Home / History / Social History / Sino-Japanese Interactions Through Rare Books / From sutra rubbings to woodblock printing
From sutra rubbings to woodblock printing
From sutra rubbings to woodblock printing
The next recorded example of printing dates from more than two hundred years after the Hyakumantō Darani, in the mid-Heian period (circa 11th c.). Printed sutras (literally, “Sutra rubbings”) are mentioned in the court journals of Heian-period aristocrats such as Fujiwara no Michinaga’s (966-1028) Midō Kampakuki. Entries mention copies of the Lotus Sutra (Hokkekyō) and the Amithaba Sutra (Amidakyō) being formally presented to the Buddha during Buddhist rites or to pray for the good health of a newborn. The term “printed sutra” also appears in late-Heian Buddhist formal prayers (ganmon) in Chinese. In all, in addition to sutra copying, which was extremely popular as a devotional practice, hundreds, perhaps thousands printed sutras are known to have been made.
As stated in the sutras, traditionally, the way to accumulate religious merit was to copy the sutra by hand. However, the thought that more copies would result in more merit is probably what made sutra printing a popular votive practice among aristocrats with the power and means to sponsor it. Though rare, some printed texts believed to date from the late Heian period do survive. Unlike the texts that we have looked at so far, these are full-length scrolls made using a large number of printing blocks used in succession, which shows just how much printing had grown in both scale and complexity in the 300 or so years since the making of the Hyakumantō darani.
Despite the lack of material evidence, it is almost certain that printing developed continuously during the early Heian period (800-1000 C.E.). One possible reason for this change was the return to Japan of the monk Chōnen with a complete printed edition of the Buddhist tripitaka in 985 (Kan’na 2). Chōnen was an affiliate of the Tōdaiji temple in Nara. He sailed to China shortly after his ordination and after visiting the sacred sites of Mount Tiantai, he was received by Emperor Taizong (r. 976-997) in Bianjing.
As fate would have it, the first ever printing of the complete Buddhist tripitaka, which Taizong had commissioned, just happened to have been completed and Taizong donated one set, known as Kaibao tripitaka (*), to his distinguished visitor from overseas. Chōnen’s arrival with over 500-chests of the Kaibao Tripitaka was an event that attracted crowds of onlookers and sent shockwaves through the Heian capital. So it is more than a little likely that the arrival of printed books from Song China inspired the contemporaries to start printing full books. Here we have a modern facsimile of one of the volumes of the Kaibao tripitaka, the first woodblock edition of the Buddhist textual canon.
Originals are now extremely rare, and the Institute does not own a copy. In this presentation, I am using a modern replica. As you can see, it is a printed scroll. A printing block was used for this section, a different one for this section, in other words, a different block for each sheet of paper. It dates from the Northern Song-dynasty, so even by Chinese standards, it is a very early example of a printed book. Here we have a slightly later example; it is also from a Song-dynasty printed edition of the tripitakan, but unlike the previous example, this is an original. At the beginning, there is a printed image of the Buddhist pantheon illustrating the world described in the text.
The book itself is bound as an accordion book (orihon), which is made by folding the leaves on themselves in opposite directions, thus creating the characteristic alternation of ‘mountain’ and ‘valley’ folds. When the book is closed, it becomes a rectangular shape that calls to mind the shape of the palm leaves that were used in India to write the sutras, and which remained consistently popular throughout the Buddhist world. Thus, book printing started in earnest in the eleventh century, near the end of the ancient age. However, we are still a far cry from the modern understanding of printing as a medium for reading. Printed texts at this stage were used during religious rites, and were made for their symbolic and ritual power.
The first texts to be made for reading were those published by the Kōfukuji temple in Nara, which we examine in the next step.
During the Heian period (794 – 1185), printing evolved from short texts to full-size books. What brought about these changes? How did printing technology develop to make them possible? Let’s answer these questions while looking at actual texts from the period.
Books introduced in the video:
- Bussetsu-Ninnou-Gokoku-Hannya-Haramitsu-Gyo, 1239
Click to see the image and information - Myōhō Rengekyō, Heian period
Click to see the image and information
Keywords introduced in the video:
- Fujiwara no Michinaga
- Midō Kampakuki
- Heian capital
- Kan’na
- Hyakumantō Darani, Dharani Invocations of the One Million Pagodas.
- Nara
- Northern Song dynasty
- Shakyō, hand-copied sutra or the act of copying sutras by hand.
- Mount Tiantai
- Surigyō, printed sutras (literally, “Sutra rubbings”)
- Hokkekyō, Lotus Sutra.
- Amidakyō, Amithaba Sutra.
- Hanpon, woodblock printed book.
- Chōnen (938-1016), a Japanese monk in the Heian period.
- Emperor Taizong (r. 976-997), the second emperor of the Northern Song dynasty of China.
- Kaibao tripitaka. The set donated by Emperor Taizong is known as the Kaibao tripitaka, after the name of the Chinese reign era in which it was completed.
- orihon, accordion book. One of the major traditional bookbinding methods.
- Kōfukuji
This article is from the online course:
Sino-Japanese Interactions Through Rare Books
Created by
This article is from the free online
Sino-Japanese Interactions Through Rare Books
Our purpose is to transform access to education.
We offer a diverse selection of courses from leading universities and cultural institutions from around the world. These are delivered one step at a time, and are accessible on mobile, tablet and desktop, so you can fit learning around your life.
We believe learning should be an enjoyable, social experience, so our courses offer the opportunity to discuss what you’re learning with others as you go, helping you make fresh discoveries and form new ideas.
You can unlock new opportunities with unlimited access to hundreds of online short courses for a year by subscribing to our Unlimited package. Build your knowledge with top universities and organisations.
Learn more about how FutureLearn is transforming access to education
