"Funzō-e" (Priest's Robe)

糞掃衣

At a glance — Art Object · Nara period, 8th century · held by Tokyo National Museum · designated Important Cultural Property of Japan.

Fact Sheet

Designation: Important Cultural Property (重要文化財)
Category: Art Objects
Period: Nara period, 8th century
Date: 701–800
Held by: Tokyo National Museum
Location: Ueno, Tokyo
Catalogue ID: cobas-117691

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Same period: Nara art objects →
At this museum: All 1632 works here →

This robe is made of layers of stitched bast-fiber textiles, their colors faded from being washed so many times. The work is thought to correspond to an entry in [Record of the Origin and Properties of Hōryūji Temple] (747), referring to a patchwork robe of bast-fiber textiles that was offered to the Buddhist deity Miroku (Skt. Maitreya). A storage box produced during the Edo period (1603–1868) is inscribed “[Funzō-e] monastic robe of Prince Shōtoku,” suggesting Hōryūji Temple traditionally held it to have belonged to the prince.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.

Record & Sources

Designation: Important Cultural Property (重要文化財), Government of Japan
Catalogue ID: cobas-117691 (permanent)
Official record: Japan Search — jpsearch.go.jp/item/cobas-117691
Holder's collection: ColBase — Tokyo National Museum
Photograph: Tokyo National Museum, via ColBase — CC BY 4.0. CC BY 4.0 licence

Cite this page: “"Funzō-e" (Priest's Robe)（糞掃衣）.” Treasures of Japan, catalogue no. cobas-117691. Tokyo National Museum. https://treasures.yamato-kenkou.com/treasures/funz-e-priests-robe/ — entry last verified 1 November 2026.

Full record data (as published in the official catalogue record)