Texts and Textures of Early Japanese Buddhism: Female Patrons, Lay Scribes, and Buddhist Scripture in Eighth-Century Japan

Abstract

Study of an eighth-century Japanese Buddhist manuscript in the Gest Collection at Princeton University. It argues for a mutually empowering and interdependent relationship between the scribe, the patron, and the text. It also looks at issues related to manuscript cultures, gender, the materiality of prayer, and the religious significance of labor.