Hyakumanto Darani
Encyclopedia
Dharani
A ' is a type of ritual speech similar to a mantra. The terms dharani and satheesh may be seen as synonyms, although they are normally used in distinct contexts....
Prayers, is a famous large-scale woodblock printing
Woodblock printing
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper....
, the earliest recorded uses of woodblock printing in Japan
Woodblock printing in Japan
Woodblock printing in Japan is a technique best known for its use in the ukiyo-e artistic genre; however, it was also used very widely for printing books in the same period. Woodblock printing had been used in China for centuries to print books, long before the advent of movable type, but was only...
.
Woodblock-printed books from Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Buddhist temples were seen in Japan
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...
as early as the eighth century. In 764 the Empress Shōtoku
Empress Koken
, also known as , was the 46th and the 48th emperor of Japan respectively, according to the traditional order of succession. Empress Kōken first reigned from 749 to 758, then she reascended the throne as Empress Shōtoku from 765 until her death in 770....
commissioned one million small wooden pagodas, each containing a small woodblock scroll (typically 6 x 45 cm) printed with a Buddhist text, the Hyakumantō Darani. These were distributed to temples around the country as thanksgiving for the suppression of the Emi Rebellion
Fujiwara no Nakamaro
, later also given the name of by Emperor Kōnin, was an aristocrat and poet of Nara period in Japan. His father was Fujiwara no Muchimaro, founder of Nanke lineage of Fujiwara clan....
of 764. These are the earliest examples of woodblock printing known, or documented, from Japan. Several examples survive (see link below).
The printing was completed around 770
770
Year 770 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 770 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Emperor Kōnin ascends to the throne of Japan,...
AD and cost such a colossal amount of money that printing technology
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
did not become widespread and the production and distribution of books continued to rely heavily on hand-copying manuscripts.