The Imperial Court controlled land holdings and taxes; here we see an order issued by the Minbushō, the branch presiding over these areas of its activity. This is the oldest extant example of a Minbushō fu —an official correspondence from this office. It orders the kami, the highest-ranking bureaucrat of Yamato Province’s government, to return fields that had been confiscated to their original owner, Gufukuji Temple. The four-character seal representing the authority of the Emperor (Tennō Gyoji) is stamped across the text.
 
SATO RyosukeEnglish by Mary Lewine 
Buddhist Art Paradise: Jewels of the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2021.7, p.349, no.38.