The Textual Bond between Japan and China : The Compilation of Buddhist Scriptures in the Mid- and Late Thirteenth Century(<Special Issue>The "Inside" and the "Outside" of Medieval Japan)

Abstract

In Japan, precisely between 1234 and 1244, monks of the Hokke sect cooperated to compile the fragmented pieces of Chinese Buddhist scriptures written during the So Dynasty. On the other hand, in China, a monk named Doei was engaged in editing the Tozen-ji version of scriptures between 1242 and 1245. It is possible that Doei, who had once stayed in Japan and served at Tozen-ji, knew his Japanese colleagues' effort abroad and responded to it. It is in 1245 that the last report on contributions for the compilation of the Toji version was issued. In the same year, when the members of Seizan-Hokke Temple were engaged in the compilation work in Fukushu, China, Keisei of the same temple finished the first volume of Hyoto-ryukyukoku-ki. Thus it is very likely that Keisei's work on Ryukyu was related to the compilation of Buddhist scriptures and also had an influence on the Enkei version of Heike-monogatari.