Contingent and Contested: Preliminary Remarks on Buddhist Catalogs and Canons in Early Japan
This article explores the notion of the Buddhist canon in seventh-and eighthcentury Japan. It relies on scriptorium documents, temple records, and manuscripts of catalogs to argue that there was no single Buddhist canon in ancient Japan; each was created at a particular moment in a unique configurat...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2014
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
Year: 2014, Volume: 41, Issue: 2, Pages: 221-253 |
| Further subjects: | B
Emperors
B Sacred Texts B Buddhism B Monks B Religious Studies B Bibliographic families B Nara period B Japanese culture B Scrolls B Cataloging |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article explores the notion of the Buddhist canon in seventh-and eighthcentury Japan. It relies on scriptorium documents, temple records, and manuscripts of catalogs to argue that there was no single Buddhist canon in ancient Japan; each was created at a particular moment in a unique configuration to respond to the needs of the patron and the monastic community. For this reason, Buddhist canons in the Japanese case are best understood in the plural. But rather than simply focusing on what the canon was as a noun, this article examines the dynamic processes through which canons were produced as systematized collections of texts. It shows how monks, rulers, and administrators in the capital consulted continental catalogs but were never bound by them. Canon copying provided a means for individuals at court to demonstrate their mastery over the Buddhist tradition. |
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| Reference: | Anhang "Appendix: Chart of Various Hīnayāna Scriptures in Two Catalogs (2014)"
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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