japanreviewRussian Japanology ReviewRussian Japanology Review2658-67892658-6444Association of Japanologists10.55105/2658-6444-2024-2-60-93japanreview-108Research ArticleСтатьиThe Documents of the Shōsōin Treasury and the History of Their StudyMatveevaO. K.

MATVEEVA Olga Konstantinovna – Research assistant

12/1, Building 1, Rozhdestvenka Street, Moscow, 107031

LM171708@mail.ruInstitute of Oriental Studies of RASRussian Federation202421012025726093Copyright © Matveeva O.K., 20252025Matveeva O.K.Matveeva O.K.Данная работа распространяется под лицензией Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.https://www.japanreview.ru/jour/article/view/108

One of the most important features of the documents from the Shōsōin treasury is the opportunity for researchers not only to study the events, institutions, and sources of the Nara era, but also to see the Japanese 8th century “with a human face.” Among the documents, there is a lot of material that talks about the everyday life and service of the sovereign’s subjects. This is of special interest for the author of the article, who aims to see a person who lived in ancient Japan. To create a basis for future research, the author conducts a source study of the Shōsōin documents as a preparatory stage for their study.

The objectives of the article are to discuss where and why the Shōsōin documents were created; find out how they were placed into the treasury and how they were stored in it; give their classification, describe the types of documents; find out what happened to them after the conservation of the Shōsōin at the end of the 8th century, how the documents were rediscovered in the Edo period, how and why they were studied in the 19th and 20th centuries; talk about the scholars who were involved in their research, and about the modern study of the Shōsōin documents.

Japanese historyNara periodBuddhismShōsōin documentsclassificationfeaturesReferencesAoki, K., Sasayama, H., Inaoka, K., Shirafuji, N. (Eds.). (2003–2005). Shoku Nihongi. Vol. 4. Tokyo: Iwanami. (In Japanese).Aoki, K., Sasayama, H., Inaoka, K., Shirafuji, N. (Eds.). (2003–2005). Shoku Nihongi. Vol. 4. Tokyo: Iwanami. (In Japanese).Bell, C. (1992). Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Bell, C. (1992). Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Farris, W. W. (2007). Pieces in a Puzzle: Changing Approaches to the Shōsōin Documents. Monumenta Nipponica, 62(4), 397–435.Farris, W. W. (2007). Pieces in a Puzzle: Changing Approaches to the Shōsōin Documents. Monumenta Nipponica, 62(4), 397–435.Golikov, A. G., Kruglova T. A. (2014). Metodika raboty s istoricheskim istochnikom [Methods of Working With Historical Sources]. Moscow: Akademiya. (In Russian).Golikov, A. G., Kruglova T. A. (2014). Metodika raboty s istoricheskim istochnikom [Methods of Working With Historical Sources]. Moscow: Akademiya. (In Russian).Hirakawa, M. (1994). Yomigaeru kodai monjo [Ancient Documents Revived]. Tokyo: Iwanami. (In Japanese).Hirakawa, M. (1994). Yomigaeru kodai monjo [Ancient Documents Revived]. Tokyo: Iwanami. (In Japanese).Lowe, B. D. (2017). Ritualized Writing Buddhist Practice and Scriptural Cultures in Ancient Japan. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.Lowe, B. D. (2017). Ritualized Writing Buddhist Practice and Scriptural Cultures in Ancient Japan. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.Maruyama, Y. (1999). Tenpyō no hikari to kage: Shōsōin monjo ga kataru kodai no Nihon [Tenpyō Era Light and Shadows: Ancient Japan Discussed in Shōsōin Documents]. Tokyo: Nihon hōsō kyōkai. (In Japanese).Maruyama, Y. (1999). Tenpyō no hikari to kage: Shōsōin monjo ga kataru kodai no Nihon [Tenpyō Era Light and Shadows: Ancient Japan Discussed in Shōsōin Documents]. Tokyo: Nihon hōsō kyōkai. (In Japanese).Meshcheryakov, A. N. (2010). Drevneyaponskoe gosudarstvo VIII v. i stikhiinye bedstviya: ritual’nye i prakticheskie formy kontrolya [The Ancient Japanese State in the 8th Century and Natural Disasters: Ritual and Practical Forms of Control]. In Yaponiya v ob’yatiyakh prostranstva i vremeni [Japan in the Embrace of Space and Time]. Moscow: Natalis. (In Russian).Meshcheryakov, A. N. (2010). Drevneyaponskoe gosudarstvo VIII v. i stikhiinye bedstviya: ritual’nye i prakticheskie formy kontrolya [The Ancient Japanese State in the 8th Century and Natural Disasters: Ritual and Practical Forms of Control]. In Yaponiya v ob’yatiyakh prostranstva i vremeni [Japan in the Embrace of Space and Time]. Moscow: Natalis. (In Russian).Meshcheryakov, A. N., Grachev, M. V. (2010). Istoria Drevnei Yaponii [History of Ancient Japan]. Moscow: Natalis. (In Russian).Meshcheryakov, A. N., Grachev, M. V. (2010). Istoria Drevnei Yaponii [History of Ancient Japan]. Moscow: Natalis. (In Russian).Meshcheryakov, A. N. (Transl. and commentary). (2018). Syoku nikhongi. Prodolzhenie annalov Yaponii [Shoku Nihongi. Continuation of the Chronicles of Japan]. Moscow: Delo. (In Russian).Meshcheryakov, A. N. (Transl. and commentary). (2018). Syoku nikhongi. Prodolzhenie annalov Yaponii [Shoku Nihongi. Continuation of the Chronicles of Japan]. Moscow: Delo. (In Russian).Mikoshiba, D. (2002). Empress Kōmyō’s Buddhist Faith: Her Role in the Founding of the State Temple and Convent System. In B. Ruch (Ed.), Engendering Faith: Women and Buddhism in Premodern Japan (pp. 21–40). Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan.Mikoshiba, D. (2002). Empress Kōmyō’s Buddhist Faith: Her Role in the Founding of the State Temple and Convent System. In B. Ruch (Ed.), Engendering Faith: Women and Buddhism in Premodern Japan (pp. 21–40). Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan.Minagawa, K. (1972). Shōsōin monjo no seiri to sono shahon [Arranging and Copying of Shōsōin Documents]. In: Shoku Nihon kodaishi ronshū [Essays on Ancient Japan History] (Vol. 2, pp. 515–606). Tokyo: Yoshikawa kobunkan. (In Japanese).Minagawa, K. (1972). Shōsōin monjo no seiri to sono shahon [Arranging and Copying of Shōsōin Documents]. In: Shoku Nihon kodaishi ronshū [Essays on Ancient Japan History] (Vol. 2, pp. 515–606). Tokyo: Yoshikawa kobunkan. (In Japanese).Sagimori, H. (1996). Fujiwara Kōmyō shika ni kansuru hito shiryō [Historical Document Concerning Fujiwara Kōmyō and Her Family]. Shoku Nihongi kenkyū [Shoku Nihongi Studies], 305, 1–29. (In Japanese).Sagimori, H. (1996). Fujiwara Kōmyō shika ni kansuru hito shiryō [Historical Document Concerning Fujiwara Kōmyō and Her Family]. Shoku Nihongi kenkyū [Shoku Nihongi Studies], 305, 1–29. (In Japanese).Sakaehara, T. (2011). Shōsōin monjo nyūmon [Introduction to Shōsōin Documents]. Tokyo: Kadokawa. (In Japanese).Sakaehara, T. (2011). Shōsōin monjo nyūmon [Introduction to Shōsōin Documents]. Tokyo: Kadokawa. (In Japanese).Schopen, Gr. (2010). The Book as a Sacred Object in Private Homes in Early or Medieval India. In E. Robertson and J. Jahner (Eds.), Medieval and Early Modern Devotional Objects in Global Perspective: Translations of the Sacred. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Schopen, Gr. (2010). The Book as a Sacred Object in Private Homes in Early or Medieval India. In E. Robertson and J. Jahner (Eds.), Medieval and Early Modern Devotional Objects in Global Perspective: Translations of the Sacred. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Sutra o Beschislennykh Znacheniyakh. Sutra o Tsvetke Lotosa Chudesnoi Dkharmy. Sutra o Postizhenii Deyanii i Dkharmy Bodkhisattvy Vseob’emlyushchaya Mudrost’ [Innumerable Meanings Sutra. Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. Sutra of Comprehending the Deeds and Dharma of Bodhisattva Universal Wisdom]. (2007). Ignatovich, A. N., Severskaya, V. V. (Eds.). 2nd edition. Moscow: Ladomir. (In Russian).Sutra o Beschislennykh Znacheniyakh. Sutra o Tsvetke Lotosa Chudesnoi Dkharmy. Sutra o Postizhenii Deyanii i Dkharmy Bodkhisattvy Vseob’emlyushchaya Mudrost’ [Innumerable Meanings Sutra. Miraculous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. Sutra of Comprehending the Deeds and Dharma of Bodhisattva Universal Wisdom]. (2007). Ignatovich, A. N., Severskaya, V. V. (Eds.). 2nd edition. Moscow: Ladomir. (In Russian).Yamashita, Y. (2006). Tenpyo no shakyo to shakyosho [Sutra Coping and Scriptory in Tenpyo Era]. In Tenpyo shakyo to sono shuhen [Tenpyo Era Sutra Coping and its Environs] (pp. 15–26). Tokyo: Bukkyo bijutsu kenkyu Ueno kinen zaidan josei kenkyukai. (In Japanese).Yamashita, Y. (2006). Tenpyo no shakyo to shakyosho [Sutra Coping and Scriptory in Tenpyo Era]. In Tenpyo shakyo to sono shuhen [Tenpyo Era Sutra Coping and its Environs] (pp. 15–26). Tokyo: Bukkyo bijutsu kenkyu Ueno kinen zaidan josei kenkyukai. (In Japanese).Yoshida, T. (1983). Ritsuryō kokka to kodai no shakai [The Society of Antiquity and the Ritsuryo State]. Tokyo: Iwanami. (In Japanese).Yoshida, T. (1983). Ritsuryō kokka to kodai no shakai [The Society of Antiquity and the Ritsuryo State]. Tokyo: Iwanami. (In Japanese).

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.