Scribe Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Japan== {{See also|Japanese calligraphy|Writing in the Ryukyu Kingdom}} [[File:Shuin being made in Zentsuji - Kagawa - 2021 April 1.webm|thumb|''[[Shuin|Goshuin]]'', a record of a temple visit sometimes kept in a passport-like booklet, stamped and written at the [[Zentsū-ji]] Buddhist temple in [[Kagawa Prefecture|Kagawa]]]] By the 5th century CE, written Chinese was being adapted in Japan to represent spoken [[Japanese language|Japanese]]. The complexity of reconciling Japanese with a system of writing not meant to express it meant that acquiring literacy was a long process.<ref>Andrew T. Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture in Japan: The State of the Discipline," ''Book History'' 14 (2011), p. 270.</ref> Phonetic [[syllabary|syllabaries]] ''([[kana]])'', used for private writing, were developed by the 8th century and were in use along with ''[[kanji]]'', the [[logographic]] system, used for official records.<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," pp. 270–271.</ref> Gendering of the private and public spheres led to a characterization of ''kana'' as more feminine and ''kanji'' as masculine, but women of the court were educated and knew ''kanji'', and men also wrote in ''kana'', while works of literature were produced in both.<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," p. 271.</ref> [[File:2代由木尾雪雄作-Writing Box (Suzuribako) and Writing Table (Bundai) with Pines at Takasago and Sumiyoshi MET DP330038.jpg|thumb|Early 20th century writing box ''([[suzuri-bako]])'' and writing table (Metropolitan Museum of Art)]] The earliest extant writings take the form of ''[[mokkan]]'', wooden slips used for official [[memoranda]] and short communications and for practical purposes such as shipping tags;<ref>Joan R. Piggott, "''Mokkan'': Wooden Documents from the Nara Period," ''Monumenta Nipponica'' 45:4 (1990), pp. 449–450.</ref> inscriptions on metal and stone; and manuscripts of [[sutra]]s and commentaries.<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," p. 271.</ref> ''Mokkan'' were often used for writing practice.<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," p. 293, n. 8.</ref> Manuscripts first took the form of rolls made from cloth or sheets of paper,<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," p. 272.</ref> but when manuscripts began to appear as bound books, they coexisted with [[handscroll]]s ''(makimono)''. The influence of Chinese culture, especially written culture, made writing "immensely important" in the [[Japanese imperial court|early Japanese court]]. The earliest Japanese writing to survive dates from the late [[Asuka period|Asuka]] and [[Nara period|Nara]] periods (550–794), when Buddhist texts were being copied and disseminated. Because Buddhism was text-based, monks were employed in scribal and bureaucratic work for their skill in writing and knowledge of Chinese culture.<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," p. 294, n. 15.</ref> In portraits of Buddhist clerics, a handscroll is a symbol of scribal authority and the possession of knowledge.<ref>Radu Leca, "Dynamic Scribal Culture in Late Seventeenth-Century Japan: Ihara Saikaku’s Engagement with Handscrolls," ''Japan Review'' 37 (2022), p. 82.</ref> [[File:Motoori Norinaga self portrait.jpg|thumb|Self-portrait (1773) of the ''[[kokugaku]]'' literary scholar [[Motoori Norinaga]]]] Government offices and [[Japanese Buddhism|Buddhist]] centers employed copyists on a wide scale,<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," p. 271.</ref> requiring an abundance of materials such as paper, glue, ink, and brushes; exemplars from which to copy; an organizational structure; and technicians for assembly, called ''sōkō'' or ''sō’ō''.<ref>Bryan Lowe, "Texts and Textures of Early Japanese Buddhism: Female Patrons, Lay Scribes, and Buddhist Scripture in Eighth-Century Japan," ''Princeton University Library Chronicle'' 73:1 (2011), pp. 23–26.</ref> More than 10,000 Nara documents are preserved in the [[Shōsōin#Documents|Shōsōin archives]] of the [[Tōdai-ji]] temple complex.<ref>Piggott, "''Mokkan''," p. 449.</ref> The institution of the ''[[ritsuryō ]]'' legal state from the 8th to 10th centuries produced "a mountain of paperwork" employing hundreds of bureaucratic scribes in the capital and in the provinces.<ref>Alexander N. Mesheryakov, "On the Quantity of Written Data Produced by the ''Ritsuryō'' State," ''Japan Review'' 15 (2003), pp. 187, 193.</ref> The average [[Buddhist sutras|sutra]] copyist is estimated to have generated 3,800–4,000 [[Character (symbol)|characters]] a day.<ref>Mesheryakov, "On the Quantity of Written Data," p. 187.</ref> Scribes were paid by the "page," and the fastest completed thirteen or more sheets a day, working on a low table and seated on the floor.<ref>Lowe, "Texts and Textures," pp. 28–29.</ref> Both speed and accuracy mattered. Proofreaders checked the copy against the exemplar, and the scribe's pay was docked for errors.<ref>Lowe, "Texts and Textures," p. 29.</ref> In the 8th century, the demand for vast quantities of copies meant that scribes in the Office of Sutra Transcription were lay people of common status, not yet ordained monks, some finding opportunities for advancement.<ref>Bryan D. Lowe, "The Discipline of Writing: Scribes and Purity in Eighth-Century Japan," ''Japanese Journal of Religious Studies'' 39:2 (2012), p. 210, 229.</ref> In [[Classical Japan]], even lay scribes at some sutra copyist centers were required to practice [[purity in Buddhism|ritual purity]] through [[Buddhist vegetarianism#Japanese traditions|vegetarian dietary restrictions]], wearing ritual garments ''([[jōe]])'', ablution, avoiding contact with death and illness, and possibly sexual abstinence.<ref>Lowe, "The Discipline of Writing," pp. 201-221, 228–229.</ref> Outside Buddhist centers, professional scriveners practiced copyist craft.<ref>Lowe, "The Discipline of Writing," p. 227.</ref> Court-commissioned chronicles of the 8th century, such as ''[[Kojiki]]'' and ''[[Nihon shoki]]'', survive in much later copies, as is the case for the first [[Japanese poetry]] anthologies.<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," p. 272.</ref> The earliest printed books were produced under the [[Empress Shōtoku]] on a large scale in the 8th century, only three centuries after Japanese became a written language, and by the [[Edo period]] (1603–1868) bound printed books predominated.<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," p. 272.</ref> Manuscripts remained valued for their aesthetic qualities,<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," p. 273.</ref> and the scribal tradition continued to flourish for a wide range of reasons.<ref>P. F. Kornicki, "Manuscript, Not Print: Scribal Culture in the Edo Period," ''Journal of Japanese Studies'' 32:1 (2006), pp. 23-52.</ref> In addition to handwritten practical documents pertaining to legal and commercial transactions, individuals might write journals or [[commonplace book]]s, which involved copying out sometimes lengthy passages by hand.<ref>Kornicki, "Manuscript, Not Print," p. 28.</ref> This copying might extend to complete manuscripts of books that were expensive or not readily available to buy.<ref>Kornicki, "Manuscript, Not Print," pp. 28–30.</ref> [[File:Teika(3).jpg|thumb|Portrait of Fujiwara no Teika (1162–1241), poet, scribe, and book collector]] But scribal culture was not merely or always a matter of need or necessity. Copying Buddhist sutras was a devotional practice ''([[shakyō]])''. In the Nara period, wealthy patrons commissioned sutra copying on behalf of ancestors to gain them spiritual passage from the [[Buddhist hell]]s.<ref>Lowe, "Texts and Textures," pp. 18–20.</ref> The [[Edo period|Edo-period]] court noble [[Konoe Iehiro]] created a sutra manuscript in gold ink on dark blue paper, stating his purpose in the [[Colophon (publishing)|colophon]] as "to ensure the spiritual enlightenment of his departed mother."<ref>Kornicki, "Manuscript, Not Print," p. 29.</ref> Creating a calligraphic and pictorial work by copying secular literature likewise was an aesthetic practice for its own sake and a means of study.<ref>Kornicki, "Manuscript, Not Print," p. 29.</ref> Within the social elite of the court, calligraphy was thought to express the inner character of the writer.<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," pp. 293–294, n. 13.</ref> In the [[Heian period]], the book collector, scholar-scribe, and literary artist [[Fujiwara no Teika]] was a leader in preserving and producing quality manuscripts of works of literature.<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," p. 273.</ref> Even so prolific an author of printed prose works as [[Ihara Saikaku]] (1642–1693) also produced handwritten works in several formats, including manuscripts, handscrolls, and poetry slips ''([[tanzaku]])'' and cards ''(shikishi)''.<ref>Leca, "Dynamic Scribal Culture," pp. 78, 89.</ref> Unique and prized handscrolls preserved the [[Renga#The renga session|collaborative poetry sessions]] characteristic of ''[[renga]]'' and ''[[haikai]]'' poetic composition, distributed more widely in printed copies.<ref>Leca, "Dynamic Scribal Culture," pp. 86–88.</ref> [[File:Brooklyn Museum - Young Woman with Youth and Young Attendant Taifu from Furyu Jinrin Juniso - Isoda Koryusai.jpg|thumb|''Young Woman with Youth and Young Attendant'', 18th-century [[Woodblock printing in Japan|woodblock print]] by [[Isoda Koryūsai]]]] For authors not located near the major centers of publishing and printing, manuscripts were a route to publication.<ref>Peter Kornicki, "Keeping Knowledge Secret in Edo-Period Japan (1600–1868)," ''Textual Cultures'' 14:1 (2021), p. 3-18.</ref> Some authors self-published their books, especially romance novels ''([[ninjōbon]])'', in manuscript form.<ref>Kornicki, "Manuscript, Not Print," pp. 25–26.</ref> Women's [[Rekishi monogatari|prose writings]] in general were circulated as manuscripts during the Edo period<!--; only in the [[Meiji period]] was the fiction of [[Arakida Rei]], for instance, published in print-->.<ref>Kornicki, "Manuscript, Not Print," p. 34.</ref> Women were not prevented from writing and circulating their work, but private publication may have been a way for women to adhere to gender norms in not making themselves available in the public sphere.<ref>Kornicki, "Keeping Knowledge Secret," p. 18.</ref> Manuscripts could more readily evade government [[Censorship in Japan|censorship]],<ref>Kamei-Dyche, "The History of Books and Print Culture," p. 273.</ref> and officially banned books that could no longer be printed were copied for personal use or circulated privately.<ref>Kornicki, "Manuscript, Not Print," pp. 31–32, 37–40.</ref> Lending libraries ''(kashihon'ya)'' offered manuscript books, including illicit texts, along with printed books.<ref>Kornicki, "Manuscript, Not Print," p. 25.</ref> Books might also be composed as manuscripts when their transmission was limited to a particular circle of interested parties or sharers in the knowledge, such as local history and [[antiquarianism]],<ref>Local archives of handscrolls are referenced in village boundary disputes in Ihara Saikaku's story collection ''Honchō ōin hiji'' (''Trials under the Shade of Cherry Trees in Our Land'', 1689); Leca, "Dynamic Scribal Culture," pp. 82–83.</ref> a family's accumulated lore or farming methods, or medical texts of a particular school of medicine.<ref>Kornicki, "Manuscript, Not Print," pp. 33–35.</ref> Intentional secrecy might be desired to protect arcane knowledge or [[trade secret|proprietary information]] with commercial value.<ref>Kornicki, "Keeping Knowledge Secret," pp. 3-19.</ref> In the esoteric strand of [[Japanese Buddhism]], scribes recorded oracles, the utterances of a ''[[kami]]''-inspired person often in the form of dialogues in response to questions. The transcriber also filled in context for the transmission. After the text was verified, it became part of the canon<!-- ''(shōgyō)''-->, stored in secret places, viewable by affiliated monks, and used to legitimate forms of religious authority. Because they dealt with genealogies and sacral boundaries, oracle texts were consulted as references in questions of lineage and land ownership.<ref>Elizabeth Tinsley, "Indirect Transmission in Shingon Buddhism: Notes on the Henmyōin Oracle," ''The Eastern Buddhist'' 45:1/2 (2014), pp. 77-112, especially 77–78, 82, 84, 87–88, 92ff. (on lineage and land).</ref> [[File:KasugaEma0398.jpg|thumb|''Ema'' at the [[Kasuga-taisha|Kasuga Shinto shrine]] in [[Nara Prefecture|Nara]], 2004]] At contemporary [[Shinto]] or Buddhist shrines, scribal traditions still play a role in creating ''[[ofuda]]'' (talismans), ''[[omikuji]]'' (fortunes or divination lots), ''[[Ema (Shinto)|ema]]'' (votive tablets), ''[[goshuin]]'' (calligraphic visitor stamps), and ''gomagi'' (inscribed sticks for ritual burning), forms that may employ a combination of stamps and handwriting on [[medium (art)|media]]. Today these are often mass produced<ref>Caleb Carter, "Power Spots and the Charged Landscape of Shinto," ''Japanese Journal of Religious Studies'' 45:1 (2018), pp. 160 (on commercialization), 162 (''ofuda'' and ''omikuji''), and 167 ''(goshuin)''.</ref> and commercialized for marketing to tourists.<ref>Yamanaka Hiroshi, 山中 弘, "Religious Change in Modern Japanese Society: Established Religions and Spirituality," ''Japanese Journal of Religious Studies'' 48:2 (2021), pp. 365-382, especially pp. 368, 372 (on ''goshuin''), 374 (on ''gomagi'' and the importation of Western vocabulary such as "spiritual supplements").</ref> ''Ema'', for instance, began as large-scale pictorial representations that historically were created by professional artists. Small versions began to be produced and sold, and a complex symbology developed for the messages. Modern versions sold at shrines, often already stamped with their local affiliation, tend to be used more verbally, with space left for individuals to act as their own scribes in messaging the ''kami''.<ref>Ian Reader, "Letters to the Gods: The Form and Meaning of ''Ema''," ''Japanese Journal of Religious Studies'' 18:1 (1991), pp. 30–37.</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page