The Studying Time for the Buddhist Priests in Heian and Kamakura Periods in Japan

• Published in: Nihon Gakushiin kiyō Vol. 58; no. 3; pp. 151 - 170
• Main Author: TSUKISHIMA, Hiroshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Japan Academy 2004
• ISSN: 0388-0036; 2424-1903
• DOI: 10.2183/tja1948.58.151

Studies on the“kunten”materials in Heian and Kamakura periods (9th to 14th centuries) since these 90 years have discovered the origin and the developement of“kana”letters and also the distinction between the language used by court ladies in the literature and that which used in the “kunten”materials. Recent studies have extended the field to the difference of the language in“kunten”materials among the sects of Buddhist and the Confucianist scholars. As most of the language in“kunten”materials is the result of the study of Buddhist scholars, we can approach the essential character of their language by clarifying the background of their study in everyday life. Some documents were written by priests Senkan (918A.D.-984A.D.) and Myoe (1173A.D.-1232A.D.) which referred to the daily timetables for the priests. Investigation of 646 data (extracted from 5974 materials) in the libraries of four old temples (Ishiyamadera Temple, Kozanji Temple, Shoren-in Temple and Toji Temple) resulted in the facts that the 83% of these materials were written or read in the scheduled time of study, but the 17% were at the other time, including 12% in the midnight (12.00 A.M. to 4.00 A.M.), when the others were in sleep. Many scholars might have no sleep time owing to the religious duty in the daytime. They wrote the Buddhist books for the official ceremony or for their own religious activity, with wonderfully high speed. And they continued their study diligently even on the last day and on the first day of the year, when almost all the Japanese might break the work. The facts were found also that the boy of 11 years old learned the difficult Buddhist book, and the aged 86 years continued to write some books. We can generally say that the Buddhist scholars at that time studied very hard far beyond our imagination.