THE HYAKUMANTŌ DARANI AND THE ORIGINS OF PRINTING IN EIGHTH-CENTURY JAPAN
Abstract
The origins of printing in East Asia have been the subject of lively debate over the last twenty years, and a constant point of reference has been the first recorded act of printing in Japan, which took place in the 760s. The term Hyakumantō Darani 百万塔陀羅尼 (hereafter HD) is commonly used in Japan to refer to this episode, and it denotes the Buddhist dhāraṇī or spells which are thought to have been printed in Nara and then inserted into wooden miniature pagodas, and which have for a century been regarded as the oldest printed texts in the world.1 They were printed, so the evidence suggests, in the closing years of the reign of Shōtoku 稱德 (718–770, r. 764–770), who was the last woman on the Japanese throne for nearly one thousand years and who had had an earlier reign under the name Kōken 孝謙 (r. 749–758).2 In this article I shall first examine the evidence relating to the HD and the origins of printing, since the whole question has long been clouded by hypotheses masquerading as fact. Second, I shall explore the origins of the practice of producing miniature pagodas and its transmission to Japan. Third, I shall argue that the established views on the motivation for the HD are inadequate, and shall identify the factors that demand a new explanation, particularly the pagodas themselves. Finally, I turn to the ideological and political factors underlying these events and suggest a new explanation. This new explanation focuses on the politics of Shōtoku's situation and the connection with empress Wu (Wu Zetian 武則天; 624–705, r. 690–705), and it goes some way towards explaining why printing was not resorted to again in Japan for several centuries.
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The earliest woodblock in Europe dates to about 1370 and was created to transfer images and a Vulgate quotation to textiles.
“the earliest woodblock in Europe, which dates to about 1370, and appears to have been created in order to transfer its images (and indeed a short textual quotation from the Vulgate) to textiles”
From A wooden manuscript from late Qing Yunnan（救世鴻文）: beyond the print–manuscript distinction (2016) · cites this paper as [41]
Wu Zhao promoted the mass copying of texts, particularly dhāraṇī, which were believed to be exceptionally potent, functioning '100,000 times more effectively' than other scriptures.
“Wu Zhao promoted the mass copying of texts, particularly dhāra ṇ ī , which were believed to be exceptionally potent, functioning '100,000 times more effectively' than other scriptures.”
From Exploring Four Block-Printed Indic Script Mahāpratisarā Dhāraṇī (Chinese: 大隨求陀羅尼) Amulets Discovered in China (2025) · cites this paper as [30]
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A wooden manuscript from late Qing Yunnan（救世鴻文）: beyond the print–manuscript distinction
Barrett, T. H. (2016) · Studies in Chinese Religions · doi:10.1080/23729988.2016.1244993
- Authors
- Kornicki, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Kornicki, Peter
- Venue
- International Journal of Asian Studies
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2012-01
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 43-70
- ISSN
- 1479-5914 (ISSN-L)
- 1479-5922
- OpenAlex
- W2167436934
- Semantic Scholar
- 2930077206c35ded0d3a3c5ad04701d18e15ffb2
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 69
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 4.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Asian Studies (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Japanese History and Culture
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Indian and Buddhist Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Libraries, Manuscripts, and Books
- Keywords
- origins of printing, dhāraṇī, Shōtoku, Nara period, Wu Zetian
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