This copy of the Lotus Sutra was commissioned by Sōshō, a scholar-monk of Tōdai-ji Temple, on behalf of Rikimyō-maru, a child acolyte who had been murdered the previous year. The sutra was copied with the assistance of local monks and dedicated on the first anniversary of the boy’s death. The colophon in Sōshō’s own hand reveals his adoration of Rikimyō-maru and his profound grief. 
Object label 

This copy of the Lotus Sutra (Skt. Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra; Ch. Fahua jing; J. Hoke kyō) was dedicated by Sōshō (1202–1278), an eminent scholar-monk at Tōdaiji Temple. In 1275 (Kenji 1), his beloved young male attendant Rikimyōmaru had been killed, and Sōshō retreated to Kasagi in grief. He and the priests in his circle copied this sutra on the one-year anniversary of Rikimyōmaru’s passing.
 
SAIKI RyokoEnglish by Mary Lewine 
Buddhist Art Paradise: Jewels of the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2021.7, p.332, no.214.