Kazuhiko Yoshida, "Ancient History of the People: Another Ancient Period as Seen in "Nihon Reiki"" Summary and Comments - Recommended for understanding ancient Buddhism and people's lives as seen through "Nihon Reiki"!
Introduced here is Kazuhiko Yoshida's "The Ancient History of the People: Another Ancient History in "Nihon ryoiki"" published by Kazuhiko Yoshida and published by Fumyosha in 2006.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
Is it really true that Japan's ancient social system is considered a "Ritsuryo state"? This book presents a vivid picture of the people who lived outside of the Ritsuryo system through the oldest collection of Buddhist discourses, "Nihon ryoiki".
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This work is based on the "Nihon ryoiki" written by the Nara period monk Keikai, and looks at the lives of the people of that time.
Previous Previous post.Kazuhiko Yoshida, "Re-reading Ancient Buddhism" - A recommended reference book for learning about the introduction of Buddhism, Prince Shotoku, the Emperor and the State!"As I mentioned in "The Ancient Buddhism: Rereading the Ancient Buddhism", Kazuhiko Yoshida's narrative is very easy to understand and read. As was the case with "Re-reading Ancient Buddhism," this book is also very stimulating. Yoshida turns the history we take for granted on its head. You will be surprised by what you will find in this book.
In the preface at the beginning of this book, the author describes this book as follows. This is a bit long, but it is an important part of the book, so let's take a closer look at it.
Many readers may be interested in the people of the Nara period. What kind of world did they live in and what did they think about? Ancient historians are of course interested in this topic and have made efforts to reconstruct their lives. However, it is difficult to say that the picture has yet to be clarified. Ancient history has few historical documents. The number of documents that can tell us what happened more than 120 years ago is very limited, and even more so when it comes to historical documents that can tell us about the people of the time. It is not an easy task to reconstruct the people of the time from the scarce historical materials. (omitted).
What are the clues that we should use as a basis for our thinking? Wooden letters discovered one after another in the ground, although each piece of information is fragmentary, convey the raw reality of ancient society to the present day. In addition, research on the Shosoin archives (Shosoin Documents) has been progressing, and facts that give us a glimpse into the reality of society are gradually being revealed. Against this backdrop, this book focuses on "Nihon ryoiki," Japan's oldest collection of Buddhist discourses, and attempts to approach the actual state of ancient society by actively utilizing this book as a historical source. The "Nihon ryoiki" is truly interesting. It describes the state of the world and people from the Nara period to the beginning of the Heian period in a lush and concrete manner. There is no way not to make use of this book. In this book, however, there are many scenes that are not stipulated in the Ritsuryo Code and that were not contemplated in the Code from the beginning, as well as scenes of people that contradict or conflict with the provisions of the Ritsuryo Code. How should we evaluate them? In fact, I think that is exactly what the ancient world was like. I would like to reconsider ancient history, taking the descriptions in this book very seriously. (omitted).
The "Nihon ryoiki" is a collection of Buddhist stories in which monks and nuns appear, and among them, there are many private monks and nuns (jidō). Shido" refers to people who were not ordained by the government, but who became priests and nuns after being ordained on their own accord, an act that was clearly forbidden by the Ritsuryo (law). However, they did not appear to have been policed or punished, and they continued to engage in fulfilling religious activities in their local communities. If this is the case, then was the article in the Ritsuryo Code forbidding private conduct a complete blank sentence? How should we understand it? In addition, the history textbooks for junior high and high school students state that Buddhism in ancient times was state Buddhism and that the people were alienated from Buddhism, and that Buddhism did not spread to the people until the birth of the new Kamakura Buddhism led by Honen, Shinran, Dogen, and Nichiren. The book says, "The people were alienated from Buddhism. How then should we understand the Buddhism of the people in the Nara period?
This book is an attempt to depict the state of society, people, and Buddhist beliefs of the time by carefully reading "Nihon ryoiki" and considering these issues one by one. In the last chapter, however, I will discuss my current view on the validity of the view of the ancient state as a "Ritsuryo state" apart from the "Nihon ryoiki". Nevertheless, the foundation of this book is based on "Nihon ryoiki. With "Nihon ryoiki" in hand, let us embark on a journey to explore the ancient history of the people.
Kazuhiko Yoshida, Kazuhiko Yoshida, The Ancient History of the People: Another Ancient History in "Nihon ryoiki" (The Ancient History of the People: Another Ancient History in "Nihon ryoiki"), p. 4-8.
However, history textbooks for junior high and high school students state that Buddhism in ancient times was state Buddhism and that the people were alienated from Buddhism, and that Buddhism did not spread to the people until the birth of the new Buddhism in Kamakura, led by Honen, Shinran, Dogen, and Nichiren. Then, how could the people of the Nara period have been so influenced by the new Buddhism? How, then, are we to understand the Buddhism of the people in the Nara period?
Yes. That is exactly what it is!
This book reveals that Buddhist beliefs had already taken root among the people as early as the Nara period (710-794). We will also learn what kind of faith it was. This book also makes us think about what kind of salvation the people, not the aristocrats and monks, were seeking from Buddhism.
And there it is in the quote above.The "Nihon ryoiki" is very interesting," he said. It describes the state of the world and its people from the Nara period to the beginning of the Heian period in a gentle, concrete manner.That is the word.
In this book, various stories of "Nihon ryoiki" are drawn, and all of them are interesting and entertaining! Before talking about the historical value or the value of historical records, it is simply interesting to begin with! This was a big surprise to me. This book also makes me very interested in "Nihon ryoiki" itself. I will definitely read "Nihon ryoiki" after this book.
It was a very gratifying work for me to think about Japanese Buddhism. I highly recommend this work.
This is "Kazuhiko Yoshida's "Ancient History of the People" - Recommended for understanding ancient Buddhism and people's lives as seen through "Nihon ryoiki"! The above is "Kazuhiko Yoshida's "Ancient History of the People
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