, it introduces the sutra mound culture of the Heian period. According to the organizer’s announcement, all 33 National Treasure bronze sutra plates are displayed together. General admission is 300 yen.

Why now? “The Golden Sutra” and the sutra mounds of the sacred Mt. Shioji

“The Golden Sutra” in the exhibition title refers to this National Treasure “Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates,” which the museum introduces as a golden sutra from the Heian period. Mt. Kubote is one of Kyushu’s mountain sacred sites, and the press materials position the Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates from the Fugen Cave as “a treasure showing the pinnacle of the sutra mound culture of burying the Lotus Sutra in the Heian period.”

The exhibition’s other pillar is Mt. Shioji, a military stronghold where the ancient mountain castle of Ono Castle was built; in the Nara period, Shitennoji temple was founded there to counter enemy nations through the power of the gods and Buddhas. According to the press materials, in the Heian period Mt. Shioji was “a sacred site where many sutra mounds for burying scriptures such as the Lotus Sutra were built ahead of the rest of the country” and one of the centers of sutra mound culture. Together with the National Treasure from Mt. Kubote, the exhibition introduces the sutra mound culture of the local Mt. Shioji.

What can visitors see? The Lotus Sutra and sutra mounds in three chapters

The World of the Lotus Sutra

The Heian period was a time when faith in the Myoho Renge Kyo (Lotus Sutra) flourished. Chapter 1 introduces the spread of that faith.

The World of the National Treasure Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates

About five examples of bronze-plate sutras, with the text carved into bronze plates with a chisel, are known in Japan. According to the press materials, two of them are the National Treasure Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates (excavated from the Fugen Cave on Mt. Kubote) and the Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates excavated from the Choanji sutra mound in Oita Prefecture. The exhibition displays all 33 National Treasure bronze sutra plates together. As of October 20, the official website gives no information on whether exhibits will be changed during the run.

The Sacred Mt. Shioji

The sutra containers placed in the sutra mounds of Mt. Shioji are carved with various figures of Buddhas, with prayers for peace in this life, memorial services for parents and more. Chapter 3 introduces the prayers of people of the time through such sutra containers.

The main exhibits listed in the press materials and on the official website are as follows.

• National Treasure “Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates” (excavated from the Fugen Cave on Mt. Kubote, Heian period, 12th century, Kunitama Shrine)

• National Treasure “Bronze Box” (excavated from the Fugen Cave on Mt. Kubote, Heian period, 12th century, Kunitama Shrine)

• “Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates” (excavated from the Choanji sutra mound, Oita Prefecture, Nara National Museum)

• “Shrine-Shaped Sutra Container” (said to have been excavated in Fukuoka Prefecture, Nara National Museum)

• “Bronze Sutra Container” (excavated from Sutra Mound D-1 of the Mt. Shioji Sutra Mound Group, Umi Town, Heian period, 12th century, Fukuoka Prefectural Chikushigaoka High School)

Related events: The lecture “Sutra Mound Culture in Northern Kyushu” and gallery talks

• Lecture “Sutra Mound Culture in Northern Kyushu”: Tuesday, November 3 (national holiday), 14:00–16:00, Multipurpose Hall, 1F, Onojo Madokapia. Fujio Oda (Professor Emeritus, Fukuoka University) gives a lecture titled “Mountain Worship and Sutra Mounds: Sacred Mountains and Primitive Shugendo,” and Kenji Kuriyaki (former director of the Kubote Museum) one titled “Raigon Shonin, Restorer of Mt. Kubote, and the Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates.” Free, capacity 200. Advance application required, with a lottery if oversubscribed. Applications are accepted until Sunday, October 25 via the application form, fax, postcard or the museum’s general information desk

• Workshop “Knowing Scents, Making Scents: Fumiko (Letter Incense) Workshop”: Saturday, November 14, two sessions at 11:00–12:30 and 13:30–15:00, Lecture Room, M2F of the museum. The instructor is Hitomi Morimitsu, a researcher of the way of incense (Nishi-Nihon Kaori to Bunka no Kai). Fee 500 yen, 30 people per session. Applications via the application form until Monday, November 2, with a lottery if oversubscribed

• Gallery talks by curators: October 25, November 15, November 23, November 29 and December 6, from 13:00 for about 30 minutes, Special Exhibition Room, 3F. No application required; a ticket for that day is required

Tickets, prices and access

Admission is 300 yen for adults and 200 yen for members of the “Kokofuru Friends Association” and groups of 20 or more. High school students and younger are free, as are people who present a disability certificate or similar and one caregiver. Admission is free for everyone on Tuesday, November 3 (national holiday), Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8.

Opening hours are 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30). The museum is closed on Mondays; if Monday is a public or substitute holiday, it closes on the following weekday. The venue is the Special Exhibition Room on the 3rd floor. Visitors can use the adjacent Madokapia parking lot or the City Hall West parking lot, but spaces are limited, so the organizer urges visitors to use public transportation.

Editor’s perspective

Placing the National Treasure from Mt. Kubote in the same room as sutra containers excavated from the sutra mounds of Mt. Shioji is an approach typical of a local museum. It is an opportunity to see the 33 bronze sutra plates together, and at the same time to confirm through excavated objects that the local mountain was once a sacred site for burying scriptures. The lecture on November 3 also includes a talk on Mt. Kubote and the Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates.

Art based on the Lotus Sutra is also featured in “The Art of the Lotus Sutra,” which opens on December 12 at the Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo. In Fukuoka Prefecture, the special exhibition “Himiko’s Mirrors” also opened on October 31 at the Kyushu National Museum.

Overview

Name: Fiscal 2026 Autumn Special Exhibition “The Golden Sutra: The National Treasure Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates and Sutra Containers from the Sacred Mt. Shioji”
Dates: Saturday, October 24 – Sunday, December 13, 2026
Hours: 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Closed: Mondays (the following weekday if Monday is a public or substitute holiday)
Venue: Special Exhibition Room, 3F, Onojo City Museum (Onojo Kokoro no Furusato-kan)
Address: 3-8-3 Akebonomachi, Onojo, Fukuoka
Admission: Adults 300 yen (Kokofuru Friends Association members and groups of 20 or more 200 yen), high school students and younger free. Free on November 3, 7 and 8
Organizer: Onojo City Museum
Co-organizer: Nishinippon Shimbun
Inquiries: 092-558-5000
Official website: https://www.onojo-occm.jp/kiji0039030/index.html
*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Lotus Sutra on Bronze Plates, excavated from the Choanji sutra mound, Oita Prefecture, Nara National Museum (from a press release by Nishinippon Shimbun Co., Ltd.)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from Nishinippon Shimbun (October 16, 2026) and information on the Onojo City Museum official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team