2024/06/03 by Bryan D. Lowe · 1 voice
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Asian Studies and History #Japanese History and Culture #Psychology #Religiosity #Social psychology #Sociology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1515/9783111382715-002
openalex publication_date 2024/06/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
This chapter argues that women’s most prominent role in ancient Japanese manuscript cultures was not as authors of texts but as patrons. Women likely commissioned the transcription of tens of thousands of scrolls of Buddhist scripture. They also produced short inscriptions, in colophons and on clay and other materials, that documented their patronage of temples, Buddhist images, and offerings. To recover women’s voices and identify female patrons, scholars need to turn to new sources such as administrative documents, dedicatory colophons, and inscribed excavated objects. After outlining these archives, the chapter surveys prolific female patrons in the Nara capital, who were able to commission entire canons through the scriptoria that they helped manage. It then looks at women who joined collectives to copy sutras and sponsor Buddhist construction projects. The chapter concludes by reflecting on methods for studying non-elite women in provincial villages, who may have composed simple prayers for wealth on pieces of clay pottery.