This paper looks at Shinran’s handwritten manuscripts of the Yuishinshō 唯信鈔 (Essentials of Faith Alone) called ‘Shinshōbon 信証本,’ and the Yuishinshō mon’i 唯信鈔文意 (Notes on ‘Essentials of Faith Alone’), known as the ‘Shōgatsu nijūshichinichibon 正月二十七日本,’ which Shinran produced and presented as a set to his disciples. Additionally, the paper compares the text of the Yuishinshō mon’i to the marginal notes made by Shinran to various other manuscripts of the Yuishinshō. Through this two-pronged examination of the current form of the texts, I demonstrate the method of Shinran’s teaching. A comparison of the marginalia of the various other manuscripts of the Yuishinshō shows that each version includes notes unique to that manuscript, and the placement of notes is different depending on the date when the manuscript was copied. In the Shinshōbon, Shinran’s marginalia are concentrated around passages concerning sanshin 三心 (Three Minds), which suggests that he was paying special attention to the interpretation of sanshin when he copied the Shinshōbon manuscript (at which time he was 85 years old). A comparison of the contents of the Yuishinshō mon’i with the marginalia in the Shinshōbon also shows that Shinran’s interpretations in the Yuishinshō mon’i are the same as the understanding expressed in the marginália in the Shinshōbon, thus revealing Shinran’s unique understanding. The Shōgatsu nijūshichinichibon manuscript of the Yuishinshō mon’i is thought to have been made to serve as a reading guide for the Shinshōbon version of the Yuishinshō. By making these two manuscripts into a set, Shinran made the most use of the marginalia for the convenience of his followers. It may be thought that, by reflecting the doctrinal interpretations demonstrated in the Yuishinshō mon’i in the marginalia added to the Yuishinshō, Shinran was trying to enhance his followers’ understanding of sanshin in the Contemplation Sūtra (Kanmuryōjukyō 觀無量壽經).
