Gangoji Garan Engi
Encyclopedia
, often abbreviated to Gangōji Garan Engi, is a Japanese
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 text. It is one volume in length and was compiled by an unnamed Buddhist monk in 747.

Contents

The text is made up of four major sections. The first relates the early history of Japanese Buddhism. It states that in 538 King Seong
Seong of Baekje
Seong of Baekje was the 26th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was a son of Muryeong of Baekje. He made Buddhism the state religion, moved the national capital, and succeeded in reclaiming the center of the Korean Peninsula, only to be betrayed by an ally.-Foreign relations...

 of Baekje
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

 introduced Buddhism to Japan. It tells of a struggle between pro-Buddhist Soga no Iname
Soga no Iname
. Soga no Iname was a leader of the Soga clan and a statesman during the reign of Emperor Kimmei in the Asuka period. He was the first person to hold the position of Ōomi that can be verified with reasonable accuracy, in 536 AD...

 and an anti-Buddhist faction. This is followed by the construction of several temples, including Gangō-ji
Gango-ji
is an ancient Buddhist temple, that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, in Nara, Japan.-History:The original foundation of the temple was by Soga no Umako in Asuka, as Asuka-dera...

 from which the text takes its title.

The second and third sections reproduce the Asuka period
Asuka period
The , was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 , although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period...

 stone inscriptions found on the tower finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...

 as well as those found on a Buddhist statue.

The final section is a list of the temple assets. This includes population, rice paddies, and wells.

Importance

The text is a primary source for early Buddhist history in Japan. Particularly well known is that the date given for the introduction of Buddhism from Baekje, 538, differs from that given in the Nihon Shoki
Nihon Shoki
The , sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki, the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical...

, 552. In addition, the reproduction of the stone inscriptions are considered valuable resource for the study of Old Japanese
Old Japanese
is the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language.This stage in the development of Japanese is still actively studied and debated, and key Old Japanese texts, such as the Man'yōshū, remain obscure in places.-Dating:...

.

External links

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